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Prime World vs Shadow Arena

Prime World is an action-RPG mmorpg game from Nival (2014) while Shadow Arena is an action-RPG fighting game from Pearl Abyss (2020).

Prime World

2014 · Nival

5.6GamingPickz Score

Not listed

Steam: Mixed

Shadow Arena

2020 · Pearl Abyss

5.2GamingPickz Score

Not listed

Steam: Mixed

What each one is

Steam files Prime World under Action-RPG and Mmorpg. In contrast, it files Shadow Arena under Action-RPG and Fighting.

Prime World

Prime World is a free online game in RPG / MOBA genre with a unique universe where tactical session battles, castle management, and hero development are mixed together. Gather your collection of talents, build an army of invincible heroes and become the champion!

Description from its Steam store page

Shadow Arena

Shadow Arena Early Access has ended.​ A heartfelt thank you to all the players​ who walked with us on this journey.​

Description from its Steam store page

At a glance

Prime WorldShadow Arena
GamingPickz Score5.6/105.2/10
Steam ratingMixed (59%, 3,762)Mixed (56%, 5,421)
Critic aggregate65/100No aggregate
PriceNot listedNot listed
Install size2.93 GB20 GB
Steam DeckUntestedunsupported
Released20142020
DeveloperNivalPearl Abyss

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

Prime World vs Shadow Arena, 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

    Prime WorldAction-RPG mmorpg game
    Shadow ArenaAction-RPG fighting game

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

  2. How it plays

    Prime WorldFree to Play, MOBA, RPG
    Shadow ArenaAction, Free to Play, Battle Royale

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

  3. Reception

    Prime WorldScore 5.6 · 59% on Steam · 65 critic
    Shadow ArenaScore 5.2 · 56% on Steam

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

  4. Content and scale

    Prime World3,762 reviews · 1 add-on · 2.93 GB
    Shadow Arena5,421 reviews · 20 GB

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

  5. Price

    Prime WorldNot listed
    Shadow ArenaNot listed

    Read live from Steam and subject to change.

Prime World takes 1 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

Prime World and Shadow Arena 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

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

See the whole grid

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: Prime World (GamingPickz Score 5.6)
  • Lighter on storage: Prime World (2.93 GB)

What they have in common

Both are tagged by Steam players with:

Free to PlayMOBARPGMassively MultiplayerStrategyMultiplayerActionFantasy

Where they differ

Prime World is also

Team-BasedRTSe-sportsReplay ValueCharacter CustomizationSteampunk

Shadow Arena is also

Battle RoyaleFightingEarly AccessHack and SlashAnimeThird Person

Tags players apply to one game and not the other.

Difficulty and who each is for

By the tags players apply, Prime World is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Shadow Arena is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.

Accessibility features

Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Prime World and 0 for Shadow Arena. A declaration is a floor, not a review.

If you like one, also try

Close to Prime World
Close to Shadow Arena

Common questions

How different are Prime World and Shadow Arena in scope?

Prime World has drawn 3,762 Steam reviews, ships 1 add-on and installs in 2.93 GB. Shadow Arena has drawn 5,421 Steam reviews and installs in 20 GB.

Is Prime World or Shadow Arena better?

By the GamingPickz Score, Prime World rates higher (5.6 to 5.2). 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, Prime World or Shadow Arena?

One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.

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.

More on each