Choose Z: The End
Choose Z: The End if you want a Casual game with Camera Comfort, Custom Volume Controls, and Playable without Timed Input. On Steam, it's currently about 75% cheaper on the Steam Store. Z: The End launched in 2018.
Z: The End vs Plains of Pain
Z: The End and Plains of Pain both land in Action, 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 Action, Indie, Adventure on Steam. Z: The End (2018) is 5 years older than Plains of Pain (2023). Z: The End is currently ~75% cheaper on Steam than Plains of Pain (4.99 USD vs. 19.99 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 Plains of Pain
Choose Plains of Pain if you want a Simulation, Massively Multiplayer, and RPG game with Multi-player, Online PvP, and Online Co-op. On Steam, it's the newer release (2023) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Plains of Pain launched in 2023.
Both Z: The End and Plains of Pain sit in Action, 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
 Z: The End |  Plains of Pain | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2023 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Adventure, Casual, Early Access | Action, Indie, Adventure, Simulation, Massively Multiplayer, RPG, Early Access |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Deck Playable |
| Price | 4.99 USD | 19.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 4 reviews | 84.4% positive (423 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Multi-player, Online Co-op, LAN Co-op |
| Developers | Ridgeline Studios | Cobra Byte Digital |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- Z: The End (2018) is 5 years older than Plains of Pain (2023).
- Z: The End is currently ~75% cheaper on Steam than Plains of Pain (4.99 USD vs. 19.99 USD).
- Plains of Pain has co-op; Z: The End does not.
- Plains of Pain is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; Z: The End has no Deck rating yet.
Z: The End vs Plains of Pain — FAQ
- Should I play Z: The End or Plains of Pain first?
- If you want chronology, Z: The End (2018) came out before Plains of Pain (2023). 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 Z: The End and Plains of Pain similar?
- They overlap on Action, 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 Z: The End have multiplayer like Plains of Pain?
- No. Plains of Pain supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player, Online Co-op, LAN Co-op), while Z: The End is listed as single-player only.