Merchant RPG vs Re
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Merchant RPG
Manage a fantasy shopkeeping empire by sending heroes on quests for materials and using crafters to create gear. Balance crafting, selling, and hero upgrades to build your trade empire and conquer foes. This offline idle RPG blends tycoon mechanics with traditional RPG elements.
- Send heroes on quests
- Craft weapons and armor
- Manage shop economy
- Upgrade heroes and crafters
- Raid bosses
- Customize characters
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Be the Merchant of your very own empire! Quest, Craft, Profit, Upgrade! As the Merchant, you are the commander of your own domain! Blending together traditional RPG systems, tycoon mechanics, and a fantasy overworld, Merchant aims to reimagine the traditional mobile RPG. In Merchant, players take the role of a shopkeeper who must manage a team of Heroes and Crafters. Heroes are sent out on quests in order to fight enemies and gather materials. Crafters then use those materials to create weapons and armor. As the shopkeeper, players must balance their micro-economies between selling items for gold and crafting items to better ensure success for the Heroes. * * * TAKE REIGN OF YOUR MARKET - Send Heroes out on epic adventures! - Pay Crafters to create gear! - Earn gold and dictate the direction of your economy! - Grow your inventory and profit from your trade empire! VICTORY THROUGH CONQUEST - Choose your cast of characters from multiple Hero classes! - Ride out to battle to bring back items and loot! - Customize your champions with weapons and armor! - Band together to raid powerful bosses as a party! - Better performance leads to greater rewards! CRAFT YOUR LEGACY - Utilize the unique Crafters to create items and gear to use and sell! - Train the Crafters to create better items, allowing them to master their trade! - Ensure the victory of your Heroes by outfitting them with superior items! * * *
Re
Experience a nostalgic, top-down solo RPG reminiscent of classic MMOs. Level up, reincarnate, collect ingredients, upgrade gear, and recruit pets to build your character. Enjoy a deep system with simple controls for a laid-back gaming experience.
- Leveling and Reincarnation
- Stat Point Assignment
- Ingredient Collection
- Equipment Upgrading
- Pet Recruitment (including bosses)
- Arena Battles
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Re:END is a laid-back, top-down solo-mode RPG, that feels like those great MMOs from the good old days, RE:END features simple smartphone controls and an in-depth system with leveling, reincarnation, pets, equipment upgrades, an arena, ingredients, and more! Experience an RPG with all the elements that made MMORPGs from the good old days (late 2000s) so great, right from your smartphone. ▼Leveling and Reincarnation What would an MMO be without leveling! Nothing beats the feeling of overcoming adversity, discovering new and better ways to farm exp, and growing stronger with each level. Assign stat points each time you level up, respec and reincarnate. Grow stronger, and build your character your way. ▼Collecting Ingredients and Upgrading Weapons Collect ingredients to improve your equipment by defeating powerful monsters and fishing. Fight stronger monsters, face new challenges and prepare for the next power spike! ▼Pets All enemies can join you, even bosses (some arena monsters are off limits)! There can be as little as a 0.3% chance that some enemies will join you when defeated. The odds may be slim, but that feeling of payoff when it happens is incredible!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Re at every 10 days against Merchant RPG's every 4 months. Re also leads on review sentiment (82% vs 69%). Merchant RPG's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 12.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. Merchant RPG sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and Re sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Merchant RPG against 4.7 for Re. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 276 and 513 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 69% of Merchant RPG's written reviews are positive against 82% of Re's.
Merchant RPG ships an update every 4 months, Re every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Merchant RPG | Re |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (276 ratings) | 4.7 (513 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 68.9% of reviews | 82.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 276 | 513 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 67 MB | 232 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Retora Game Studios | PONIX LLC |
Customer experience
Merchant RPG
Re
User reviews
Merchant RPG
From 276 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Addictive gameplay
- 👍 Simple yet deep mechanics
- 🎨 Lovely pixel art style
- 💰 Fair monetization model
- ⏱️ Quick progression
Room to improve
- 🔇 Cuts off background audio
- 🤔 Confusing for new players
- 🤖 Lack of combat animations
- 🧠 Repetitive gameplay loop
Re
From 513 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Unique leveling system
- 👍 Engaging pet systems
- 👍 Endless progression
- 👍 Simple yet fun gameplay
- 👍 Retro-style graphics
Room to improve
- 🐛 Lost progress/data issues
- 🐛 Unclear progression and lack of direction
- 🔒 Difficulty contacting developer
- 🔒 Unavailable features in global version
- 🔋 Grindy gameplay can be tedious
Bugs and requests
Merchant RPG
Reported bugs
3 issues- Ads not working properly
- Inventory management issues
- Progression-blocking bugs
Requested features
4 requests- Add save slots or cloud sync
- Improve equipment visuals
- Implement auto-repeat quests
- Provide more guidance for new players
Re
Reported bugs
4 issues- Golem boss not respawning properly
- Upgrade materials not working as intended
- Permanent loading screen issue
- Inconsistent drop rates for certain items
Requested features
5 requests- Add map or guide to help progression
- Implement save/load system
- Provide option to remove ads
- Allow customization of pet formation while adventuring
- Add ability to contact developer for support
In-app purchases
Merchant RPG
- 16 Inventory Slots$0.99
- 16 Additional Inventory Slots II$0.99
- 16 Additional Inventory Slots III$0.99
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- 16 Additional Inventory Slots$0.99
- Unlock the Jeweler$0.99
- Hero Slot I$0.99
- Hero Slot II$0.99
- Enchanter Unlock$1.99
- Unlock all Shop Themes$2.99
- Frozen Tome Expansion$2.99
- Scribe Expansion$3.99
- Unlocks Everything$14.99
Re
- crystal 10$0.99
- crystal 55$4.99
- crystal 180$14.99
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- crystal 500$29.99
- crystal 1200$59.99
- crystal 3000$118.99







