Choose Waves
Choose Waves if it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. Waves launched in 2011.
Waves vs Spark
Waves and Spark 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 6 years older than Spark (2017). Waves scores higher on Steam reviews (95.6% positive) than Spark (86.4% 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 Spark
Choose Spark if you want a Free To Play and Casual experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2017) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Spark launched in 2017.
Both Waves and Spark sit in Action and Indie on Steam and both list Steam Leaderboards, 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 |  Spark | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2011 | 2017 |
| Genres | Action, Indie | Action, Indie, Free To Play, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Unrated |
| Price | Free to play | Free to play |
| Steam reviews | 95.6% positive (884 reviews) | 86.4% positive (22 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Squid In A Box Ltd | Knightmare Games, Limited |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie on Steam.
- Waves (2011) is 6 years older than Spark (2017).
- Waves scores higher on Steam reviews (95.6% positive) than Spark (86.4% positive).
- Both are free to play.
- Waves is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Spark has no Deck rating yet.
Waves vs Spark — FAQ
- Should I play Waves or Spark first?
- If you want chronology, Waves (2011) came out before Spark (2017). 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 Spark 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 run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Waves is rated Deck Verified by Valve. Spark doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.