Comparison

Wavecade vs Elderand

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Wavecade

Experience classic arcade shooter nostalgia with a modern twist. Manipulate time, collect powerups, and utilize unique abilities to overcome challenging waves, hazards, and epic bosses. Customize your ship and compete with friends in various game modes.

Highlights
  • Time manipulation mechanics
  • Upgradeable powerups
  • Player abilities for survival
  • Block shooting and destruction
  • Hazard avoidance and strategic use
  • Epic boss battles
  • Local and online multiplayer
  • Multiple game modes
  • Ship and visual customization
Features
Read full description

Inspired by classic arcade shooters such as 'Space Invaders' and 'Galaga', Wavecade brings back the original nostalgia feeling to players from arcades, using sleek retro 80's and sci-fi aesthetic. TIME MANIPULATION: Bend time at your will by moving up and down the screen. After each wave, the game speeds up a small amount. making the game more challenging on each new wave. POWERUPS: You can accumulate multiple powerups at the same time. Collecting the same powerup upgrades it and increases your time with them active. ABILITIES: Activate your ability when you are facing near certain destruction to turn the tables of the game. It might be the one thing that saves you from a GAME OVER. BLOCKS: Blocks spawn at the top of the playfield and move down the screen. Line up your shots and shoot them for points. They can come in a variety of types: Blocks can spawn randomly, in rows, in a single stream, or in a pattern spanning the playfield HAZARDS: Hazards can appear at any time and can lose you a life if you happen to hit any of them. They can help destroy blocks if you're agile enough, could be a blessing in disguise. BOSSES: Get far enough in Wavecade and you will find yourself in epic encounters with bosses. They will have an arsenal of abilities to GAME OVER you. Learn their patterns and overcome them. MULTIPLAYER: Invite or join a friend on Steam and destroy waves of blocks. Your scores are saved to the leader boards with your names. How long can you stay #1? VARIETY OF GAME MODES: Competitive Relaxed One-hit KO No blocks shall pass Chaos Quick Game CUSTOMIZATION: Personalize your player choose from a selection of ships, colors, skins and your propulsion effect.

About

Elderand

Embark on a brutal, skill-based action platformer in a Lovecraftian world. Wield diverse weapons and customize your character with RPG elements to battle terrifying creatures and explore a dark, hand-drawn pixel environment. Collect loot to upgrade your arsenal and uncover the land's secrets.

Highlights
  • Skill-based combat
  • Metroidvania exploration
  • Lovecraftian horror themes
  • RPG character customization
  • Diverse weapon arsenal
  • Hand-drawn pixel art
  • Loot collection and crafting
Features
Read full description

Become the hero of an epic quest in Elderand, a metroidvania that will test your will and skill. Heads will literally roll in this gruesome, retro-inspired action platformer, where only the strong will survive in brutal, skill-based combat against terrifying creatures. Through the darkness and madness, promised glory awaits. Wield a variety of killing instruments and abilities to test your metal against towering, bone-chilling bosses. Explore a twisted Lovecraftian world shrouded in darkness and madness. RPG elements allow you to customize your battle experience to your liking, from your character’s appearance to skills, stats, and weapons. Slay or be slain as you collect glory and treasure in this nightmarish 2D world. Glory and riches await those who can spill the required blood and guts to collect it. KEY FEATURES: •Wield an arsenal of killing devices, including whips, swords, daggers, axes, bows, and more. From a magical staff that shoots bursts of energy to a giant sword, different weapons have different stats and capabilities, so find the ones that you enjoy battling beasts with the most! •Satisfying Metroidvania-style exploration meets terrifying Lovecraftian creatures in this detailed hand-drawn pixel world with glorious gothic aesthetics and handcrafted level design. •RPG elements let you customize your experience to best suit your play style, from your character’s appearance to their skills, stats, and weapons. Collect loot from exploration and fallen enemies and then use it to upgrade your weapons via crafting. •Travel to the many corners of this perilous land, such as an inviting village with merchants, a forest, a temple prison, floating islands, a cursed Cathedral, and the hellscape that is Elderand itself. •More than 60 different enemy types and around a dozen bosses for your slaying pleasure. •Collect lost letters and other correspondence from the poor souls who came before you to learn more about the darkness taking hold of this grim land.

Screenshots

Wavecade4 screens
Elderand4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Wavecade at Free against Elderand's $6.99. Elderand's advantage is review sentiment (74% vs 30%) and rating (4.2 vs 3.7). On ratings volume, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Wavecade is free to download; Elderand costs $6.99 up front. Wavecade sells 12 one-off in-app purchases. Elderand asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Elderand holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 70 and 36 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 30% of Wavecade's written reviews are positive against 74% of Elderand's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Wavecade ships an update fortnightly, Elderand weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Wavecade versus Elderand: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWavecadeElderand
PriceFree — better$6.99
Rating3.7 (70 ratings)4.2 (36 ratings) — better
Positive reviews29.6% of reviews73.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings70 — better36
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size312 MB818 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperAndrew SpalatoPlug In Digital

Customer experience

Wavecade

All ratings69 ratings
Positive60.9%
Neutral8.7%
Negative30.4%
Written reviews54 reviews
Positive29.6%
Neutral20.4%
Negative50.0%

Elderand

All ratings36 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral11.1%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews38 reviews
Positive73.7%
Neutral7.9%
Negative18.4%

Bugs and requests

Wavecade

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Elderand

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • Permanent crashes
  • Character spawning underneath level
  • R button for subweapon not working on Steelseries Nimbus
  • Dash function not working
  • Game freezing for a moment
Show 6 more
  • Bosses getting stuck in attack animations
  • Campfire menu broken (cannot select options)
  • Lost save data after updates
  • D-pad moves on screen and becomes unusable
  • Joystick teleports to random spots
  • Virtual joystick bug with attack key

Requested features

7 requests
  • Full controller remapping for bindings
  • Multiplayer PvP 'Invasions' system
  • Cloud saves (iCloud)
  • Adjustable button layout and size
  • Ability to track materials acquired
Show 2 more
  • New game+ option
  • Boss replayability

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Wavecade

One-time12
  • 100K XP$0.79
  • Double XP$0.99
  • Wavecade - Ships Pack$1.49
Show 9 more
  • Wavecade - 500K XP$1.49
  • Wavecade - Propulsions Pack$2.99
  • Small Brilliants Pack$2.99
  • Wavecade - 5 Million XP Pack$4.99
  • Wavecade - Designs Pack$5.99
  • Medium Brilliants Pack$5.99
  • Wavecade - Ultimate Pack$9.99
  • Large Brilliants Pack$19.99
  • Mega Brilliants Pack$59.99
None

Elderand

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Wavecade free?
Wavecade is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Elderand free?
Elderand costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Wavecade or Elderand?
Elderand is rated higher. Wavecade averages 3.7 out of 5 from 70 ratings, while Elderand averages 4.2 from 36 ratings.
Do Wavecade or Elderand have ads?
Neither Wavecade nor Elderand shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Wavecade or Elderand?
Wavecade ships an update fortnightly, and Elderand weekly. Most recently, Wavecade was updated on October 5, 2026 and Elderand on October 9, 2026.

Other comparisons