Comparison

Arcaea vs Phigros

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

Head to head
About

Arcaea

Experience a unique rhythm game that blends challenging gameplay with an immersive story. Progress through a narrative driven by your performance, unlock new difficulties, and compete with others online. Enjoy a vast library of music, with more available through content packs.

Highlights
  • Novel gameplay mechanics
  • Immersive sound and story
  • High difficulty ceiling
  • Over 350 songs
  • 3 rhythm difficulty levels per song
  • Real-time online multiplayer
  • Rich Main Story and Side Stories
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New Dimension Rhythm Game - Experience sound and story unlike ever before. "A harmony of Light awaits you in a lost world of musical Conflict." In a world of white, and surrounded by “memory”, two girls awaken under glass-filled skies. Arcaea is a mobile rhythm game for both experienced and new rhythm game players alike, blending novel gameplay, immersive sound, and a powerful story of wonder and heartache. Experience gameplay that reflects the story’s emotions and events—and progress to unlock more of this unfurling narrative. Challenging trials can be discovered through play, higher difficulties can be unlocked, and a real-time online mode is available to face off against other players. Arcaea does not require an internet connection for play, and is fully playable both on smartphones and tablets. On install the game includes a large library of free playable songs, and more can be made available by acquiring additional songs and content packs. ==Features== - A high difficulty ceiling - experience personal growth as you develop skills in arcade-style progression - Over 350 songs from more than 200 artists famous across other games - 3 rhythm difficulty levels for every song - An expanding music library through regular content updates - Collaborations with other beloved rhythm games - Online friends and scoreboards - Real-time online multiplayer - A Course Mode that tests endurance through gauntlets of songs - A rich Main Story that features two protagonist’s perspectives across a powerful journey - Additional Side and Short Stories of varying styles and perspectives featuring the game’s characters that build upon the world of Arcaea - A vast array of original characters and guest characters from collaborations to accompany you, level up, and alter your play through many game-changing skills - Stunning, never-before-seen connections to storylines via gameplay, challenging the very paradigm of play ==Story== Two girls find themselves in a colorless world full of memory, and with no memory of themselves. Each alone, they set out into places often beautiful, and just as often dangerous. Arcaea’s story is interwoven throughout Main, Side, and Short stories which each focus on individual, playable characters. While separate, they all share the same space: the world of Arcaea. Their reactions to it, and its reactions to them, form an ever-shifting narrative of mystery, sorrow, and bliss. As they explore this heavenly place, follow their steps down paths of glass and grief. --- Follow Arcaea & News: Twitter: http://twitter.com/arcaea_en Facebook: http://facebook.com/arcaeagame

About

Phigros

Experience a "laneless" rhythm game with dynamic judgment lines and unique note types. Explore a vast library of over 200 licensed tracks across diverse genres, each accompanied by stunning, mood-enhancing cover art.

Highlights
  • Laneless gameplay
  • Dynamic judgment lines
  • Four note types
  • 200+ licensed music tracks
  • Diverse music genres
  • Beautiful cover art
Currently charting
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A Truly Novel Gameplay Phigros is a "laneless" music game with dynamic judgement lines and four different types of notes, bringing you a refreshing rhythm experience like never before! A Curated Music Library With more than 200 high-quality tracks of various genres licensed from musicians around the world, Phigros will immerse you in aural delight. Beautiful Illustrations Each track comes with a beautiful cover art drawn by our talented artists which fits and enhances the song's mood. Also a feast for the eyes!

Screenshots

Arcaea4 screens
Phigros4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Phigros at none against Arcaea's 3. Phigros also leads on review sentiment (87% vs 78%). Arcaea's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 weeks) and ratings volume (25K vs 2.9K). On price, rating, ads and chart position 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. Arcaea sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Phigros asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Arcaea against 4.8 for Phigros. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Arcaea has 25K ratings behind it against 2.9K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of Arcaea's written reviews are positive against 87% of Phigros's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Arcaea ships an update every 8 days, Phigros every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Arcaea versus Phigros: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArcaeaPhigros
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (25K ratings)4.8 (2.9K ratings)
Positive reviews78.4% of reviews87.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings25K — better2.9K
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#85#47 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.4 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.2 GB1.7 GB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperlowiroXiamen Pigeon Games Network Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

Arcaea

All ratings24,557 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews1,245 reviews
Positive78.4%
Neutral6.7%
Negative14.9%

Phigros

All ratings2,903 ratings
Positive95.5%
Neutral1.0%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews882 reviews
Positive87.0%
Neutral4.5%
Negative8.5%

User reviews

Arcaea

From 25K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Unique gameplay mechanics
  • 🎨 Beautiful visuals and art
  • 🎶 Excellent music selection
  • 👍 Smooth and responsive controls
  • 💯 Challenging yet rewarding difficulty

Room to improve

  • 💰 Excessive paywall for content
  • 🔁 Repetitive grind in World Mode
  • 🐛 Occasional note registration issues
  • 🔊 Audio desync when multitasking
  • 🤖 Lack of practice mode or tutorial

Phigros

From 2.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Entirely free with no ads or in-app purchases
  • 🎨 Unique and creative gameplay with moving judgment line
  • 👍 Wide variety of songs and difficulties
  • 🎶 Great music selection
  • 🔍 Interesting story and lore elements

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Issues with cloud save and account syncing across devices
  • 🔍 Lore and story elements can be confusing or hard to understand
  • 🔍 Difficulty progression can feel grindy at times

Bugs and requests

Arcaea

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Login issues and account sync problems
  • Compatibility problems on certain devices
  • Crashes and freezes during gameplay

Requested features

5 requests
  • Multiplayer mode to compete with friends
  • Ability to earn premium currency through gameplay
  • More free song options to explore the game
  • Customizable note speed and offset settings
  • Improved story mode and character development

Phigros

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional crashes or freezes, especially when switching songs
  • Audio desync issues for some users
  • Trouble unlocking certain songs/chapters

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more well-known or popular songs
  • Improve cloud save functionality
  • Provide option to adjust background blur/dimming
  • Translate more of the story/lore content to English

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Arcaea

One-time3
  • 100 Memories$0.99
  • 510 Memories$4.99
  • 1020 Memories$9.99
None

Phigros

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Arcaea free?
Arcaea is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Phigros free?
Phigros is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Arcaea or Phigros?
Arcaea and Phigros are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 25K and 2.9K ratings respectively.
Do Arcaea or Phigros have ads?
Neither Arcaea nor Phigros shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Arcaea or Phigros?
Arcaea ships an update every 8 days, and Phigros every 3 weeks. Most recently, Arcaea was updated on September 25, 2026 and Phigros on September 23, 2026.
Which is more popular, Arcaea or Phigros?
Arcaea currently peaks at #85 in the App Store charts, and Phigros at #47. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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