Choose Waves
Choose Waves if you want the Steam Leaderboards side of the pairing. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 95.6% positive across 884 reviews.
Waves vs Lithium City
Waves and Lithium City both land in Action, Indie on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Action, Indie on Steam. Waves (2011) is 9 years older than Lithium City (2020). Waves scores higher on Steam reviews (95.6% positive) than Lithium City (91.8% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Lithium City
Choose Lithium City if it's the newer release (2020) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Lithium City launched in 2020.
Both Waves and Lithium City sit in Action and Indie on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Waves |  Lithium City | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2011 | 2020 |
| Genres | Action, Indie | Action, Indie |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | Free to play | 7.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.6% positive (884 reviews) | 91.8% positive (233 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Squid In A Box Ltd | Nico Tuason |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie on Steam.
- Waves (2011) is 9 years older than Lithium City (2020).
- Waves scores higher on Steam reviews (95.6% positive) than Lithium City (91.8% positive).
- Waves is free; Lithium City is paid (7.99 USD).
- Waves is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Lithium City has no Deck rating yet.
Waves vs Lithium City — FAQ
- Which is better, Waves or Lithium City?
- On Steam reviews Waves scores higher (95.6% positive) than Lithium City (91.8% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Waves is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Waves or Lithium City first?
- If you want chronology, Waves (2011) came out before Lithium City (2020). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Waves and Lithium City similar?
- They overlap on Action, Indie on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Is Waves free?
- Yes — Waves is a free-to-play Steam title. Lithium City is paid (7.99 USD).
- Does Waves run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Waves is rated Deck Verified by Valve. Lithium City doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.