Choose Waves
Choose Waves if it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 95.6% positive across 884 reviews.
Waves vs Swarmlake
Waves and Swarmlake 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 7 years older than Swarmlake (2018). Waves scores higher on Steam reviews (95.6% positive) than Swarmlake (92.9% 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 Swarmlake
Choose Swarmlake if you want a Casual experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2018) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Swarmlake launched in 2018.
Both Waves and Swarmlake 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 |  Swarmlake | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2011 | 2018 |
| Genres | Action, Indie | Action, Indie, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Verified |
| Price | Free to play | 4.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.6% positive (884 reviews) | 92.9% positive (928 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Squid In A Box Ltd | Dominique Grieshofer |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie on Steam.
- Waves (2011) is 7 years older than Swarmlake (2018).
- Waves scores higher on Steam reviews (95.6% positive) than Swarmlake (92.9% positive).
- Waves is free; Swarmlake is paid (4.99 USD).
- Both are Deck Verified.
Waves vs Swarmlake — FAQ
- Which is better, Waves or Swarmlake?
- On Steam reviews Waves scores higher (95.6% positive) than Swarmlake (92.9% 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 Swarmlake first?
- If you want chronology, Waves (2011) came out before Swarmlake (2018). 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 Swarmlake 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. Swarmlake is paid (4.99 USD).
- Do Waves and Swarmlake 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.