# Monster Box vs Critical

Monster Box and Critical both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 87% of Monster Box's written reviews are positive against 18% of Critical's. Monster Box also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 17). Critical's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Critical sells 17 one-off in-app purchases. Monster Box asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Monster Box against 4.4 for Critical. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 212 and 125 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 87% of Monster Box's written reviews are positive against 18% of Critical's.

Monster Box ships an update every 3 months, Critical fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Monster Box | Critical |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (212 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monster-box-simple-strategy/id1163319075/reviews)** | [4.4 (125 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/critical-incremental-reactor/id6446354857/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **212** | 125 |
| Positive reviews | **87.1% of reviews** | 18.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | **Ad-supported** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 7 MB | 99 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [DAN-BALL](https://appshunter.io/developer/348592290) | [WaffleStack Studio LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1523413949) |

## What reviewers say

### Monster Box

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monster-box-simple-strategy/id1163319075)

Engage in strategic battles against waves of monsters. Upgrade your stickman characters with gold and jewels to enhance their power and defeat increasingly formidable foes. Enjoy a simple yet engaging combat experience.

**Highlights:** Monster battles, Stickman upgrades, Gold and jewel currency, Strategic combat, Monster evolution

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 😊 Highly addictive and engaging gameplay
- 👍 Simple and easy to learn mechanics
- 🎮 Fun physics-based interactions with stick figures
- 💰 No pay-to-win mechanics
- 📱 Works well on mobile devices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Game crashes occasionally
- 📏 UI elements too small on high-resolution phones
- 🎮 Limited character variety (only 4 classes)
- ⚠️ Game resets completely on game over
- 🔄 Repetitive gameplay loop

**Reported bugs**

- Stick figures drift to the right when revived repeatedly
- Game crashes for no apparent reason
- Certain medals are unobtainable (Ohagi medal)
- iPhone X notch cuts off progress bar
- Game data loss when too many monsters spawn

**Requested features**

- More character classes (especially from Stick Ranger)
- Landscape/horizontal mode support
- Zoom feature to see action better
- Cloud save and cross-device progress transfer
- Sandbox mode with infinite monsters


### Critical

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/critical-incremental-reactor/id6446354857)

Manage a reactor to prevent it from becoming critical by delivering water. Earn money over time to unlock permanent upgrades and improve your survival capabilities. Invest wisely to extend your runs and uncover secrets.

**Highlights:** Reactor management, Incremental income generation, Permanent upgrades, Research and secrets, Survival gameplay

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (17)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 100 Gems | $2.99 | one-time |
| 100 Gems | $4.99 | one-time |
| Remove Ads | $7.99 | one-time |
| 225 Gems | $7.99 | one-time |
| Starter Pack | $9.99 | one-time |
| Remove All Ads | $9.99 | one-time |
| 225 Gems | $9.99 | one-time |
| 500 Gems | $9.99 | one-time |
| Pro Pack | $9.99 | one-time |
| Pro Pack | $14.99 | one-time |
| New Player Sale | $14.99 | one-time |
| 500 Gems | $14.99 | one-time |
| 1400 Gems | $19.99 | one-time |
| 800 Gems | $19.99 | one-time |
| 1400 Gems | $29.99 | one-time |
| 3000 Gems | $29.99 | one-time |
| 3000 Gems | $39.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Monster Box free?

Monster Box is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Critical free?

Critical is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Monster Box or Critical?

Monster Box is rated higher. Monster Box averages 4.5 out of 5 from 212 ratings, while Critical averages 4.4 from 125 ratings.

### Do Monster Box or Critical have ads?

Both Monster Box and Critical show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Monster Box or Critical?

Monster Box ships an update every 3 months, and Critical fortnightly. Most recently, Monster Box was updated on October 12, 2026 and Critical on October 13, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*