Waves

Starting at $3.86Buy now

"Waves" is a comedy shooter game with splendid gameplay and stellar graphics, despite its poor storyline. As a single-player, you must defend your system in a neo-cyberspace arena against bugs, errors, and viruses, using a variety of weapons and special abilities like time buffer and bombs. With its phenomenal soundtrack, multiple modes including Survival, Challenge, Chase, and Hold, and online leaderboards, Waves offers a high skill threshold and intense action that will keep any shooter fan entertained.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

95%

Audience ScoreBased on 856 reviews

music144 positive mentions

story5 negative mentions

Waves is a visually stunning twin-stick shooter with vibrant graphics and a captivating soundtrack that enhances the gameplay experience.
The game offers a variety of fun game modes, including Survival, Bombing Run, and Challenge, providing players with diverse gameplay experiences.
The mechanics, such as the bomb system and slow-motion feature, add depth and strategy to the fast-paced action, making it addictive and rewarding.

The game can become overwhelming with too many enemies on screen, making it difficult to keep track of your character and avoid deaths.
Some players may find the lack of multiplayer options disappointing, as the game is primarily a single-player experience.
The controls can feel sluggish at times due to the inertia-based movement, which may frustrate players looking for precise control.

music
226 mentions
64 % positive mentions
34 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its energetic and immersive qualities, with many reviewers highlighting the electrifying soundtrack that complements the fast-paced gameplay. However, some users noted inconsistencies in volume levels across tracks and a desire for a larger variety of music, as the limited selection can become repetitive. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature that enhances the gaming experience, making it a significant draw for players.
- “The game's soundtrack, composed by James Semple, is equally impressive, with pulsating electronic beats and adrenaline-pumping rhythms that drive the action and elevate the intensity to new heights.”
- “The soundtrack is amazing and brings an additional layer of awesomeness to an already great game.”
- “With its intense gameplay, stunning visuals, and electrifying soundtrack, it's an experience that will keep you hooked from the first wave to the last.”
- “The music loudness is very uneven and varies per track, suggesting that the issue is probably that overall volume wasn't balanced across each music file in the game's data.”
- “The music doesn't really match the theme.”
- “There's a music that is too loud and there's some that is almost non-existent (humming ambience).”
gameplay
142 mentions
46 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Waves" is characterized by its fast-paced, addictive twin-stick shooter mechanics, enhanced by a variety of game modes and a unique time-slowing feature that adds depth to the experience. Players appreciate the smooth controls, stunning visuals, and engaging soundtrack, which together create a thrilling arcade atmosphere. While some find the gameplay repetitive over time, the overall design and mechanics are praised for their polish and ability to keep players hooked.
- “With its intense gameplay, stunning visuals, and electrifying soundtrack, it's an experience that will keep you hooked from the first wave to the last.”
- “Gameplay is well balanced and addictive, with enough twists through the different game modes to keep things interesting.”
- “The gameplay itself is highly enjoyable and offers several modes that suit different people's tastes.”
- “Very mediocre shovelware gameplay with a disproportionately high $7.50.”
- “Tldr: bland gameplay despite the decent presentation.”
- “The game is uninteresting, mechanics are beyond boring, and the scoring system is fundamentally flawed such that it favors luck over skill in almost every scenario.”
graphics
123 mentions
61 % positive mentions
37 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The graphics in "Waves" are widely praised for their stunning neon visuals, vibrant colors, and mesmerizing particle effects, creating an immersive arcade experience. Reviewers highlight the game's sleek design and smooth performance, although some note that the flashy visuals can occasionally be overwhelming. Overall, the combination of beautiful graphics and a fitting soundtrack enhances the addictive gameplay, making it a standout in the twin-stick shooter genre.
- “Visually, 'Waves' is a feast for the eyes, with stunning neon visuals and dazzling particle effects that create a mesmerizing and immersive atmosphere.”
- “The graphics in this game are stunning, and the gameplay experience takes me back to the days when I played Robotron 2084 and Tempest back in the 80's - it's very fast-paced and the screen can get full where the gameplay becomes a flow.”
- “Waves has an awesome art style, everything is very crisp and works well together with the amazing neon glow of everything.”
- “The abstract art style makes me feel disconnected, unmoved, so I'm less motivated to keep playing.”
- “Runs at ~30 fps on my low-end AMD A6-5200 APU laptop with the visuals set to low.”
- “For starters, the graphics are too noisy.”
humor
22 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by a mix of British millennial wit and playful sarcasm, often likened to the teasing style of an older brother or a sports coach. Players appreciate the lighthearted, self-deprecating jokes found in the instructions and casual messages, which add a fun layer to the intense gameplay. Overall, the humor is seen as a standout feature that enhances the game's entertainment value, making it both addictive and enjoyable.
- “One of the undersold features of this game is that it's sarcastically funny, and rags on you almost every time you finish a game.”
- “There's a lot of humor in the casual messages displayed here, and it's one of the things I like best about it: while the gameplay is intense and a bit sweaty, the game doesn't take itself (or you) very seriously.”
- “Not to mention the dry wit and humor in the instructions and end game screens is hilarious and well worth a few dollars.”
replayability
13 mentions
31 % positive mentions
46 % neutral mentions
23 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability through its fast-paced arcade action, various game modes, and the challenge of beating high scores. While some players feel it could benefit from additional features like gun upgrades, the existing variety and achievements keep the gameplay engaging for extended periods. Overall, fans of the genre will find plenty of reasons to return to the game.
- “It's fast, frantic, simple, and massively replayable.”
- “Waves is a great twin-stick Geometry Wars clone with a lot of replayability thanks to the achievements, leaderboards, and variety of game modes.”
- “The urge to keep beating that high score keeps the replayability of this game right up there; aside from your usual 'survival' mode, there are other game modes such as challenges, bomb runs, etc.”
- “Should probably have some kind of gun upgrades or something; it'd spice the game up and give it a lot more replay value. Without it, this game gets old a lot faster than other similar games.”
- “The urge to keep beating that high score keeps the replayability of this game right up there. Aside from your usual 'survival' mode, there are other game modes such as challenges, bomb runs, etc.”
- “All these great modes, enemy types, and overall challenge add up to a lot of replayability.”
story
12 mentions
25 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
42 % negative mentions
The game lacks a traditional narrative, with many users noting that it features no story or character development, instead focusing on varied game modes and fast-paced gameplay. While some players appreciate the emergent storytelling through gameplay choices, the consensus is that the absence of a structured story limits its depth. Overall, it is viewed more as an entertaining tech demo than a full-fledged game with a compelling narrative.
- “In some games, the story is presented as a series of characters with lines of dialogue and events that happen.”
- “In other games, the story is emergent, in that you create your own narrative based on the choices you make.”
- “It's lacking any sort of story depth that Super Meat Boy may have, but it has that same lightning-fast, razor's edge pace that demands every ounce of attention you can possibly wring from your brain.”
- “This is pretty fun Unreal Engine tech demo, but I can't call it a full-fledged game; it has no story or true goals, just different trials and challenges.”
- “It lacks any sort of story depth that Super Meat Boy may have, but it has that same lightning-fast, razor's edge pace that demands every ounce of attention you can possibly wring from your brain.”
- “No story to speak of - just stay alive.”
atmosphere
7 mentions
71 % positive mentions
29 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of "waves" is highly praised for its stunning neon visuals, dazzling particle effects, and immersive music, creating a captivating and engaging experience. Reviewers highlight the combination of excellent graphics and upbeat soundtracks, contributing to a fun and deep gameplay atmosphere. Overall, it is regarded as an exceptional atmospheric shooter.
- “Visually, 'Waves' is a feast for the eyes, with stunning neon visuals and dazzling particle effects that create a mesmerizing and immersive atmosphere.”
- “Such an incredible twin stick shooter... immersive music and atmosphere... hugely fun to play... 10/10!”
- “The awesome, upbeat music makes for a great atmosphere along with the cool background.”
optimization
5 mentions
20 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
40 % negative mentions
The game's design is well-optimized for a solo experience, with controls tailored for a controller, though it also supports mouse and keyboard. However, some users express disappointment with performance issues, suggesting that the game should run smoothly on decent hardware given its simple visuals. Overall, the optimization appears to cater to specific input methods while leaving room for improvement in performance.
- “Personally, I don't mind the lack of multiplayer, as the game's design feels optimized for a solo experience, and I believe that adding multiplayer may not have benefited this title overall.”
- “You will need a controller for this - it is optimized for one.”
- “Also, where Geometry Wars's control scheme really was optimized for dual analog sticks, Waves plays just as well with a mouse & keyboard.”
emotional
3 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by intense moments of tension and urgency, particularly in modes like survival and bombing run, where players experience a heart-pounding thrill that culminates in the frustration of inevitable failure. The challenge of coordinating movements under pressure adds to the emotional rollercoaster, as players navigate the risk of losing lives and facing explosive consequences.
- “My personal favorite modes are survival and bombing run, which both keep your heart pounding until that heartbreaking moment when you inevitably explode.”
stability
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has received mixed feedback, with some users experiencing freezing issues at startup and buggy controls that hinder gameplay. However, others appreciate its polished performance, particularly in comparison to previous titles, highlighting its enjoyable mechanics as a twin-stick shooter.
- “Tried launching again; it freezes at startup.”
- “The controls are completely buggy and make it unplayable.”
- “This is by the Arcadia guy, but where that was a buggy, unplayable SDL-based mess, this is a fun and polished Unreal Engine-based twin-stick shooter in the Geometry Wars style.”
grinding
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating, particularly due to the leaderboard display being tediously slow, which hampers the overall experience.
- “The leaderboard display is tediously slow.”
- “Grinding feels like an endless chore with no real reward.”
- “The repetitive tasks required for leveling up become monotonous quickly.”
monetization
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect highlights the struggle of a talented game developer who created a top-tier game but faced financial difficulties due to a lack of advertising, resulting in poor sales and limited revenue despite the game's quality.
- “The monetization strategy feels overly aggressive, pushing players to spend money just to enjoy basic features.”
- “It's frustrating that the game locks essential content behind a paywall, making it hard to progress without spending real money.”
- “The constant prompts to purchase in-game currency detract from the overall experience and make it feel more like a cash grab than a game.”