Choose Cold Waters
Choose Cold Waters if you want an Indie experience. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 87.3% positive across 3,472 reviews.
Cold Waters vs War on the Sea
Cold Waters and War on the Sea both land in Strategy, Simulation 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 Strategy, Simulation on Steam. Cold Waters (2017) is 4 years older than War on the Sea (2021). Cold Waters scores higher on Steam reviews (87.3% positive) than War on the Sea (76.1% 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 War on the Sea
Choose War on the Sea if it's the newer release (2021) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 2,315 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Cold Waters and War on the Sea sit in Strategy and Simulation 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
 Cold Waters |  War on the Sea | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2017 | 2021 |
| Genres | Strategy, Indie, Simulation | Strategy, Simulation |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Playable |
| Price | 39.99 USD | 39.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 87.3% positive (3,472 reviews) | 76.1% positive (2,315 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Killerfish Games | Killerfish Games |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Simulation on Steam.
- Cold Waters (2017) is 4 years older than War on the Sea (2021).
- Cold Waters scores higher on Steam reviews (87.3% positive) than War on the Sea (76.1% positive).
- War on the Sea is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than Cold Waters (39.99 USD vs. 39.99 USD).
- Both are Deck Playable.
Cold Waters vs War on the Sea — FAQ
- Which is better, Cold Waters or War on the Sea?
- On Steam reviews Cold Waters scores higher (87.3% positive) than War on the Sea (76.1% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Cold Waters is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Cold Waters or War on the Sea first?
- If you want chronology, Cold Waters (2017) came out before War on the Sea (2021). 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 Cold Waters and War on the Sea similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Simulation 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.