Battle Brothers vs Blood of Steel
Battle Brothers is an open-world RPG game from Overhype Studios (2017) while Blood of Steel is a mmorpg RPG game from YC Games (2020).
What each one is
Steam files Battle Brothers under Open-World and RPG. In contrast, it files Blood of Steel under Mmorpg and RPG.
Lead a mercenary company in this tactical RPG set in a medieval fantasy world. Chase fame and fortune as you choose where to go, who to recruit, which contracts to pursue, and how to train and equip your men in a procedurally generated open world campaign.
"Blood of Steel" is a fair competitive multiplayer online game. You will ride into a battlefield where thousands clash, employing unique four-directional slashing maneuvers and strategic formations to defeat your opponents, experiencing the charm of warfare in the age of cold weapons!
At a glance
| Battle Brothers | Blood of Steel | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.7/10 | 6.4/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (88%, 28,671) | Mostly Positive (75%, 6,901) |
| Critic aggregate | 80/100 | No aggregate |
| Price | $8.99 | Free |
| Install size | 2 GB | 60 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | unsupported |
| Released | 2017 | 2020 |
| Developer | Overhype Studios | YC Games |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Battle Brothers vs Blood of Steel, 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.
Genre and premise
Battle BrothersOpen-world RPG gameBlood of SteelMmorpg RPG gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Battle BrothersStrategy, RPG, MedievalBlood of SteelHack and Slash, RPG, MedievalThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Battle Brothers ✓Score 7.7 · 88% on Steam · 80 criticBlood of SteelScore 6.4 · 75% on SteamThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Battle Brothers28,671 reviews · 9 add-ons · 2 GBBlood of Steel6,901 reviews · 2 add-ons · 60 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Battle Brothers$8.99Blood of Steel ✓FreeRead live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Battle Brothers ✓PlayableBlood of SteelUnsupportedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Battle Brothers takes 2 of the marked rounds to 1. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueBattle Brothers and Blood of Steel 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
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
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
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: Battle Brothers (GamingPickz Score 7.7)
- The cheaper right now: Blood of Steel (Free)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Battle Brothers (playable)
- Lighter on storage: Battle Brothers (2 GB)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Battle Brothers (28,671 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
StrategyRPGMedievalWarSandboxTacticalActionHistorical
Where they differ
Open WorldTurn-Based TacticsTurn-Based StrategyCharacter CustomizationSimulationTactical RPG
Hack and SlashFree to PlayMultiplayerPvPMassively MultiplayerHorses
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Battle Brothers is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Blood of Steel is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Battle Brothers | Blood of Steel | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | NVIDIA Geforce GT 430 |
| Minimum CPU | — | Intel Core i5 4-Core Processor and above |
| Minimum RAM | — | 12 GB |
| Install size | 2 GB | 60 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Battle Brothers · Blood of Steel.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Battle Brothers and 0 for Blood of Steel. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Battle Brothers and Blood of Steel in scope?
Battle Brothers has drawn 28,671 Steam reviews, ships 9 add-ons and installs in 2 GB. Blood of Steel has drawn 6,901 Steam reviews, ships 2 add-ons and installs in 60 GB.
Is Battle Brothers or Blood of Steel better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Battle Brothers rates higher (7.7 to 6.4). 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, Battle Brothers or Blood of Steel?
Blood of Steel is cheaper right now at Free, against $8.99. 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.
Related comparisons
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.