IMHO.

The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark vs Rivals

The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark and Rivals both land in 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 are Indie games on Steam. Rivals (2020) is 1 year older than The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark (2021). Rivals scores higher on Steam reviews (100% positive) than The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark (95.4% 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 The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark

Choose The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark if you want an Adventure and Casual game with Camera Comfort, Custom Volume Controls, and Playable without Timed Input. On Steam, it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark launched in 2021.

Choose Rivals

Choose Rivals if it's currently about 60% cheaper on the Steam Store. Rivals launched in 2020.

Both The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark and Rivals sit in Indie 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

The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark vs Rivals — Steam metadata comparison
The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark — Steam game coverThe Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the DarkRivals — Steam game coverRivals
Released20212020
GenresIndie, Adventure, CasualIndie
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxWindows
Steam DeckDeck VerifiedUnrated
Price14.99 USD5.99 USD
Steam reviews95.4% positive (877 reviews)100% positive (47 reviews)
MultiplayerSingle-player onlySingle-player only
DevelopersSpooky DoorwayOwlskip Games

Side by side

The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark vs Rivals — FAQ

Should I play The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark or Rivals first?
If you want chronology, Rivals (2020) came out before The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark (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 The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark and Rivals similar?
They overlap on 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 The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark run on Steam Deck?
Yes — The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark is rated Deck Verified by Valve. Rivals doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.
The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark vs Rivals · imho.run