Choose Deadside
Choose Deadside if you want an Adventure experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2024) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 15,911 Steam reviews back the pick.
Deadside vs Desperation
Deadside and Desperation both land in Action, Indie, Massively Multiplayer 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, Massively Multiplayer on Steam. Desperation (2021) is 3 years older than Deadside (2024). Desperation is currently ~50% cheaper on Steam than Deadside (4.99 USD vs. 9.99 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 Desperation
Choose Desperation if you want an Early Access game with LAN PvP and LAN Co-op. On Steam, it's currently about 50% cheaper on the Steam Store. Desperation launched in 2021.
Both Deadside and Desperation sit in Action, Indie, and Massively Multiplayer on Steam and both list Multi-player, MMO, and Online PvP, 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
 Deadside |  Desperation | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024 | 2021 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Adventure, Massively Multiplayer | Action, Indie, Massively Multiplayer, Early Access |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Unrated |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 4.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 76.4% positive (15,911 reviews) | 2 reviews |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op | Multi-player, Online Co-op, LAN Co-op |
| Developers | Bad Pixel | EXBOTS |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie, Massively Multiplayer on Steam.
- Desperation (2021) is 3 years older than Deadside (2024).
- Desperation is currently ~50% cheaper on Steam than Deadside (4.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Deadside is Deck Unsupported on Steam Deck; Desperation has no Deck rating yet.
Deadside vs Desperation — FAQ
- Should I play Deadside or Desperation first?
- If you want chronology, Desperation (2021) came out before Deadside (2024). 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 Deadside and Desperation similar?
- They overlap on Action, Indie, Massively Multiplayer 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 Deadside and Desperation have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Deadside ships Online Co-op, Co-op; Desperation ships Online Co-op, LAN Co-op.