Single-player games like Waves
Below are 13 single-player Steam games similar to Waves, ranked by player overlap. Every pick carries Steam's Single-player category, so multiplayer-only titles or always-online games don't sneak in. imho.run pulls the category data from Steam directly — Single-player here matches what the store labels.
Want the full alternatives list (paid + free + Steam Deck + cheaper picks)? See the parent games like Waves page.
Ranked picks
- 1
Waves 2: Notorious
Single-player alternative to Waves — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action with Waves.
Waves 2: Notorious is an arcade twin-stick shooter set in Cyberspace. Build Combos, earn Adrenaline and unleash powerful Burst attacks as you Dive into the Net and do battle against an AI that adapts to your weaknesses!
- 2
SynthEscape
Single-player alternative to Waves — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action with Waves.
A Synthwave-themed shoot 'em up (heavy on the vibes) where grazing enemy fire charges your bullet-slowing field and builds your score. Play through 5 levels in solo or co-op with leaderboard support. '80s vibes meet precision shmup gameplay. Graze Bullets. Bend Time. Break the Future.
- 3
Demeter
Single-player alternative to Waves — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Waves.
An arcade twin stick shooter that tests reaction times and decision making. Designed for short sessions on the train with your Deck, or waiting for the next queue to pop, Demeter is all about action, skill and high scores.
- 4
Pengame
Single-player alternative to Waves — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Waves.
Play as the stickman you drew in your school notebook to defeat the ultimate evil: the TEACHER!
- 5
PERFECT MATTER
Single-player alternative to Waves — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Waves.
Amass independently powerful upgrades that synergize into world shaking phenomena, and use them to lay waste to countless entities across a dying universe.
- 6
Pew-casso
Single-player alternative to Waves — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Waves.
Choose your loadout, choose your art brushes, and blast your way to a masterpiece! Pew-casso is a top-down action-roguelite shooter where you defeat enemies to level up and create a piece of art. The longer you last, the more complex your unique piece of art will become.
- 7
Destropolis
Single-player alternative to Waves — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Waves.
Destropolis is a top-down shooter game with a fully destructible environment, hundreds of enemies and nuclear explosions. Fight a countless swarm of enemies. Tear them to pieces with bullets, lasers and explosions. Destroy as many of them as you can before they overwhelm you...
- 8
Debris Infinity
Single-player alternative to Waves — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Waves.
Be elusive! Be intense! Be constant! Put your reflexes to the limit, manipulating time itself to make impossible maneuvers, using an advance scoring system to rank your performance!
- 9
Everyday Shooter
Single-player alternative to Waves — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie with Waves.
Everyday Shooter is an album of games exploring the expressive power of abstract shooters. Dissolute sounds of destruction are replaced with guitar riffs harmonizing over an all-guitar soundtrack, while modulating shapes celebrate the flowing beauty of geometry.
- 10
Crimsonland
Single-player alternative to Waves — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Waves.
Thousands of aliens, giant spiders, mutant lizards, and more are on the attack - can you survive the onslaught? Crimsonland is a top-down shooter with a touch of RPG. Unlock over 30 weapons and over 50 perks from quirky to brutal. Complete the quest and show your skills in five survival modes.
- 11
Nex Machina
Single-player alternative to Waves — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Waves.
Nex Machina is an intense arcade style twin-stick shooter from Housemarque. Taking hints from both Robotron and Smash TV, Nex Machina focuses on pure action, voxel destruction and competition in the distant, cablepunk themed future.
- 12
Tempest: Pirate Action RPG
Single-player alternative to Waves — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Waves.
Tempest is a Pirate Open World Action RPG where you rove the seas across three continents filled with dozens of colonies and forts, hundreds of quests and countless ships to plunder. Customize your ship, trade, challenge fellow pirates and face mythical monsters such as the Kraken and Leviathan!
- 13
Vampire Survivors
Single-player alternative to Waves — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Action and Indie with Waves.
Mow down thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn! Vampire Survivors is a gothic horror casual game with rogue-lite elements, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you. Be the bullet hell!