Comparison

Rust Bucket vs Despot's Game

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

Head to head
About

Rust Bucket

Embark on a turn-based dungeon crawl with simple swipe controls. Navigate treacherous environments, battle diverse monsters, and overcome deadly traps. This challenging game offers endless exploration and strategic combat, perfect for quick gaming sessions.

Highlights
  • Swipe to move and attack
  • Fast-paced gameplay
  • Puzzle traps
  • Diverse monster types
  • Endless dungeon exploration
  • Strategic combat
  • High score competition
Features
Read full description

Rust Bucket is a turn based dungeon crawler that is built with mobile in mind. Swipe to take a step, swipe into enemies to attack. It’s as simple as that, but don’t be fooled into thinking this is a casual game! • Navigate using simple swipe to move controls. • Game play is fast and death is never far away so it’s perfect for your daily commute. • Puzzle your way past deadly traps or use them to catch enemies. • Many monster types, each with their own distinctive rules to overcome. • Make your way through the levels to become a fully qualified looter • Explore an endless dungeon, with more to discover the deeper you go. • Become a master of strategic combat and reach the top scoring dungeon rooms. • Compete against your friends high scores on Game Centre Important information! This game is funded by adverts but is completely free to play with no timers or boosters to ruin your experience. There is an option to remove popup ads for a one off In app purchase. *Please note that this does not remove Cross Promotion ads for other Nitrome games* We hope you enjoy our little game. If you do please consider giving us a nice review, tell your friends and maybe try some of our other games.

About

Despot's Game

Build a dystopian army and guide them through a challenging labyrinth. This roguelike strategy game focuses on item and mutation choices, with automatic combat. Permadeath means starting over, but a secret multiplayer mode awaits those who conquer the game.

Highlights
  • Army building
  • Item and mutation customization
  • Automatic combat
  • Roguelike/roguelite gameplay
  • Permadeath with world regeneration
  • Secret multiplayer mode
Features
Read full description

Available for free: 4 levels of the game and 10 attempts per day in Brawl mode. The full version can be unlocked with one payment in the game. *Supported Devices: iPhone 8 Plus, Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2015) and above. iPod Touches are not supported. Let's play a game: I'll give you some puny humans, and you try to help them make it through my labyrinth. No, you won't be controlling them in battles - they'll fight automatically! My game is about strategy and praying to RNGesus, not mashing buttons. You can buy items for the humans: swords, crossbows, coffins, stale pretzels. Plus, I'll let you give them cool mutations! A few Topochlorians in the blood and some Crocodile Skin never hurt anyone. There's one catch, though: if you die, you have to start over entirely, and the whole world will be generated again from scratch. Yes, my game is a roguelike game. Well, roguelite, if you're a nerd who loves compartmentalizing us creators into strict genres. I almost forgot: my game has a multiplayer mode, too! But I'm not going to tell you anything about it, because King of the Hill is a special secret multiplayer mode that only unlocks once you beat the game. * sincerely, with disrespect for puny humans, your local evil AI: d'Spot

Screenshots

Rust Bucket4 screens
Despot's Game4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Rust Bucket at 4.0 against Despot's Game's 3.4. Rust Bucket also leads on review sentiment (72% vs 36%). Despot's Game's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Rust Bucket sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Despot's Game sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Rust Bucket holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 177 and 119 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Rust Bucket's written reviews are positive against 36% of Despot's Game's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Rust Bucket ships an update every 6 weeks, Despot's Game monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Rust Bucket versus Despot's Game: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRust BucketDespot's Game
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (177 ratings) — better3.4 (119 ratings)
Positive reviews72.3% of reviews — better36.4% of reviews
Number of ratings177 — better119
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksMonthly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size105 MB456 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperNitrometinyBuild LLC

Customer experience

Rust Bucket

All ratings177 ratings
Positive72.3%
Neutral6.2%
Negative21.5%
Written reviews311 reviews
Positive72.3%
Neutral7.4%
Negative20.3%

Despot's Game

All ratings119 ratings
Positive59.7%
Neutral8.4%
Negative31.9%
Written reviews198 reviews
Positive36.4%
Neutral8.6%
Negative55.1%

User reviews

Rust Bucket

From 177 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Fun puzzle game
  • 🚀 Addictive gameplay
  • 💎 Excellent pixel art and visuals
  • 🎨 Creative enemy designs
  • 🎶 Great soundtrack

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and progress loss
  • 🔁 Repetitive level design
  • 🕹️ Slow character movement
  • 💰 Expensive ad removal
  • 🔍 Lack of level variety

Despot's Game

From 119 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Epic game, epic difficulty
  • 🚀 Fun without end!
  • 👍 Great game, different
  • 👍 Nice game

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes around level 7-8
  • 🐛 Crashes frequently, losing progress
  • 🐛 Crashes on start
  • 🐛 Crashes, can't save progress
  • 🐛 Crashes, unplayable

Bugs and requests

Rust Bucket

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Progress reset when exiting levels
  • Level select screen locking completed levels
  • Compatibility issues on older devices
  • Clipboard copying behavior

Requested features

5 requests
  • More levels and content updates
  • Ability to save progress
  • Weapon/item upgrades and customization
  • Multiplayer or co-op mode
  • Level editor

Despot's Game

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on start
  • Crashes during gameplay
  • Crashes, losing progress

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add save/continue option
  • Fix crashes
  • Lower the price

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Rust Bucket

One-time4
  • Buy 50 Coins$0.99
  • Buy 200 Coins$1.99
  • Remove Ads$3.99
Show 1 more
  • Buy Coins 3$3.99
1 purchases

Despot's Game

One-time1
  • Despot's Game: Full Version$9.99

Questions

Is Rust Bucket free?
Rust Bucket is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Despot's Game free?
Despot's Game is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Rust Bucket or Despot's Game?
Rust Bucket is rated higher. Rust Bucket averages 4.0 out of 5 from 177 ratings, while Despot's Game averages 3.4 from 119 ratings.
Do Rust Bucket or Despot's Game have ads?
Rust Bucket shows ads; Despot's Game does not.
Which is updated more often, Rust Bucket or Despot's Game?
Rust Bucket ships an update every 6 weeks, and Despot's Game monthly. Most recently, Rust Bucket was updated on September 19, 2026 and Despot's Game on September 23, 2026.

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