Comparison

LONER vs DREDGE

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

Head to head
About

LONER

Experience a tranquil and solitary journey as a pilot navigating through a visually minimalist world. This game offers a unique, immersive experience with its simple mechanics, atmospheric music, and procedurally generated challenges that sync with the soundtrack.

Highlights
  • Unique two-hand sliding and gravity sensing controls
  • Visually simple yet varied color palettes
  • Original, atmospheric background music
  • Randomly generated obstacles synced to music
  • Story of a pilot's lonely journey
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

LONER is a very simple game, no attributes, no upgrade, or even no score, what it wants to bring you, is only purely tranquillity and loneliness. LONER tells the story of a lonely journey of a pilot, in the journey, you would understand his past and his pursuit. Features **Unique Game Mode It has two modes of operation, two-hand-sliding and gravity sensing, the unique design brings a deeper sense of immersion. **Very Simple but Various Pictures There is no complicated shape and brilliant appearance, but you would set foot on a different kind of color trip. **The Right Original Music Several sad, or quiet background music makes you completely immerse in the game. **Random and Rich Barriers Level barriers are completely random and there is the strong vs strong level. It takes the different levels of players into account; obstacles are based on the music beat, which deepen your inner resonance. Director Profile Before making LONER, I was a game programmer, and really wanted to make a game with my own style. The original idea is to make a 3D version "Flappy Bird" with a different perspective, but in the production process, I suddenly found that the game has a quiet loneliness: A plane flies slowly alone in the dark channel by passing one after another obstacle, but seems never reach the end of channel, which is slight shiny in the distance. In the influence of some literary and artistic works, I have been very interested in loneliness, and there are rarely games which express mainly the lonely sense in the market, so that the game topic is decided as this. As a programmer who begins to learn art, I understand that to create roles and environment with rich details in short time is unrealistic, so I decide to pay a tribute to the art style of the "2001: A Space Odyssey”, and this style features "Loner" that the entire scene tones can be arbitrarily transformed. BGM List 1.Deepsea 2.Sea Sand 3.Time 4.Tunnel 5.Voices 6.Void

About

DREDGE

Explore remote islands and their depths as a fishing trawler captain. Sell your catch, complete quests to uncover local secrets, and upgrade your boat. Beware of the dangers lurking in the dark.

Highlights
  • Explore remote islands and depths
  • Catch and sell diverse sea life
  • Complete quests to uncover secrets
  • Upgrade fishing boat and equipment
  • Survive nighttime dangers
  • Unravel a dark mystery
Features
Read full description

*TRY BEFORE YOU BUY* Play the first area for free. One-time purchase unlocks the base game. DLC expansions available as additional in-app purchases. Captain your fishing trawler to explore a collection of remote isles, and their surrounding depths, to see what lies below. Sell your catch to the locals and complete quests to learn more about each area’s troubled past. Outfit your boat with better equipment to trawl deep-sea trenches and navigate to far-off lands, but keep an eye on the time. You might not like what finds you in the dark... Explore the Islands & Discover their Secrets Starting from your new home in the remote archipelago, ‘The Marrows’, take to the water and scour the depths for curious collectables and over 125 deep sea denizens. Explore each area while completing quests and visiting neighboring island regions – each with their own unique opportunities, inhabitants, and secrets. Dredge the Depths Someone wants you to dig up the past, but can you trust them and will it ever be enough? Beware the Fog Danger is everywhere, so watch for sharp rocks and shallow reefs, though the biggest threats of all lurk within the fog that cloaks the night-time seas... Game Features: - Unravel a Mystery: Captain your fishing trawler across a collection of remote islands, each with its own inhabitants to meet, wildlife to discover, and stories to unearth. - Dredge the Depths: Scour the sea for hidden treasures and complete quests to gain access to strange new abilities - Study Your Craft: Research special equipment and upgrade your boat’s capabilities to gain access to rare fish and valuable deep-sea curios. - Fish to Survive: Sell your discoveries to the locals to learn more about each area, and upgrade your boat to reach even more secluded locations. - Fight the Unfathomable: Strengthen your mind and use your abilities to survive trips out on the water after dark.

Screenshots

LONER4 screens
DREDGE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: DREDGE at Free against LONER's $1.99. DREDGE also leads on ratings volume (1.1K vs 86). LONER's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 8) and review sentiment (77% vs 60%). On rating, update cadence, ads 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

DREDGE is free to download; LONER costs $1.99 up front. DREDGE sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. LONER asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.2 for LONER against 4.3 for DREDGE. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DREDGE has 1.1K ratings behind it against 86, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of LONER's written reviews are positive against 60% of DREDGE's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LONER ships an update every 5 weeks, DREDGE every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on September 29, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
LONER versus DREDGE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLONERDREDGE
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.2 (86 ratings)4.3 (1.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews77.3% of reviews — better59.9% of reviews
Number of ratings861.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#52 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS10.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size279 MB785 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperKunpoBlack Salt Games

Customer experience

LONER

All ratings86 ratings
Positive82.6%
Neutral1.2%
Negative16.3%
Written reviews150 reviews
Positive77.3%
Neutral2.7%
Negative20.0%

DREDGE

All ratings1,082 ratings
Positive82.2%
Neutral3.7%
Negative14.1%
Written reviews1,146 reviews
Positive59.9%
Neutral10.2%
Negative29.9%

User reviews

LONER

From 86 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎶 Beautiful music and soundtrack
  • 🧘‍♀️ Relaxing and calming gameplay
  • 🎨 Visually appealing and simple graphics
  • 📖 Engaging story and narrative
  • ✨ Unique and immersive experience

Room to improve

  • 📍 Requires location data to play
  • 🚫 Game refuses to load without location access
  • ❓ Unclear why location data is needed
  • 🇨🇳 Settings and menus in Chinese (or other non-English languages)
  • 🔊 Music cannot be turned off

DREDGE

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great game
  • 🚀 Excellent port to mobile
  • 🎮 Supports controllers
  • 🎨 Stunning graphics
  • 🕹️ Intuitive controls

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive for a mobile game
  • 🔍 Misleading 'free' description
  • 📱 Text/UI too small on phones
  • 🐛 Crashes and performance issues
  • 🎮 Controller support needs improvement

Bugs and requests

LONER

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • Game crashes or freezes
  • Game does not load without location access
  • Settings/menus in non-English languages
  • Incomplete sentences or missing parts in story text
  • Grammar issues in story, especially towards the end
Show 7 more
  • Unexpected charges or billing issues
  • Plane can go through walls without exploding
  • Visual glitches with light effects obscuring the screen
  • Issues with plane models/textures
  • Difficulty with English language option
  • Game not loading after purchase
  • App crashes on launch

Requested features

13 requests
  • Add more stories/chapters
  • Option to turn off music
  • Add more aircraft/landscapes
  • Add tactile feedback for obstacles
  • Improve English translation of story
Show 8 more
  • Add more game modes
  • Add Russian language support
  • Option to use own music
  • Add achievements
  • Improve difficulty balancing
  • Add PC version
  • Add more visual customization options
  • Allow continuing after crashing instead of returning to start

DREDGE

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on startup
  • Controller issues
  • Inventory/menu navigation problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Larger text and UI options
  • Cross-save between devices
  • More content and DLC
  • Minimap or navigation aids
  • Ability to walk around boat/town

In-app purchases

None

LONER

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

DREDGE

One-time4
  • Blackstone Key2 variants$0.99
  • The Pale Reach2 variants$5.99
  • The Iron Rig2 variants$11.99
Show 1 more
  • Base Game Unlock2 variants$24.99

Questions

Is LONER free?
LONER costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is DREDGE free?
DREDGE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, LONER or DREDGE?
DREDGE is rated higher. LONER averages 4.2 out of 5 from 86 ratings, while DREDGE averages 4.3 from 1.1K ratings.
Do LONER or DREDGE have ads?
Neither LONER nor DREDGE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LONER or DREDGE?
LONER ships an update every 5 weeks, and DREDGE every 3 weeks. Most recently, LONER was updated on September 29, 2026 and DREDGE on September 29, 2026.

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