Choose Paladins®
Choose Paladins® if you want a Strategy, Massively Multiplayer, and Free To Play experience. On Steam, it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. 127,515 Steam reviews back the pick.
Paladins® vs Second Wave
Paladins® and Second Wave both land in Action, Adventure 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, Adventure on Steam. Paladins® (2018) is 6 years older than Second Wave (2024). Paladins® scores higher on Steam reviews (82.1% positive) than Second Wave (63.3% 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 Second Wave
Choose Second Wave if you want an Indie, RPG, and Early Access game with Online Co-op and Co-op. On Steam, it's the newer release (2024) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Second Wave launched in 2024.
Both Paladins® and Second Wave sit in Action and Adventure on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online PvP, and PvP, 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
 Paladins® |  Second Wave | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2024 |
| Genres | Action, Strategy, Adventure, Massively Multiplayer, Free To Play | Action, Indie, Adventure, RPG, Early Access |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Deck Unsupported |
| Price | Free to play | Price unknown |
| Steam reviews | 82.1% positive (127,515 reviews) | 63.3% positive (60 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer, Online Co-op |
| Developers | Evil Mojo Games | Challengers Games Corp. |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Adventure on Steam.
- Paladins® (2018) is 6 years older than Second Wave (2024).
- Paladins® scores higher on Steam reviews (82.1% positive) than Second Wave (63.3% positive).
- Paladins® is free; Second Wave is paid (Price unknown).
- Second Wave has co-op; Paladins® does not.
- Both are Deck Unsupported.
Paladins® vs Second Wave — FAQ
- Should I play Paladins® or Second Wave first?
- If you want chronology, Paladins® (2018) came out before Second Wave (2024). 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 Paladins® and Second Wave similar?
- They overlap on Action, Adventure 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 Paladins® free?
- Yes — Paladins® is a free-to-play Steam title. Second Wave is paid (Price unknown).