Choose Return of the Obra Dinn
Choose Return of the Obra Dinn if it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 17,928 Steam reviews back the pick.
Return of the Obra Dinn vs The bird of the North
Return of the Obra Dinn and The bird of the North 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. Return of the Obra Dinn (2018) is 8 years older than The bird of the North (2026). Return of the Obra Dinn is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; The bird of the North has no Deck rating yet. 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 The bird of the North
Choose The bird of the North if you want the Custom Volume Controls, Stereo Sound, and Narrated Game Menus side of the pairing. On Steam, it's the newer release (2026) and ships with the modern feature baseline. The bird of the North launched in 2026.
Both Return of the Obra Dinn and The bird of the North 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
 Return of the Obra Dinn |  The bird of the North | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2026 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure | Indie, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | 19.99 USD | Price unknown |
| Steam reviews | 96.5% positive (17,928 reviews) | — |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Lucas Pope | Uvost |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- Return of the Obra Dinn (2018) is 8 years older than The bird of the North (2026).
- Return of the Obra Dinn is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; The bird of the North has no Deck rating yet.
Return of the Obra Dinn vs The bird of the North — FAQ
- Should I play Return of the Obra Dinn or The bird of the North first?
- If you want chronology, Return of the Obra Dinn (2018) came out before The bird of the North (2026). 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 The bird of the North 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 Return of the Obra Dinn run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Return of the Obra Dinn is rated Deck Verified by Valve. The bird of the North doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.