Choose Dungeon Defenders
Choose Dungeon Defenders if you want the Steam Leaderboards and Valve Anti-Cheat enabled side of the pairing. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 93% positive across 8,635 reviews.
Dungeon Defenders vs Dungeon Defenders: Awakened
Dungeon Defenders and Dungeon Defenders: Awakened both land in Action, Strategy, Indie 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 Action, Strategy, Indie on Steam. Dungeon Defenders (2011) is 9 years older than Dungeon Defenders: Awakened (2020). Dungeon Defenders scores higher on Steam reviews (93% positive) than Dungeon Defenders: Awakened (68.3% 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 Dungeon Defenders: Awakened
Choose Dungeon Defenders: Awakened if you want an Adventure game with Shared/Split Screen Co-op. On Steam, it's the newer release (2020) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 2,272 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Dungeon Defenders and Dungeon Defenders: Awakened sit in Action, Strategy, and Indie on Steam and both list Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Online Co-op, 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
 Dungeon Defenders |  Dungeon Defenders: Awakened | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2011 | 2020 |
| Genres | Action, Strategy, Indie, RPG | Action, Strategy, Indie, Adventure, RPG |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Deck Playable |
| Price | 2.99 USD | 3.74 USD |
| Steam reviews | 93% positive (8,635 reviews) | 68.3% positive (2,272 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op |
| Developers | Chromatic Games | Chromatic Games |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Strategy, Indie on Steam.
- Dungeon Defenders (2011) is 9 years older than Dungeon Defenders: Awakened (2020).
- Dungeon Defenders scores higher on Steam reviews (93% positive) than Dungeon Defenders: Awakened (68.3% positive).
- Dungeon Defenders is currently ~20% cheaper on Steam than Dungeon Defenders: Awakened (2.99 USD vs. 3.74 USD).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Steam Deck: Dungeon Defenders is Deck Unsupported, Dungeon Defenders: Awakened is Deck Playable.
Dungeon Defenders vs Dungeon Defenders: Awakened — FAQ
- Which is better, Dungeon Defenders or Dungeon Defenders: Awakened?
- On Steam reviews Dungeon Defenders scores higher (93% positive) than Dungeon Defenders: Awakened (68.3% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Dungeon Defenders is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Dungeon Defenders or Dungeon Defenders: Awakened first?
- If you want chronology, Dungeon Defenders (2011) came out before Dungeon Defenders: Awakened (2020). 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 Dungeon Defenders and Dungeon Defenders: Awakened similar?
- They overlap on Action, Strategy, Indie 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 both Dungeon Defenders and Dungeon Defenders: Awakened have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Dungeon Defenders ships Online Co-op, Co-op; Dungeon Defenders: Awakened ships Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op.