Choose Return of the Obra Dinn
Choose Return of the Obra Dinn if you want an Indie experience. 17,928 Steam reviews back the pick.
Return of the Obra Dinn vs Pentiment
Return of the Obra Dinn and Pentiment both land in 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 are Adventure games on Steam. Return of the Obra Dinn (2018) is 4 years older than Pentiment (2022). Return of the Obra Dinn scores higher on Steam reviews (96.5% positive) than Pentiment (94.7% 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 Pentiment
Choose Pentiment if you want a Casual experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2022) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 4,985 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Return of the Obra Dinn and Pentiment sit in Adventure on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (96.5% vs 94.7% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Return of the Obra Dinn |  Pentiment | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2022 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure | Adventure, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Verified |
| Price | 19.99 USD | 19.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 96.5% positive (17,928 reviews) | 94.7% positive (4,985 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Lucas Pope | Obsidian Entertainment |
Side by side
- Both are Adventure games on Steam.
- Return of the Obra Dinn (2018) is 4 years older than Pentiment (2022).
- Return of the Obra Dinn scores higher on Steam reviews (96.5% positive) than Pentiment (94.7% positive).
- Pentiment is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than Return of the Obra Dinn (19.99 USD vs. 19.99 USD).
- Both are Deck Verified.
Return of the Obra Dinn vs Pentiment — FAQ
- Which is better, Return of the Obra Dinn or Pentiment?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Return of the Obra Dinn sits at 96.5% positive (17,928 reviews), Pentiment at 94.7% (4,985). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Return of the Obra Dinn or Pentiment first?
- If you want chronology, Return of the Obra Dinn (2018) came out before Pentiment (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 Return of the Obra Dinn and Pentiment similar?
- They overlap on 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.
- Do Return of the Obra Dinn and Pentiment both run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — both are Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve confirms they run with full controller support, legible text, and default settings out of the box.