IMHO.

Arise: A Simple Story vs Forgotten Spirits

Arise: A Simple Story and Forgotten Spirits both land in 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 Indie, Adventure on Steam. Arise: A Simple Story (2020) is 1 year older than Forgotten Spirits (2021). Forgotten Spirits scores higher on Steam reviews (92.9% positive) than Arise: A Simple Story (91.8% 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 Arise: A Simple Story

Choose Arise: A Simple Story if it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. Arise: A Simple Story launched in 2020.

Choose Forgotten Spirits

Choose Forgotten Spirits if you want a Casual experience. On Steam, it's currently about 50% cheaper on the Steam Store. Forgotten Spirits launched in 2021.

Both Arise: A Simple Story and Forgotten Spirits sit in Indie and Adventure on Steam and both list Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Shared/Split Screen Co-op, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (91.8% vs 92.9% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.

Side-by-side comparison

Arise: A Simple Story vs Forgotten Spirits — Steam metadata comparison
Arise: A Simple Story — Steam game coverArise: A Simple StoryForgotten Spirits — Steam game coverForgotten Spirits
Released20202021
GenresIndie, AdventureIndie, Adventure, Casual
PlatformsWindowsWindows
Steam DeckDeck VerifiedUnrated
Price19.99 USD9.99 USD
Steam reviews91.8% positive (831 reviews)92.9% positive (14 reviews)
MultiplayerMulti-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-opMulti-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op
DevelopersPiccolo StudioStudio Frostbit

Side by side

Arise: A Simple Story vs Forgotten Spirits — FAQ

Should I play Arise: A Simple Story or Forgotten Spirits first?
If you want chronology, Arise: A Simple Story (2020) came out before Forgotten Spirits (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 Arise: A Simple Story and Forgotten Spirits similar?
They overlap on 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.
Do both Arise: A Simple Story and Forgotten Spirits have co-op?
Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Arise: A Simple Story ships Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op; Forgotten Spirits ships Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op.
Does Arise: A Simple Story run on Steam Deck?
Yes — Arise: A Simple Story is rated Deck Verified by Valve. Forgotten Spirits doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.
Arise: A Simple Story vs Forgotten Spirits (2026) · imho.run