Shadow Arena vs Vainglory
Shadow Arena is an action-RPG fighting game from Pearl Abyss (2020) while Vainglory is an RPG strategy game from Super Evil Megacorp (2019).
What each one is
Steam files Shadow Arena under Action-RPG and Fighting. In contrast, it files Vainglory under RPG and Strategy.
Shadow Arena Early Access has ended. A heartfelt thank you to all the players who walked with us on this journey.
Vainglory is an award winning free-to-play cross-platform MOBA featuring incredible graphics, precision controls and competitive gameplay parity across all platforms. Vainglory lets you party with your friends and match up with players around the world on desktop or mobile!
At a glance
| Shadow Arena | Vainglory | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 5.2/10 | 5.8/10 |
| Steam rating | Mixed (56%, 5,421) | Mixed (66%, 4,164) |
| Critic aggregate | No aggregate | No aggregate |
| Price | Not listed | Not listed |
| Install size | 20 GB | 3 GB |
| Steam Deck | unsupported | Untested |
| Released | 2020 | 2019 |
| Developer | Pearl Abyss | Super Evil Megacorp |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Shadow Arena vs Vainglory, 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
Shadow ArenaAction-RPG fighting gameVaingloryRPG strategy gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Shadow ArenaAction, Free to Play, Battle RoyaleVaingloryFree to Play, Strategy, MOBAThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Shadow ArenaScore 5.2 · 56% on SteamVainglory ✓Score 5.8 · 66% on SteamThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Shadow Arena5,421 reviews · 20 GBVainglory4,164 reviews · 3 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Shadow ArenaNot listedVaingloryNot listedRead live from Steam and subject to change.
Vainglory 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 catalogueShadow Arena and Vainglory 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: Vainglory (GamingPickz Score 5.8)
- Lighter on storage: Vainglory (3 GB)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
ActionFree to PlayMassively MultiplayerPvPStrategyRPGMOBACompetitive
Where they differ
Battle RoyaleFightingAction RPGHack and SlashMMORPGOnline Co-Op
Team-BasedSexual ContentNudity
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Shadow Arena is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Vainglory is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Shadow Arena and 0 for Vainglory. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Shadow Arena and Vainglory in scope?
Shadow Arena has drawn 5,421 Steam reviews and installs in 20 GB. Vainglory has drawn 4,164 Steam reviews and installs in 3 GB.
Is Shadow Arena or Vainglory better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Vainglory rates higher (5.8 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, Shadow Arena or Vainglory?
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.
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.