# Life Is Strange vs Alien

The clearest difference is rating: Alien at 4.5 against Life Is Strange's 4.0. Alien also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 53%) and chart position (#76 vs unranked). Life Is Strange's advantage is ratings volume (9.6K vs 1.3K) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.5). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Life Is Strange sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and Alien sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Alien holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Life Is Strange has 9.6K ratings behind it against 1.3K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of Life Is Strange's written reviews are positive against 80% of Alien's.

Life Is Strange ships an update every 3 months, Alien every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Life Is Strange | Alien |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.0 (9.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/life-is-strange/id1180101534/reviews) | **[4.5 (1.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alien-isolation/id1573029040/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **9.6K** | 1.3K |
| Positive reviews | 53.3% of reviews | **79.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | **#76** |
| Size | 911 MB | 1.9 GB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 16.5 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [SQUARE ENIX](https://appshunter.io/developer/300186801) | [Feral Interactive Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/402470125) |

## What reviewers say

### Life Is Strange

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/life-is-strange/id1180101534)

This episodic adventure game lets you rewind time to alter past events and influence the present and future. Uncover a dark mystery as you navigate the life of a photography student and her best friend. Your choices lead to multiple, impactful endings.

**Highlights:** Rewind time to change events, Choice and consequence gameplay, Multiple endings, Episodic story, Hand-painted visuals, Licensed indie soundtrack

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Épisode 2 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Episode 3 | $2.99 | one-time |
| Life is Strange Episode 4 | $2.99 | one-time |
| Life is Strange Episode 5 | $2.99 | one-time |
| Life is Strange Episode 4-5 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Season Pass  Episodes 3-5 | $6.99 | one-time |
| Season Pass  Episodes 2-5 | $7.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Stunning graphics
- 🤩 Captivating story and characters
- 👍 Immersive gameplay experience
- 🎨 Beautiful visuals and cinematic feel
- 💎 Emotional and impactful narrative

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Journal/screen scaling issues on newer iPhones
- 🔋 Battery-draining
- 🤬 Recurring bugs and glitches
- 🤷‍♀️ Choices don't significantly impact the ending

**Reported bugs**

- Game crashes when trying to exit journal
- Saved progress being lost or reset
- Cutscenes and interactions not triggering properly

**Requested features**

- Add option to disable profanity
- Improve compatibility with latest iOS devices
- Allow starting from any episode with choices applied


### Alien

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alien-isolation/id1573029040)

**Currently charting:** #76 Top Free · Adventure, #175 Top Free · Action (US App Store)

Embark on a terrifying quest for survival aboard a space station. Unprepared and underequipped, you must use your wits and courage to escape an unknown menace. Experience a faithful mobile replication of the classic survival horror game, complete with AAA visuals and an arresting narrative.

**Highlights:** Survival horror gameplay, Stealth and evasion mechanics, Resource scavenging and crafting, Touchscreen controls with customization, Gamepad and mouse/keyboard support, Faithful mobile replication of AAA visuals, Includes all DLC content

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full Game Unlock | $14.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent port with great performance
- 👍 Impressive graphics and visuals
- 🎮 Smooth controls and controller support
- 🎬 Captures the Alien franchise atmosphere well
- 🕹️ Immersive gameplay experience

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔋 Device overheating and battery drain issues
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- 🕹️ Touchscreen controls not ideal for certain gameplay elements
- 🕰️ Long loading times and unskippable intro

**Reported bugs**

- Certain puzzles/objectives not triggering correctly
- Sound issues like audio cutting out
- Compatibility problems with older devices

**Requested features**

- Add more graphics/performance options
- Improve auto-save and checkpoint system
- Implement Magic Keyboard support
- Include Chinese language support


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Life Is Strange free?

Life Is Strange is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Alien free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Life Is Strange or Alien?

Alien is rated higher. Life Is Strange averages 4.0 out of 5 from 9.6K ratings, while Alien averages 4.5 from 1.3K ratings.

### Do Life Is Strange or Alien have ads?

Neither Life Is Strange nor Alien shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Life Is Strange or Alien?

Life Is Strange ships an update every 3 months, and Alien every 2 months. Most recently, Life Is Strange was updated on October 31, 2026 and Alien on October 30, 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.*