GamingPickz
Game vs game · side by side

Across the Obelisk vs Darkest Dungeon

Across the Obelisk is a roguelike RPG game from Dreamsite Games (2022) while Darkest Dungeon is a horror roguelike game from Red Hook Studios (2016).

Across the Obelisk

2022 · Dreamsite Games

6.9GamingPickz Score

$19.99

Steam: Very Positive

Darkest Dungeon

2016 · Red Hook Studios

7.9GamingPickz Score

$3.74

Steam: Very Positive

What each one is

Steam files Across the Obelisk under Roguelike and RPG. In contrast, it files Darkest Dungeon under Horror and Roguelike.

Across the Obelisk

Set forth in a co-op roguelite deckbuilder where every choice matters! Craft decks of breathtaking power. Journey alone or with up to three friends. Plot your party’s path to glory and face powerful enemies in deep tactical combat on your quest to save the kingdom of Senenthia in Across the Obelisk!

Description from its Steam store page

Darkest Dungeon

Darkest Dungeon is a challenging gothic roguelike turn-based RPG about the psychological stresses of adventuring. Recruit, train, and lead a team of flawed heroes against unimaginable horrors, stress, disease, and the ever-encroaching dark. Can you keep your heroes together when all hope is lost?

Description from its Steam store page

At a glance

Across the ObeliskDarkest Dungeon
GamingPickz Score6.9/107.9/10
Steam ratingVery Positive (80%, 13,086)Very Positive (92%, 161,942)
Critic aggregateNo aggregate84/100
Price$19.99$3.74
Install size1 GB2 GB
Steam Deckplayableverified
Released20222016
DeveloperDreamsite GamesRed Hook Studios

Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.

Across the Obelisk vs Darkest Dungeon, point by point

Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.

  1. Genre and premise

    Across the ObeliskRoguelike RPG game
    Darkest DungeonHorror roguelike game

    What each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.

  2. How it plays

    Across the ObeliskRogue-like, Strategy, 2D
    Darkest DungeonTurn-Based Combat, Dark Fantasy, Dungeon Crawler

    The tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.

  3. Reception

    Across the ObeliskScore 6.9 · 80% on Steam
    Darkest DungeonScore 7.9 · 92% on Steam · 84 critic

    The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.

  4. Content and scale

    Across the Obelisk13,086 reviews · 15 add-ons · 1 GB
    Darkest Dungeon161,942 reviews · 7 add-ons · 2 GB

    Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.

  5. Price

    Across the Obelisk$19.99
    Darkest Dungeon$3.74

    Read live from Steam and subject to change.

  6. On a Steam Deck

    Across the ObeliskPlayable
    Darkest DungeonVerified

    Valve's own Deck compatibility rating.

Darkest Dungeon takes 3 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.

The two on the grid

Compare the whole catalogue

Across the Obelisk and Darkest Dungeon on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.

2 games have both

01000100PlayersPopularity

Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.

Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.

  • PC
  • PlayStation

Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.

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How positions are decided

No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
  • Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
  • Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
  • No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
  • A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
  • Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.

Which to pick, by what you want

  • The higher-rated of the two: Darkest Dungeon (GamingPickz Score 7.9)
  • The cheaper right now: Darkest Dungeon ($3.74)
  • Better on a Steam Deck: Darkest Dungeon (verified)
  • Lighter on storage: Across the Obelisk (1 GB)
  • The safer bet by weight of reviews: Darkest Dungeon (161,942 reviews)

What they have in common

Both are tagged by Steam players with:

Rogue-likeStrategy2DFantasySingleplayerRPGTurn-BasedRogue-lite

Where they differ

Across the Obelisk is also

Roguelike DeckbuilderCard GameCard BattlerMultiplayerCo-opDeckbuilding

Darkest Dungeon is also

Dark FantasyLovecraftianPerma DeathAtmosphericDarkIndie

Tags players apply to one game and not the other.

Difficulty and who each is for

By the tags players apply, Across the Obelisk is demanding, for players who want a challenge. Darkest Dungeon is demanding, for players who want a challenge.

System requirements, side by side

Across the ObeliskDarkest Dungeon
Minimum GPUOpen GL 3.2+ Compliant
Minimum CPU
Minimum RAM2 GB
Install size1 GB2 GB

Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Across the Obelisk · Darkest Dungeon.

Accessibility features

Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Across the Obelisk and 1 for Darkest Dungeon. A declaration is a floor, not a review.

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Common questions

How different are Across the Obelisk and Darkest Dungeon in scope?

Across the Obelisk has drawn 13,086 Steam reviews, ships 15 add-ons and installs in 1 GB. Darkest Dungeon has drawn 161,942 Steam reviews, ships 7 add-ons and installs in 2 GB.

Is Across the Obelisk or Darkest Dungeon better?

By the GamingPickz Score, Darkest Dungeon rates higher (7.9 to 6.9). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.

Which is cheaper, Across the Obelisk or Darkest Dungeon?

Darkest Dungeon is cheaper right now at $3.74, against $19.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.

Do you rank one above the other for a fee?

No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.

How we compare, and what we will not do

The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.

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