Choose A Story Beside
Choose A Story Beside if you want a Casual experience. A Story Beside launched in 2022.
A Story Beside vs Forest Star
A Story Beside and Forest Star 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. Forest Star (2021) is 1 year older than A Story Beside (2022). Both sit near 97% positive on Steam (A Story Beside: 210 reviews, Forest Star: 68). 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 Forest Star
Choose Forest Star if it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. Forest Star launched in 2021.
Both A Story Beside and Forest Star sit in Indie and Adventure on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (97.1% vs 97.1% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 A Story Beside |  Forest Star | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2022 | 2021 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure, Casual | Indie, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Unrated |
| Price | 14.99 USD | Free to play |
| Steam reviews | 97.1% positive (210 reviews) | 97.1% positive (68 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Wayward Prophet | SeaPhoenix |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- Forest Star (2021) is 1 year older than A Story Beside (2022).
- Both sit near 97% positive on Steam (A Story Beside: 210 reviews, Forest Star: 68).
- Forest Star is free; A Story Beside is paid (14.99 USD).
- A Story Beside is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; Forest Star has no Deck rating yet.
A Story Beside vs Forest Star — FAQ
- Should I play A Story Beside or Forest Star first?
- If you want chronology, Forest Star (2021) came out before A Story Beside (2022). 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 A Story Beside and Forest Star 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.
- Is Forest Star free?
- Yes — Forest Star is a free-to-play Steam title. A Story Beside is paid (14.99 USD).
- Does A Story Beside run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — A Story Beside is rated Deck Playable by Valve. Forest Star doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.