Elba vs Dawn, P.I.
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Elba
Embark on a text-based narrative adventure to uncover the secrets of an abandoned island. As you and an old friend explore, more questions arise about your shared past and the island's mysteries.
- Text-based gameplay
- Narrative experience
- Mystery uncovering
- Story-driven
- Chapter-based progression
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Elba is a text based, narrative experience. Together with an old friend you uncover the mysteries of an abandoned island. More questions then answers arise as your common past unravels throughout the story. Content: Prologue Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V
Dawn, P.I.
Step into the shoes of a high school detective in this hand-drawn, point-and-click adventure game. Explore a mysterious high school, find clues, solve puzzles, and interrogate characters to uncover the truth behind strange occurrences.
- Point-and-click gameplay
- Investigative puzzles
- Character interrogation
- Hand-drawn animation
- Mystery solving
- Explore school environment
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What mystery lurks in Marlowe High? Become a detective in this point-and-click adventure game and solve the case! If you enjoy detective stories, escape games and puzzles, Dawn, P.I. is the game for you. Become Dawn, a high schooler with a penchant for investigation and occasional property damage. Explore the school to find clues and solve puzzles to ultimately get to the bottom of the case: why is Meg's horoscope suddenly working? Is someone interfering with the school paper? Why are people missing? Why is the librarian so annoying? And what in the world is "The Guiding Wind"? Fully hand-drawn and -animated, Dawn, P.I. will transport you to a cartoon noir world, where you'll have to be sharp and creative to advance in every step. Sweep rooms for objects to help you on your investigation and interrogate everyone to uncover their hidden secrets.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Elba at none against Dawn, P.I.'s 1. Elba also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Dawn, P.I.'s advantage is ratings volume (15 vs 2). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Dawn, P.I. sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Elba asks for nothing beyond the download.
Elba holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dawn, P.I. has 15 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Elba's written reviews are positive against 67% of Dawn, P.I.'s.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Elba | Dawn, P.I. |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 4.8 (15 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 15 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 131 MB | 68 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Steffen Diesing | Bruno Maestrini |
Customer experience
Elba
Dawn, P.I.
In-app purchases
Elba
No in-app purchases
Dawn, P.I.
- Full Game$2.99
