Comparison

Reigns vs Cultist Simulator

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

Head to head
About

Reigns

Rule a medieval kingdom by making decisions with a swipe of your finger. Balance the needs of various factions, from the church to the army, to extend your reign. Each choice has consequences that can lead to your dynasty's downfall.

Highlights
  • Swipe-based decision making
  • Kingdom faction balance
  • Dynasty survival
  • Event spanning centuries
  • Multiple ways to die
Features
Read full description

Sit on the throne as a benevolent (or malevolent) medieval monarch of the modern age and swipe your royal fingers either left or right to impose your will upon the kingdom. Survive the seemingly never-ending gauntlet of requests from your advisors, peasants, allies, and enemies while maintaining balance between the influential factions of your kingdom. But beware; each decision you make might have implications and unfortunate consequences down the road that could put your reign and family’s dynasty at risk! Each year of your reign brings another important – seemingly random – request from your unpredictable kingdom as you strive for balance between the church, the people, the army, and the treasury. Prudent decisions and careful planning make for a long reign but unforeseen motivations, surprise events, and poor luck can take down even the most entrenched monarch. Extend your reign as long as possible, forge alliances, make enemies, and find new ways to die as your dynasty marches along through the ages. Some events will span on centuries, with an intrigue involving burning witches, scientific enlightenment, wicked politics and, maybe, the Devil himself. *iPhone 5 / iPod Touch 6 / iPad Mini / iPad Air or later recommended.

About

Cultist Simulator

A challenging roguelike narrative card game where you play as a seeker of forbidden knowledge. Experiment with rituals, summon entities, and ascend to become a herald of a new age in a Lovecraftian 1920s setting.

Highlights
  • Challenging roguelike gameplay
  • Story-driven legacy system
  • Intense, immersive narrative
  • Choice-based storytelling
  • Lovecraftian world
  • Card combination mechanics
Read full description

SEIZE FORBIDDEN TREASURES. SUMMON ALIEN GODS. FEED ON YOUR DISCIPLES. BE WARNED. This game has no tutorial - part of the challenge is figuring out how to play. It's hard, but keep trying, and you'll master it. Good luck! In this infamous roguelike narrative card game, play as a seeker after unholy mysteries in a 1920s-themed setting of hidden gods and secret histories. Become a scholar of the unseen arts. Craft tools and summon spirits. Indoctrinate innocents. Seize your place as the herald of a new age. Cultist Simulator was first released on PC and has more than 200,000 players all over the world. Now we’re bringing the cosmic mysteries of Cultist Simulator to mobile. • Challenging roguelike gameplay - There is never only one history. Cultist Simulator doesn’t hold your hand. Experiment, expire and transcend death with a story-driven legacy system. Over time you’ll learn enough to wrestle the game to its knees. • Intense, immersive narrative – Combine cards to tell your own story. A hefty novel’s worth of choice-based storytelling, from the creator of Fallen London and Sunless Sea. There are many paths through this game of ambition, appetite and abomination, and many ways your tale can end. • A rich Lovecraftian world – Corrupt your friends and consume your enemies. Search your dreams for sanity-twisting rituals. Translate grimoires and glean their lore. Penetrate the realm of the Hours and win a place in their service. Cultist Simulator brings the peripheral horror of Lovecraft’s tales to an entirely new setting. Expand your knowledge with the DLCs: New Legacies, New Ascensions, New Mechanics... • The Dancer - Join the Bacchanal • The Priest - Knock, and Ye Shall Be Opened • The Ghoul - Taste of the graveyard's fruit • The Exile - Some there are who will not yield If you encounter any issue with the game, please click on “Contact us” at the bottom of this page and give us as many details as possible regarding the issue and your device: https://playdigious.helpshift.com/hc/en/11-cultist-simulator/?p=ios

Screenshots

Reigns4 screens
Cultist Simulator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Reigns at none against Cultist Simulator's 5. Reigns also leads on price ($2.99 vs $6.99) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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

Reigns costs $2.99 and Cultist Simulator $6.99 up front. Cultist Simulator sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Reigns asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Reigns against 4.8 for Cultist Simulator. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7.6K and 4.3K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 70% of Reigns's written reviews are positive against 73% of Cultist Simulator's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Reigns ships an update every 5 weeks, Cultist Simulator every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Reigns versus Cultist Simulator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReignsCultist Simulator
Price$2.99 — better$6.99
Rating4.8 (7.6K ratings)4.8 (4.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.2% of reviews72.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7.6K — better4.3K
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#10 — better#27
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size124 MB331 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperDevolver Digital, Inc.Playdigious

Customer experience

Reigns

All ratings7,608 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral2.1%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews921 reviews
Positive70.2%
Neutral9.1%
Negative20.6%

Cultist Simulator

All ratings4,221 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral1.6%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews371 reviews
Positive72.8%
Neutral9.4%
Negative17.8%

User reviews

Reigns

From 7.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👑 Great game concept
  • 🤴 Engaging storyline and characters
  • 🎨 Stylish art and design
  • 🕹️ Addictive and challenging gameplay
  • 🕰️ Replayability and multiple endings

Room to improve

  • 🔁 Repetitive gameplay and card choices
  • 🤔 Unclear consequences of decisions
  • 🕹️ Frustrating difficulty and randomness
  • 🔋 Battery drain issues
  • 🐛 Bugs and save file corruption

Cultist Simulator

From 4.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤯 Fascinating and mysterious
  • 🎨 Beautiful atmosphere and writing
  • 🕰️ Compelling time management gameplay
  • 🕵️ Rewarding sense of discovery
  • 💡 Unique and innovative concept

Room to improve

  • 🤯 Steep learning curve with no tutorial
  • 🕰️ Intense time pressure and resource management
  • 🧠 Confusing mechanics and unclear objectives
  • 🧭 Frustrating lack of progress and repeated failures
  • 🔍 Difficult to keep track of cards and game state

Bugs and requests

Reigns

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Blank/corrupted cards
  • Crashes and freezes
  • Save file corruption
  • Compatibility issues on newer devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • More content and storylines
  • Ability to customize the king/kingdom
  • Improved UI and feedback on decisions
  • Difficulty settings or options
  • Cross-platform/cloud save support

Cultist Simulator

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional crashes and save file issues
  • Disappearing cards and UI elements
  • Inability to access certain features like the club

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add tutorial or in-game hints
  • Provide more accessibility options for text size
  • Implement save/load system to avoid losing progress
  • Add DLC content like the Dancer storyline
  • Improve card organization and UI layout

In-app purchases

None

Reigns

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Cultist Simulator

One-time5
  • The Dancer$1.99
  • The Priest$1.99
  • The Ghoul$1.99
Show 2 more
  • The Exile$4.99
  • Forbidden Bundle$6.99

Questions

Is Reigns free?
Reigns costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cultist Simulator free?
Cultist Simulator costs $6.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Reigns or Cultist Simulator?
Cultist Simulator is rated higher. Reigns averages 4.8 out of 5 from 7.6K ratings, while Cultist Simulator averages 4.8 from 4.3K ratings.
Do Reigns or Cultist Simulator have ads?
Neither Reigns nor Cultist Simulator shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Reigns or Cultist Simulator?
Reigns ships an update every 5 weeks, and Cultist Simulator every 2 months. Most recently, Reigns was updated on November 2, 2026 and Cultist Simulator on October 29, 2026.
Which is more popular, Reigns or Cultist Simulator?
Reigns currently peaks at #10 in the App Store charts, and Cultist Simulator at #27. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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