Comparison

Dictator 2 vs Cultist Simulator

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

Head to head
About

Dictator 2

Assume the role of a young dictator in a fledgling republic. Make critical decisions, manage factions, build your army, and conquer territories to expand your influence globally. Your goal is to maintain power and seize as much land as possible.

Highlights
  • Make over 2,000 critical decisions
  • Manage 6 distinct factions
  • Build your own army
  • Conquer and develop territories
  • Weave plots and unravel conspiracies
  • Prevent revolutions
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Meet the sequel to one of the best strategic games in the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, Russia, UK and many other countries! You are the young dictator of a fledgling democratic republic. Anyone would dream of being in your place, because you wield unlimited power. You must make wise and timely decisions, eliminate scheming enemies, pay tributes to true friends, deftly uncover plots, and expose insidious conspiracies. When a better tomorrow in your country is no longer a dream, you can go even further! Conquer the rest of the world. Form your own army and defeat your glorious dictatorship's most treacherous foes! Skillfully develop captured territories and lead your people to a great future of despotism! Dictate the fashion of the day to millions of people – their gaze is riveted upon you alone. Your task is to remain being dictator as long as possible and seize as much territory as you can! Good luck! Experience this unique mix of card battles, strategy and the game’s prequel - Dictator: Revolt! - Determine your approach to each of the 6 factions! - Form your own army and lead it to victory! - Make more than 2,000 critical decisions! - Build oil derricks, banks, prisons and propaganda broadcasting towers! - Weave plots and unravel conspiracies! - Prevent revolutions!

About

Cultist Simulator

A challenging roguelike narrative card game where you play as a seeker of forbidden knowledge. Experiment with rituals, summon entities, and ascend to become a herald of a new age in a Lovecraftian 1920s setting.

Highlights
  • Challenging roguelike gameplay
  • Story-driven legacy system
  • Intense, immersive narrative
  • Choice-based storytelling
  • Lovecraftian world
  • Card combination mechanics
Read full description

SEIZE FORBIDDEN TREASURES. SUMMON ALIEN GODS. FEED ON YOUR DISCIPLES. BE WARNED. This game has no tutorial - part of the challenge is figuring out how to play. It's hard, but keep trying, and you'll master it. Good luck! In this infamous roguelike narrative card game, play as a seeker after unholy mysteries in a 1920s-themed setting of hidden gods and secret histories. Become a scholar of the unseen arts. Craft tools and summon spirits. Indoctrinate innocents. Seize your place as the herald of a new age. Cultist Simulator was first released on PC and has more than 200,000 players all over the world. Now we’re bringing the cosmic mysteries of Cultist Simulator to mobile. • Challenging roguelike gameplay - There is never only one history. Cultist Simulator doesn’t hold your hand. Experiment, expire and transcend death with a story-driven legacy system. Over time you’ll learn enough to wrestle the game to its knees. • Intense, immersive narrative – Combine cards to tell your own story. A hefty novel’s worth of choice-based storytelling, from the creator of Fallen London and Sunless Sea. There are many paths through this game of ambition, appetite and abomination, and many ways your tale can end. • A rich Lovecraftian world – Corrupt your friends and consume your enemies. Search your dreams for sanity-twisting rituals. Translate grimoires and glean their lore. Penetrate the realm of the Hours and win a place in their service. Cultist Simulator brings the peripheral horror of Lovecraft’s tales to an entirely new setting. Expand your knowledge with the DLCs: New Legacies, New Ascensions, New Mechanics... • The Dancer - Join the Bacchanal • The Priest - Knock, and Ye Shall Be Opened • The Ghoul - Taste of the graveyard's fruit • The Exile - Some there are who will not yield If you encounter any issue with the game, please click on “Contact us” at the bottom of this page and give us as many details as possible regarding the issue and your device: https://playdigious.helpshift.com/hc/en/11-cultist-simulator/?p=ios

Screenshots

Dictator 24 screens
Cultist Simulator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Cultist Simulator at none against Dictator 2's shown. Cultist Simulator also leads on review sentiment (73% vs 41%) and rating (4.8 vs 4.4). Dictator 2's advantage is price ($0.99 vs $6.99) and update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months). On in-app purchases 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

Dictator 2 costs $0.99 and Cultist Simulator $6.99 up front. Dictator 2 sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and Cultist Simulator sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cultist Simulator holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cultist Simulator has 4.2K ratings behind it against 228, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 41% of Dictator 2's written reviews are positive against 73% of Cultist Simulator's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dictator 2 ships an update monthly, Cultist Simulator every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Dictator 2 versus Cultist Simulator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDictator 2Cultist Simulator
Price$0.99 — better$6.99
Rating4.4 (228 ratings)4.8 (4.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews40.7% of reviews72.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2284.2K — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#130#25 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS10.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size257 MB331 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperDmitrii KuzmenkoPlaydigious

Customer experience

Dictator 2

All ratings228 ratings
Positive82.5%
Neutral6.6%
Negative11.0%
Written reviews91 reviews
Positive40.7%
Neutral15.4%
Negative44.0%

Cultist Simulator

All ratings4,221 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral1.6%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews368 reviews
Positive72.6%
Neutral9.5%
Negative17.9%

User reviews

Dictator 2

From 228 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Engaging and fun gameplay mechanics
  • 🧠 Challenging strategy-based gameplay
  • 🌍 World domination concept is addictive
  • 🎨 Good visual design and presentation
  • ♻️ High replayability value

Room to improve

  • 💰 Aggressive pay-to-win mechanics despite paid purchase
  • ⏱️ Extremely slow progression without spending money
  • 😤 Unfair difficulty balance favoring spending players
  • 🔄 Unbalanced card mechanics and gameplay
  • 📱 Poor UI/UX design and unintuitive menus

Cultist Simulator

From 4.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤯 Fascinating and mysterious
  • 🎨 Beautiful atmosphere and writing
  • 🕰️ Compelling time management gameplay
  • 🕵️ Rewarding sense of discovery
  • 💡 Unique and innovative concept

Room to improve

  • 🤯 Steep learning curve with no tutorial
  • 🕰️ Intense time pressure and resource management
  • 🧠 Confusing mechanics and unclear objectives
  • 🧭 Frustrating lack of progress and repeated failures
  • 🔍 Difficult to keep track of cards and game state

Bugs and requests

Dictator 2

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • Integer overflow causing negative cash values
  • Cards cannot be used during war battles
  • Game crashes on startup for some devices
  • Incompatibility with iPhone 12 and newer models
  • Card purchase menu glitches requiring game restart
Show 6 more
  • Card upgrades reset to level one after updates
  • Duplicate UI elements appearing on screen
  • Restore purchases not working properly
  • Charged multiple times for single card pack purchase
  • Card unlocking glitches
  • Confusing tutorial battle mechanics

Requested features

12 requests
  • Skip tutorial button for returning players
  • Difficulty settings for new and veteran players
  • Ability to use in-game currency for card upgrades
  • Negotiation mechanics to prevent attacks
  • Game continuation after losing home territory
Show 7 more
  • Regional management upgrades persistence
  • Better explanation of game mechanics and terms
  • Faster territory structure upgrade management
  • More avatar and customization options
  • Additional decision scenarios with varied consequences
  • Account progression/boosts that persist after loss
  • Defense mechanics beyond invasion strategy

Cultist Simulator

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional crashes and save file issues
  • Disappearing cards and UI elements
  • Inability to access certain features like the club

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add tutorial or in-game hints
  • Provide more accessibility options for text size
  • Implement save/load system to avoid losing progress
  • Add DLC content like the Dancer storyline
  • Improve card organization and UI layout

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Dictator 2

One-time9
  • 100 Tyrants$0.99
  • 250 Tyrants$1.99
  • Cards bundle$1.99
Show 6 more
  • Scenario - The Threat from Great Asia$1.99
  • 700 Tyrants$2.99
  • Cards bundle$3.99
  • 700 Tyrants$4.99
  • 3500 Tyrants$24.99
  • 8000 Tyrants$49.99
5 purchases

Cultist Simulator

One-time5
  • The Dancer$1.99
  • The Priest$1.99
  • The Ghoul$1.99
Show 2 more
  • The Exile$4.99
  • Forbidden Bundle$6.99

Questions

Is Dictator 2 free?
Dictator 2 costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Cultist Simulator free?
Cultist Simulator costs $6.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Dictator 2 or Cultist Simulator?
Cultist Simulator is rated higher. Dictator 2 averages 4.4 out of 5 from 228 ratings, while Cultist Simulator averages 4.8 from 4.2K ratings.
Do Dictator 2 or Cultist Simulator have ads?
Dictator 2 shows ads; Cultist Simulator does not.
Which is updated more often, Dictator 2 or Cultist Simulator?
Dictator 2 ships an update monthly, and Cultist Simulator every 2 months. Most recently, Dictator 2 was updated on September 29, 2026 and Cultist Simulator on October 2, 2026.
Which is more popular, Dictator 2 or Cultist Simulator?
Dictator 2 currently peaks at #130 in the App Store charts, and Cultist Simulator at #25. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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