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 SWARMRIDERS
Waves and SWARMRIDERS 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 5 years older than SWARMRIDERS (2016). Waves scores higher on Steam reviews (95.6% positive) than SWARMRIDERS (88.4% 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 SWARMRIDERS
Choose SWARMRIDERS if you want a Free To Play experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2016) and ships with the modern feature baseline. SWARMRIDERS launched in 2016.
Both Waves and SWARMRIDERS 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 |  SWARMRIDERS | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2011 | 2016 |
| Genres | Action, Indie | Action, Indie, Free To Play |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Verified |
| Price | Free to play | Free to play |
| Steam reviews | 95.6% positive (884 reviews) | 88.4% positive (328 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Squid In A Box Ltd | Walter Machado |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie on Steam.
- Waves (2011) is 5 years older than SWARMRIDERS (2016).
- Waves scores higher on Steam reviews (95.6% positive) than SWARMRIDERS (88.4% positive).
- Both are free to play.
- Both are Deck Verified.
Waves vs SWARMRIDERS — FAQ
- Which is better, Waves or SWARMRIDERS?
- On Steam reviews Waves scores higher (95.6% positive) than SWARMRIDERS (88.4% 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 SWARMRIDERS first?
- If you want chronology, Waves (2011) came out before SWARMRIDERS (2016). 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 SWARMRIDERS 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.
- Do Waves and SWARMRIDERS both run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — both are Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve confirms they run with full controller support, legible text, and default settings out of the box.