Choose Project Winter
Choose Project Winter if you want an Action and Adventure experience. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 86.9% positive across 4,737 reviews.
Project Winter vs Pretend
Project Winter and Pretend both land in Strategy, Indie, Casual 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 Strategy, Indie, Casual on Steam. Project Winter (2019) is 2 years older than Pretend (2021). Project Winter scores higher on Steam reviews (86.9% positive) than Pretend (58% 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 Pretend
Choose Pretend if you want a Massively Multiplayer, Free To Play, and Early Access experience. 1,094 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Project Winter and Pretend sit in Strategy, Indie, and Casual on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online PvP, 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
 Project Winter |  Pretend | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2019 | 2021 |
| Genres | Action, Strategy, Indie, Adventure, Casual | Strategy, Indie, Massively Multiplayer, Free To Play, Casual, Early Access |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | 1.99 USD | Price unknown |
| Steam reviews | 86.9% positive (4,737 reviews) | 58% positive (1,094 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer, Online Co-op | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer, Online Co-op |
| Developers | Other Ocean Interactive | whitesquare |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Indie, Casual on Steam.
- Project Winter (2019) is 2 years older than Pretend (2021).
- Project Winter scores higher on Steam reviews (86.9% positive) than Pretend (58% positive).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Project Winter is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Pretend has no Deck rating yet.
Project Winter vs Pretend — FAQ
- Which is better, Project Winter or Pretend?
- On Steam reviews Project Winter scores higher (86.9% positive) than Pretend (58% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Project Winter is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Project Winter or Pretend first?
- If you want chronology, Project Winter (2019) came out before Pretend (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 Project Winter and Pretend similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Indie, Casual 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 Project Winter and Pretend have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Project Winter ships Online Co-op, Co-op; Pretend ships Online Co-op, Co-op.
- Does Project Winter run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Project Winter is rated Deck Verified by Valve. Pretend doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.