Comparison

Phoenix 2 vs Galactic Chess Invaders

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

Galactic Chess Invaders

This game blends arcade-style shooting with real chess mechanics. Players control both White's chess pieces and a laser ship simultaneously, facing waves of descending black pieces that shoot back. Each level introduces new challenges and power-ups, making it accessible even for non-chess players.

Highlights
  • Real chess engine with legal moves
  • Simultaneous arcade shooter gameplay
  • Ten unique levels with distinct mechanics
  • Power-ups like rapid fire and nukes
  • Cadet and standard difficulty modes
  • Original soundtrack and arcade audio
Features
Read full description

A real game of chess plays out on screen — legal moves, real check and checkmate, a live engine playing Black. Except Black's pieces are also a fleet, sweeping sideways, dropping a rank at a time, and shooting at you. You play both halves at once. The mouse commands White's pieces. The keyboard flies a laser ship along the bottom of the board. A five-second clock runs on every move. Reflex decides whether you survive; the chess decides what you are surviving against. The two halves are genuinely entangled. Shoot a black piece and it leaves the chess position. Let one descend onto your rook and the rook is gone. Checkmate the black king to clear the wave — or just shoot it. Walk a pawn to the eighth rank and you promote it and upgrade your guns at the same time, which is the one moment the game asks you to do both jobs in the same second. TEN WAVES, TEN IDEAS Each level introduces a mechanic rather than a difficulty multiplier. Pawns start shooting back. Black takes two chess moves a turn, then three. The fleet's sweep widens. Bishops open fire along the diagonal. Regenerated pawns arrive armoured and shrug off lasers. The black king raises a forcefield and draws a weapon of its own. Then Blitz — the last wave, which takes most of your advantages away and drops the clock to three seconds. POWER-UPS Shoot the green scouts that drift across the board and you will pick up rapid fire, a gatling burst, a shield, a freeze, or a nuke. Your laser cap rises as you go and resets with each wave. MADE FOR GAMERS, NOT CHESS PLAYERS You do not need to be good at chess. If you pick a piece it will show the legal moves. The engine plays fast and shallow on purpose, the clock is short enough that nobody is calculating, and Cadet mode gives you a longer clock, a slower pace, five lives and power-ups that carry between levels. WHAT ELSE IS IN THERE • Ten levels, each with a distinct mechanic • Cadet and standard difficulty • An original soundtrack — a track per level, escalating with the waves • Full arcade audio from Zudio • A board grid you can dial from open space up to named rows and columns • A nebula backdrop that deepens as the waves get harder, or switch it off • Local high score table • Universal binary, native on Apple Silicon and Intel • No ads, no in-app purchases, no accounts, no data collected FORTY YEARS IN THE MAKING The first version was written in 1983 on an Apple II, in Applesoft BASIC using the TASC compiler to make it fast enough to be playable. This is that game, rebooted, refueled and remade for the modern era.

Screenshots

Phoenix 24 screens
Galactic Chess Invaders3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Galactic Chess Invaders at none against Phoenix 2's 10. Galactic Chess Invaders also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks). Phoenix 2's advantage is ratings volume (26K vs 5) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price 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. Phoenix 2 sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Galactic Chess Invaders asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Galactic Chess Invaders 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 5, 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 Galactic Chess Invaders's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Phoenix 2 ships an update every 3 weeks, Galactic Chess Invaders every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Phoenix 2 versus Galactic Chess Invaders: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhoenix 2Galactic Chess Invaders
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (26K ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings26K — better5
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size295 MB29 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperFiri GamesZack Urlocker

Customer experience

Phoenix 2

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

Galactic Chess Invaders

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 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

Galactic Chess Invaders

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

Galactic Chess Invaders

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Phoenix 2 free?
Phoenix 2 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Galactic Chess Invaders free?
Galactic Chess Invaders is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Phoenix 2 or Galactic Chess Invaders?
Galactic Chess Invaders is rated higher. Phoenix 2 averages 4.7 out of 5 from 26K ratings, while Galactic Chess Invaders averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Phoenix 2 or Galactic Chess Invaders have ads?
Phoenix 2 shows ads; Galactic Chess Invaders does not.
Which is updated more often, Phoenix 2 or Galactic Chess Invaders?
Phoenix 2 ships an update every 3 weeks, and Galactic Chess Invaders every 2 days. Most recently, Phoenix 2 was updated on November 10, 2026 and Galactic Chess Invaders on November 7, 2026.

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