Choose The Painscreek Killings
Choose The Painscreek Killings if it matches what drew you to this matchup. 2,765 Steam reviews back the pick.
The Painscreek Killings vs Presences: Dark Awakening
The Painscreek Killings and Presences: Dark Awakening both land in Indie, Adventure on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam. The Painscreek Killings (2017) is 6 years older than Presences: Dark Awakening (2023). The Painscreek Killings scores higher on Steam reviews (89% positive) than Presences: Dark Awakening (79.2% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Presences: Dark Awakening
Choose Presences: Dark Awakening if you want a Casual experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2023) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Presences: Dark Awakening launched in 2023.
Both The Painscreek Killings and Presences: Dark Awakening sit in Indie and Adventure on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 The Painscreek Killings |  Presences: Dark Awakening | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2017 | 2023 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure | Indie, Adventure, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Unrated |
| Price | 7.99 USD | 7.19 USD |
| Steam reviews | 89% positive (2,765 reviews) | 79.2% positive (24 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | EQ Studios | Cozy Marshmallow |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- The Painscreek Killings (2017) is 6 years older than Presences: Dark Awakening (2023).
- The Painscreek Killings scores higher on Steam reviews (89% positive) than Presences: Dark Awakening (79.2% positive).
- Presences: Dark Awakening is currently ~10% cheaper on Steam than The Painscreek Killings (7.19 USD vs. 7.99 USD).
- The Painscreek Killings is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; Presences: Dark Awakening has no Deck rating yet.
The Painscreek Killings vs Presences: Dark Awakening — FAQ
- Should I play The Painscreek Killings or Presences: Dark Awakening first?
- If you want chronology, The Painscreek Killings (2017) came out before Presences: Dark Awakening (2023). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are The Painscreek Killings and Presences: Dark Awakening similar?
- They overlap on Indie, Adventure on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Does The Painscreek Killings run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — The Painscreek Killings is rated Deck Playable by Valve. Presences: Dark Awakening doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.