Should I play The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark or Detectives United: Deadly Debt Collector's Edition first?

If you want chronology, The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark (2021) came out before Detectives United: Deadly Debt Collector's Edition (2022). 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.

The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark vs Detectives United: Deadly Debt Collector's Edition

The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark and Detectives United: Deadly Debt Collector's Edition both land in Adventure, 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 Adventure, Casual on Steam. The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark (2021) is 1 year older than Detectives United: Deadly Debt Collector's Edition (2022). Detectives United: Deadly Debt Collector's Edition is currently ~60% cheaper on Steam than The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark (5.99 USD vs. 14.99 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 The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark

Choose The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark if you want an Indie 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 Detectives United: Deadly Debt Collector's Edition

Choose Detectives United: Deadly Debt Collector's Edition if it's currently about 60% cheaper on the Steam Store. Detectives United: Deadly Debt Collector's Edition launched in 2022.

Both The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark and Detectives United: Deadly Debt Collector's Edition sit in Adventure and Casual 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.

The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark vs Detectives United: Deadly Debt Collector's Edition — Steam metadata comparison
	The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark	Detectives United: Deadly Debt Collector's Edition
Released	2021	2022
Genres	Indie, Adventure, Casual	Adventure, Casual
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows
Steam Deck	Deck Verified	Unrated
Price	14.99 USD	5.99 USD
Steam reviews	95.4% positive (877 reviews)	5 reviews
Multiplayer	Single-player only	Single-player only
Developers	Spooky Doorway	Elephant Games

Side by side

Both share Adventure, Casual on Steam.
The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark (2021) is 1 year older than Detectives United: Deadly Debt Collector's Edition (2022).
Detectives United: Deadly Debt Collector's Edition is currently ~60% cheaper on Steam than The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark (5.99 USD vs. 14.99 USD).
The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Detectives United: Deadly Debt Collector's Edition has no Deck rating yet.