Comparison

Dead Orbit vs Phoenix 2

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

Head to head
About

Dead Orbit

Pilot a spaceship through deep space, battling an evil empire in this classic arcade shooter. Upgrade your weapons and defenses to survive intense barrages of enemy fire and meteorites. Experience stunning visuals and an electronic soundtrack as you fight to restore peace to the galaxy.

Highlights
  • Intensive arcade shoot 'em up gameplay
  • Vast variety of levels
  • Extreme boss battles
  • Upgrade shields, guns, missiles, lasers, and magnets
  • Stunning game visuals and skins
  • Accessible to casual and hardcore gamers
Features
Read full description

New shoot 'em up classic arcade shooter located in deep and dark space. Defeat the evil sky forces! Hop into the spaceship and fly through a chaotic barrage of meteorites, bullets and sky forces! Upgrade your space fighter and put an end to the evil Kraathu Empire. Why? Because only you can restore peace in the galaxy! Shoot 'em up! SHOOT AND EVADE TO SURVIVE Take your space fighter to the battlefield armed with an arsenal of cannons and missiles. Taking enough ammo to bring punishment to your enemy. Use your agility to fly through deadly enemy territory in this explosive 3D dark space shooter action arcade game. UPGRADE TO GET STRONGER Foes are getting stronger in each stage, so in order to blast 'em from each sector of the galaxy you need to upgrade your arsenal of weapons and defences. To protect yourself against their deadly projectiles the hangar is full of upgrades for your vessel of ultimate destruction. REACH THE STARS Fly your spaceship through the cosmos and galactic hexagon cities where enemy aviators and skyrockets await. Game on! Use your sky force and reloaded weapons to defeat the enemy since 2014! There are many scrolling shooters but none of them is like Dead Orbit. This stunning shoot ‘em up game combines the classic arcade elements with the new possibilities offered by current technology. The new installment just came out in a spectacular dark style. FEATURES - intensive arcade like arcade shoot 'em up gameplay - vast variety of levels await - extreme boss battles - upgrade your shields, guns, missiles, lasers and magnets - stunning game visuals and skins - accessible to casual gamers, as well as die-hard shooter addicts - incredible electronic soundtrack

About

Phoenix 2

Blast through waves of alien invaders in this classic arcade space shooter. Collect and upgrade over 100 unique ships, complete exciting missions, and compete on global leaderboards. Enjoy short game sessions or an action-packed campaign with stunning graphics.

Highlights
  • Over 100 unique ships
  • Ship collection and upgrades
  • Action-packed campaign
  • Special abilities
  • Daily missions
  • Global leaderboards
  • Cross-platform play
Features
Read full description

Save the galaxy in this classic arcade shooter that everyone can enjoy! Blast wave after wave of menacing invaders in exciting missions to achieve glorious victory. Start playing Phoenix 2 right now with all these great features. * Blast invaders with over 100 unique ships. * Build your own ship collection and upgrade your favorites. * Experience an action packed campaign with 30 exciting story missions. * Discover special abilities like Mega Laser, Missile Swarm and Personal Shield. * Short game sessions: Launch whenever you have a minute to play. * Complete daily missions of different skill levels, from casual to bullet hell. * Get the high score on global leaderboards and show you are the best of the best. * Engage with an active community to help each other and discuss ship tactics. * New missions are generated every day. * Stunning and smooth 120FPS graphics powered by our custom game engine. * Create a group for your friends and play your own unique missions. * Cross-platform saving and cross-platform play. Phoenix 2 is developed by a passionate indie studio in The Netherlands and delivers the handcrafted experience of a retro space shoot’em up with modern gameplay. Phoenix 2 is your new daily visit to the arcade! Internet connection required to play.

Screenshots

Dead Orbit4 screens
Phoenix 24 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Phoenix 2 at 4.7 against Dead Orbit's 4.0. Phoenix 2 also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 13 months) and ratings volume (26K vs 5). Dead Orbit's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Dead Orbit sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and Phoenix 2 sells 11 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Phoenix 2 holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Phoenix 2 has 26K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Dead Orbit's written reviews are positive against 73% of Phoenix 2's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dead Orbit ships an update every 13 months, Phoenix 2 every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Dead Orbit versus Phoenix 2: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDead OrbitPhoenix 2
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (5 ratings)4.7 (26K ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews73.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings526K — better
Update frequencyEvery 13 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size253 MB295 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperInlogic Software s.r.o.Firi Games

Customer experience

Dead Orbit

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative28.6%

Phoenix 2

All ratings25,800 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral3.5%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews1,560 reviews
Positive73.3%
Neutral8.6%
Negative18.1%

Bugs and requests

Dead Orbit

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Phoenix 2

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Warp gate charge time bug
  • Occasional crashes
  • Incompatible with older devices

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add haptic feedback
  • Implement an endless mode
  • Allow players to customize ships
  • Add a level creator
  • Provide an offline mode
Show 2 more
  • Improve ship ability descriptions
  • Add a replay feature

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Dead Orbit

One-time12
  • Skin Draco$0.99
  • Skin Fire$0.99
  • Skin Red$0.99
Show 9 more
  • Skin Alien Skull$0.99
  • Skin Ram Skull$0.99
  • Skin Human Skull$0.99
  • Skin Toxic Fire$0.99
  • Skin Violet$0.99
  • Skin White$0.99
  • Skin Yellow$0.99
  • Skin Orange$0.99
  • Coin Doubler$3.99
11 purchases

Phoenix 2

One-time11
  • 800 Credits$0.99
  • 5000 Credits$4.99
  • Special Offer$4.99
Show 8 more
  • VIP$4.99
  • 12000 Credits$9.99
  • Special Offer$9.99
  • 25000 Credits$19.99
  • Special Offer$19.99
  • 65000 Credits$49.99
  • Special Offer$49.99
  • 140K Credits$99.99

Questions

Is Dead Orbit free?
Dead Orbit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Phoenix 2 free?
Phoenix 2 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Dead Orbit or Phoenix 2?
Phoenix 2 is rated higher. Dead Orbit averages 4.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Phoenix 2 averages 4.7 from 26K ratings.
Do Dead Orbit or Phoenix 2 have ads?
Phoenix 2 shows ads; Dead Orbit does not.
Which is updated more often, Dead Orbit or Phoenix 2?
Dead Orbit ships an update every 13 months, and Phoenix 2 every 3 weeks. Most recently, Dead Orbit was updated on October 16, 2026 and Phoenix 2 on October 17, 2026.

Other comparisons