Choose Nidhogg
Choose Nidhogg if it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 4,059 Steam reviews back the pick.
Nidhogg vs Lupinball
Nidhogg and Lupinball both land in Action, Sports, 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 share Action, Sports, Indie on Steam. Nidhogg (2014) is 3 years older than Lupinball (2017). Lupinball scores higher on Steam reviews (92.3% positive) than Nidhogg (91.2% 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 Lupinball
Choose Lupinball if you want a Strategy and Casual experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2017) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Lupinball launched in 2017.
Both Nidhogg and Lupinball sit in Action, Sports, and Indie on Steam and both list Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Steam Leaderboards, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (91.2% vs 92.3% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Nidhogg |  Lupinball | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2014 | 2017 |
| Genres | Action, Sports, Indie | Action, Sports, Strategy, Indie, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 9.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 91.2% positive (4,059 reviews) | 92.3% positive (39 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Multi-player |
| Developers | Messhof | Craftven |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Sports, Indie on Steam.
- Nidhogg (2014) is 3 years older than Lupinball (2017).
- Lupinball scores higher on Steam reviews (92.3% positive) than Nidhogg (91.2% positive).
- Lupinball is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than Nidhogg (9.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
- Nidhogg is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Lupinball has no Deck rating yet.
Nidhogg vs Lupinball — FAQ
- Should I play Nidhogg or Lupinball first?
- If you want chronology, Nidhogg (2014) came out before Lupinball (2017). 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 Nidhogg and Lupinball similar?
- They overlap on Action, Sports, 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 Nidhogg run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Nidhogg is rated Deck Verified by Valve. Lupinball doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.