Choose Waves
Choose Waves if you want the Steam Leaderboards side of the pairing. On Steam, it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. Waves launched in 2011.
Waves vs Soundodger 2
Waves and Soundodger 2 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 12 years older than Soundodger 2 (2023). Both sit near 95% positive on Steam (Waves: 884 reviews, Soundodger 2: 149). 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 Soundodger 2
Choose Soundodger 2 if you want a Casual experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2023) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Soundodger 2 launched in 2023.
Both Waves and Soundodger 2 sit in Action and Indie on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (95.6% vs 95.3% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Waves |  Soundodger 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2011 | 2023 |
| Genres | Action, Indie | Action, Indie, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Playable |
| Price | Free to play | 19.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.6% positive (884 reviews) | 95.3% positive (149 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Squid In A Box Ltd | Studio Bean |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie on Steam.
- Waves (2011) is 12 years older than Soundodger 2 (2023).
- Both sit near 95% positive on Steam (Waves: 884 reviews, Soundodger 2: 149).
- Waves is free; Soundodger 2 is paid (19.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: Waves is Deck Verified, Soundodger 2 is Deck Playable.
Waves vs Soundodger 2 — FAQ
- Which is better, Waves or Soundodger 2?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Waves sits at 95.6% positive (884 reviews), Soundodger 2 at 95.3% (149). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Waves or Soundodger 2 first?
- If you want chronology, Waves (2011) came out before Soundodger 2 (2023). 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 Soundodger 2 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. Soundodger 2 is paid (19.99 USD).