Comparison

Hellrule vs Starwave Shooter

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

Head to head
About

Hellrule

Embark on a thrilling hack-and-slash adventure where your umbrella becomes a powerful sword against encroaching horror. Navigate challenging, handcrafted levels, battle formidable bosses, and enjoy a retro gaming experience with a heavy metal soundtrack.

Highlights
  • Hack-and-slash runner action
  • Challenging and addictive gameplay
  • Manually designed levels
  • Big boss battles
  • Powerful metal music theme
  • Retro mode
Features
Read full description

You were going for your introspective nightly walk under the rain, but it seems that tonight that won't be possible: horror is here. You'll have to use your sturdy umbrella as a sword to slice all those ill-intentioned beings to save the day (the night?, perhaps even the whole world?). • Right-to-the-point horror hack-and-slash runner action. • Challenging and addictive. • Carefully, manually designed levels. • Big bosses at the end of each chapter. • Powerful metal music theme by El Reno Renardo. • Retro mode, for playing like in 1975! Remember: • This will be a free game forever! • No ads at all! • No in-app purchases! Get Hellrule now and have fun!

About

Starwave Shooter

Features
Read full description

Race across the stars and destroy waves of enemies and powerful bosses in a fast-paced pixel-art space shooter. Drag to move freely, then combine distinctive ships, weapons, and abilities to create your own combat style. SHIPS THAT CHANGE HOW YOU PLAY Every ship has different power, fire rate, lives, and movement performance. Unlocked ships can move vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, and each comes with a unique ability. A CHARGE BEAM THAT ERASES ENEMY FIRE Equip a Charge Core and hold the play area to build energy. Release to fire a massive beam whose duration depends on your charge time. The beam damages enemies and cancels enemy projectiles in its path. CUSTOMIZE YOUR ARSENAL Equip different shot types, ship colors, and Charge Cores. Rare cores cost a large amount of gameplay coins, but can be upgraded after you unlock them. FEATURES - Pixel-art space backgrounds that change from stage to stage - Distinctive ships, enemies, bosses, and projectile patterns - Wave-based stages and boss battles - Ships, weapons, cores, and upgrades unlocked with gameplay coins - Game Center leaderboard for your combined best score - Optional rewarded ad to continue a run Coins are earned by playing. There are no in-app purchases or subscriptions.

Screenshots

Hellrule4 screens
Starwave Shooter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Hellrule at none against Starwave Shooter's shown. Hellrule also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.2). Starwave Shooter's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 18 months). On price, in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hellrule ships an update every 18 months, Starwave Shooter every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Hellrule versus Starwave Shooter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHellruleStarwave Shooter
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (4 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 18 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.2
Further details — not scored
Size65 MB26 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperPedro J. Estebanezkazu kaneko

In-app purchases

None

Hellrule

No in-app purchases

None

Starwave Shooter

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hellrule free?
Hellrule is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Starwave Shooter free?
Starwave Shooter is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Hellrule or Starwave Shooter have ads?
Starwave Shooter shows ads; Hellrule does not.
Which is updated more often, Hellrule or Starwave Shooter?
Hellrule ships an update every 18 months, and Starwave Shooter every 3 weeks. Most recently, Hellrule was updated on October 1, 2026 and Starwave Shooter on October 13, 2026.

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