Comparison

Cold Crash vs PARALLAX

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

Head to head
About

Cold Crash

Guide a plane crash survivor through a treacherous mountain blizzard in real-time. Make critical decisions via a chat interface to help her find resources and reach safety. Your choices determine her fate and the story's outcome.

Highlights
  • Real-time chat interface
  • Branching narrative with multiple endings
  • Survival and adventure gameplay
  • Over 200 pages of text
  • Decision-based story progression
  • Real-time storytelling mode
Features
Read full description

4,000 meters above sea level. The last survivor of a plane crash. It's -20 degrees Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit), and Anna has only the uniform of a flight attendant - and an old transceiver. The storm of the century is coming. Can you save Anna? Cold Crash is a survival game that takes you on a hellish ride through the Alps. Keep in touch with Anna in real time like in a chat app and bring her safely down to the valley. Take on the role of the experienced but aged mountain rescuer Marcus in this adventure. Anna's time is running out. She was the only one to survive the crash of the small private plane. But she lacks warm clothing, equipment and mountain experience. Huts and hotels are nailed up, ski lifts have stopped, tourists and even the Alpine Mountain Rescue are hiding in the valley in front of the Blizzard of the century. How much time does Anna have left to search the plane wreckage for anything she might still need? How can she survive this adventure - and maybe even find out why the plane crashed at all? Was it an accident or sabotage? Anna has no choice but to rely on what Marcus can convey to her through the old transmitter- - and somehow get through to the valley before all hell breaks loose... Cold Crash - the interactive novel in the style of a survival game. • Over 200 pages of text • You decide how Anna’s story ends • Grown-up dialogue for grown-up readers: Marcus is the last Mountain Rescuer online. Experience Anna's story as a real conversation between two people. A woman and a man, both under a lot of pressure and doing a lot right, but also a lot wrong, depending on how the player decides. • Eight different ends - can you achieve a happy ending? And if so, which one? • Real-time storytelling: Cold Crash takes place in real time. Anna won't get in touch with you all the time. She may even won't let you hear from her for minutes or hours. Like the story's really happening right now. • Easy to learn - just a tap of the finger is all it takes to help Anna • Easy to use - You have reached a dead end? No problem, just scroll back and choose another answer, anytime! • Difficult to master - on Anna's way many dangers lurk, for inexperienced ones without equipment and appropriate clothes the mountains hold many dangers ready, completely particularly in the blizzard... • Don't want to wait? Turn off the real-time mode and play Cold Crash on a (long) afternoon. • Make another decision? You can always just jump back and go another way. • Survival and adventure - real actions, real decisions, real consequences. Cold Crash remembers which objects Anna finds on her way, which decisions she makes and which opportunities she rejects... • The story adapts to your decisions

About

PARALLAX

Experience a real-time text adventure where your choices shape the narrative and the fate of a survivor in a post-apocalyptic world. Engage with atmospheric sound design and make critical decisions to uncover the truth.

Highlights
  • Real-time story progression
  • Branching choices with multiple endings
  • Atmospheric sound design
  • Offline mode
  • Fast-forward option
Features
Read full description

A while ago, the world ended. David Blythe is still here. After the great apocalypse, David found himself holed up in his flat with nothing but instant noodles and a jar of marmalade he took from Mrs. Crawley's pantry. He wrote a piece of software to send a call for help to every number on Earth, one by one, hoping someone would answer. Only you did. PARALLAX is a real-time text adventure told entirely through chat messages. David speaks. You reply. Choices you make shape the story, and David's fate. The horrors have passed, the world is quiet now, but David is still texting. Will you listen? Outside his window, the SH311s ("Shells") drag themselves through the streets. Inside, the pantry is almost empty, the batteries are running low, and David has questions only you can help him answer: - Are the footsteps getting louder, or is it just his imagination? — Should he risk going outside to scavenge for supplies? - What happened to the world, and is there anything left worth saving? - Do instant noodles go better with strawberry or raspberry jam? FEATURES • A story told in real time • Branching choices with real consequences and multiple endings • Atmospheric sound design and ambient notifications • Multiple endings shaped entirely by your decisions • Optional fast-forward mode and offline play • No ads. No timers. No free2play. Just David. This is not a game about shooting the undead. This is a game about keeping one stranger alive long enough to find out what happened to the world. A real-time interactive fiction experience for fans of atmospheric mystery games, narrative games, branching story adventures, and psychological thrillers told through chat messages. PARALLAX plays in the background of your day. Perfect for commutes, breaks, and sleepless nights when you're awake anyway. Pick up your phone. He's typing.

Screenshots

Cold Crash4 screens
PARALLAX4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: PARALLAX at 5.0 against Cold Crash's 4.0. PARALLAX also leads on review sentiment (95% vs 56%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). Cold Crash's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, ratings volume, 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

Both are free to download. Cold Crash sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and PARALLAX sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PARALLAX holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of Cold Crash's written reviews are positive against 95% of PARALLAX's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cold Crash ships an update every 4 months, PARALLAX every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Cold Crash versus PARALLAX: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCold CrashPARALLAX
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews55.6% of reviews95.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS9.3 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB95 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperJoachim MertensExtraordinerdy GmbH

Customer experience

Cold Crash

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive55.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative44.4%

PARALLAX

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive95.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Cold Crash

One-time1
  • Teil 2$0.99
10 purchases

PARALLAX

One-time10
  • Episode 2$2.99
  • Episode 22$2.99
  • Episode 23$2.99
Show 7 more
  • Episode 24$2.99
  • Episodes 2-5$9.99
  • Episodes 10-13$9.99
  • Episodes 18-21$9.99
  • Episodes 22-25$9.99
  • Wallpapers$9.99
  • All Episodes$49.99

Questions

Is Cold Crash free?
Cold Crash is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PARALLAX free?
PARALLAX is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cold Crash or PARALLAX?
PARALLAX is rated higher. Cold Crash averages 4.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while PARALLAX averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Cold Crash or PARALLAX have ads?
PARALLAX shows ads; Cold Crash does not.
Which is updated more often, Cold Crash or PARALLAX?
Cold Crash ships an update every 4 months, and PARALLAX every 3 weeks. Most recently, Cold Crash was updated on November 6, 2026 and PARALLAX on November 2, 2026.

Other comparisons