Comparison

Scarlet Sails vs Chronicle Engines

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

Head to head
About

Scarlet Sails

Embark on an 80,000-word text-based adventure on the high seas. Make choices that shape your pirate's destiny, from their fighting style and magical abilities to their romantic pursuits and personal demons. Discover treasure, betrayal, and the possibility of true love.

Highlights
  • 80,000-word interactive novel
  • Choice-driven narrative
  • Customizable character personality
  • Multiple romance options
  • Text-based gameplay
  • Fantasy and pirate themes
Features
Read full description

Hoist the Jolly Roger and set sail to find the legendary Titan’s Treasure! Do you fight with a cutlass or with magic? Are you biding your time until you can shoot your captain in the back, or are you the reason the rum is gone? "Scarlet Sails" is an 80,000-word interactive novel by Felicity Banks, author of "Attack of the Clockwork Army" and "Bali B & B." Your choices control the story. It's entirely text-based–without graphics or sound effects–and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination. • Enjoy an 80,000 word adventure on the high seas. • Choose your personality, fighting style, and magical skill. • Play as male or female or nonbinary; gay, straight, or asexual. • Choose who to love, including options for singlehood or polyamory. • Face the horrors of your past, and of the deep. • Find treasure, treachery, and maybe even true love.

About

Chronicle Engines

Features
Read full description

Step into Chronicle Engines, a modern text RPG where every decision shapes an adaptive mystery. Choose Sci-Fi, Fantasy, or Thriller, then watch a story come alive with cinematic pacing, vivid detail, and meaningful choices. Prefer to improvise? Type your own action and the narrative adapts in real time. Chronicle Engines blends classic interactive fiction with contemporary storytelling: a monochrome story-terminal interface, command-led choices with visible consequences, one-bit genre art, optional narration, saved cases, private archives, branching decisions, and readable story history built for short sessions or deep dives. Chronicle Cloud offers OpenAI Luna stories and optional AI-generated OpenAI narration through an Apple subscription. Review the story and narration disclosure before choosing to send text to OpenAI. Daily story and read-aloud allowances apply. Supported devices can also generate stories locally. Choose Apple Cloud on iOS 27 for story generation through Apple Private Cloud Compute on eligible devices, with deep reasoning and expanded story context. Internet and available Apple usage quota are required. Apple Cloud story generation does not require a Chronicle Cloud subscription. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://chronicle-proxy.jorgeaguirre-chronicle.workers.dev/privacy

Screenshots

Scarlet Sails4 screens
Chronicle Engines4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Chronicle Engines at none against Scarlet Sails's shown. Chronicle Engines also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 21 months). Scarlet Sails's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.1). On price, 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. Scarlet Sails sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Chronicle Engines sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Scarlet Sails ships an update every 21 months, Chronicle Engines every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Scarlet Sails versus Chronicle Engines: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScarlet SailsChronicle Engines
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (18 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews20.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings18 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 21 monthsEvery 8 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better26.1
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB59 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperHosted Games LLCJORGE AGUIRRE

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Scarlet Sails

One-time1
  • Rest of the Game$3.99
2 purchases

Chronicle Engines

Subscriptions2
  • Chronicle Cloud Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Chronicle Cloud Yearly$24.991 Year

Questions

Is Scarlet Sails free?
Scarlet Sails is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chronicle Engines free?
Chronicle Engines is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Scarlet Sails or Chronicle Engines have ads?
Scarlet Sails shows ads; Chronicle Engines does not.
Which is updated more often, Scarlet Sails or Chronicle Engines?
Scarlet Sails ships an update every 21 months, and Chronicle Engines every 8 days. Most recently, Scarlet Sails was updated on October 24, 2026 and Chronicle Engines on October 28, 2026.

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