Comparison

Phoenix 2 vs Ascendling

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

Head to head
About

Phoenix 2

Blast through waves of alien invaders in this classic arcade shooter. Collect and upgrade over 100 unique ships, experience an action-packed campaign, and compete on global leaderboards. Enjoy short game sessions or challenging daily missions with stunning 120FPS graphics.

Highlights
  • Over 100 unique ships to collect and upgrade
  • 30 story missions and daily generated missions
  • Special abilities like Mega Laser and Personal Shield
  • Global leaderboards and community features
  • Short game sessions for on-the-go play
  • Stunning 120FPS graphics
  • Cross-platform saving and 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.

About

Ascendling

Ascend through an endless sky as a glowing creature, striking enemies and chaining combos to outclimb rising lava. Enjoy simple one-touch controls and atmospheric exploration across distinct regions.

Highlights
  • One-touch arcade gameplay
  • Endless vertical ascent
  • Dive attacks and combo streaks
  • Collect gems for higher scores
  • Explore three distinct sky regions
  • Boss encounters
  • Local high-score tracking
Read full description

ASCENDLING The lava never stops rising. Take flight as a glowing Ascendling and climb into an endless sky where every second matters. Strike enemies from above, chain together powerful combos, and race higher before the rising lava consumes everything below. Easy to learn with simple one-touch controls. Challenging enough to keep you chasing “just one more run.” Every climb is different. Every mistake matters. FEATURES • One-touch arcade gameplay that's simple, responsive, and addictive • Endless vertical ascent with no level cap • Dive onto enemies from above to defeat them and build score multipliers • Chain kills together to create massive combo streaks • Collect gems and push your score even higher • Explore three distinct regions of the sky: Ember Reach Storm Veil Aether Rise • Face risky Void Wyrm boss encounters at extreme altitudes • Atmospheric soundtrack with optional one-tap music control • Local high-score tracking so you can beat your personal best • No ads • No accounts • No internet connection required SURVIVAL IS SIMPLE Fly higher. Move faster. Don't let the lava catch you. How high can you climb?

Screenshots

Phoenix 24 screens
Ascendling4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ascendling at none against Phoenix 2's 10. Ascendling also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (100% vs 73%). Phoenix 2's advantage is ratings volume (26K vs 1). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Phoenix 2 sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Ascendling asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ascendling holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Phoenix 2 has 26K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Phoenix 2's written reviews are positive against 100% of Ascendling's.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Phoenix 2 versus Ascendling: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhoenix 2Ascendling
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (26K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings26K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size295 MB2 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperFiri GamesAhmed Al-Makhzoumi

Customer experience

Phoenix 2

All ratings25,858 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral3.5%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews1,569 reviews
Positive73.2%
Neutral8.6%
Negative18.2%

Ascendling

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and 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

Ascendling

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Phoenix 2

One-time10
  • 800 Credits$0.99
  • 5000 Credits$4.99
  • Special Offer$4.99
Show 7 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
None

Ascendling

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Phoenix 2 free?
Phoenix 2 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ascendling free?
Ascendling is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Phoenix 2 or Ascendling?
Ascendling is rated higher. Phoenix 2 averages 4.7 out of 5 from 26K ratings, while Ascendling averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Phoenix 2 or Ascendling have ads?
Phoenix 2 shows ads; Ascendling does not.

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