Choose Shield Impact
Choose Shield Impact if you want the Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Shared/Split Screen Co-op side of the pairing. On Steam, it's currently about 60% cheaper on the Steam Store. Shield Impact launched in 2018.
Shield Impact vs Santa Protects the Christmas Tree
Shield Impact and Santa Protects the Christmas Tree both land in Action, 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, Indie on Steam. Shield Impact (2018) is 3 years older than Santa Protects the Christmas Tree (2021). Shield Impact is currently ~60% cheaper on Steam than Santa Protects the Christmas Tree (1.99 USD vs. 4.99 USD). 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 Santa Protects the Christmas Tree
Choose Santa Protects the Christmas Tree if you want a Casual experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2021) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Santa Protects the Christmas Tree launched in 2021.
Both Shield Impact and Santa Protects the Christmas Tree sit in Action and Indie on Steam and both list Steam Leaderboards, 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
 Shield Impact |  Santa Protects the Christmas Tree | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2021 |
| Genres | Action, Indie | Action, Indie, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | 1.99 USD | 4.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 81.8% positive (22 reviews) | 2 reviews |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op | Single-player only |
| Developers | Magitech Games | Sasasoft |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie on Steam.
- Shield Impact (2018) is 3 years older than Santa Protects the Christmas Tree (2021).
- Shield Impact is currently ~60% cheaper on Steam than Santa Protects the Christmas Tree (1.99 USD vs. 4.99 USD).
- Shield Impact has co-op; Santa Protects the Christmas Tree does not.
Shield Impact vs Santa Protects the Christmas Tree — FAQ
- Should I play Shield Impact or Santa Protects the Christmas Tree first?
- If you want chronology, Shield Impact (2018) came out before Santa Protects the Christmas Tree (2021). 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 Shield Impact and Santa Protects the Christmas Tree similar?
- They overlap on Action, 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.
- Does Santa Protects the Christmas Tree have multiplayer like Shield Impact?
- No. Shield Impact supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op), while Santa Protects the Christmas Tree is listed as single-player only.