Choose Waves
Choose Waves if it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. Waves launched in 2011.
Waves vs Trigonarium
Waves and Trigonarium 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 4 years older than Trigonarium (2015). Waves scores higher on Steam reviews (95.6% positive) than Trigonarium (93.9% 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 Trigonarium
Choose Trigonarium if you want the Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Shared/Split Screen Co-op side of the pairing. On Steam, it's the newer release (2015) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Trigonarium launched in 2015.
Both Waves and Trigonarium sit in Action and Indie on Steam and both list Steam Leaderboards, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (95.6% vs 93.9% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Waves |  Trigonarium | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2011 | 2015 |
| Genres | Action, Indie | Action, Indie |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | Free to play | 0.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.6% positive (884 reviews) | 93.9% positive (49 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | Squid In A Box Ltd | Kimmo Lahtinen |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie on Steam.
- Waves (2011) is 4 years older than Trigonarium (2015).
- Waves scores higher on Steam reviews (95.6% positive) than Trigonarium (93.9% positive).
- Waves is free; Trigonarium is paid (0.99 USD).
- Trigonarium has co-op; Waves does not.
- Waves is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Trigonarium has no Deck rating yet.
Waves vs Trigonarium — FAQ
- Should I play Waves or Trigonarium first?
- If you want chronology, Waves (2011) came out before Trigonarium (2015). 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 Trigonarium 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.
- Does Waves have multiplayer like Trigonarium?
- No. Trigonarium supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op), while Waves is listed as single-player only.
- Is Waves free?
- Yes — Waves is a free-to-play Steam title. Trigonarium is paid (0.99 USD).
- Does Waves run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Waves is rated Deck Verified by Valve. Trigonarium doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.