Comparison

Extra Lives vs The Wanderer

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

Head to head
About

Extra Lives

Survive a zombie-infested world by developing relationships with characters and exploring diverse locations. Engage in satisfying combat and customize your experience with various gameplay options. Upgrade for enhanced features and enjoy a unique survival simulation.

Highlights
  • Zombie survival gameplay
  • Relationship development with 200 characters
  • Explore 50+ locations
  • Interactive objects
  • Above-average combat system
  • Character customization
  • Adjustable zombie population
Features
Read full description

See how long you can survive in a world full of brainless zombies and heartless humans! Develop unique relationships with 200 other characters spread across 8 warring factions - each with their own beliefs about what the problem is and how to solve it. Explore over 50 different locations on your journey to restore order to every corner of the city, with hundreds of interactive objects to help you along the way. Featuring an above-average combat system from the Wrestling Revolution series, tearing enemies apart has never been so satisfying! Although the game is mostly free to play, you can upgrade to "infinitely" enhance your experience. Start with a character of your creation and save your changes to all others to make the world your own. You can even choose how many zombies you start with to either dive in at the deep end or ensure a slow build. Full access to the special "Deathmatch" mode also gives you all the fun of slaying zombies with none of the pressure! HOW TO PLAY Players of previous games may need to take the time to adjust to the new control system, which distinguishes between the left or right hands: * The RED fist buttons allow you to ATTACK from either side. * The BLUE hand buttons allow you to PICK-UP or DROP with either hand (hold a direction to THROW). + Pressing BOTH buttons on either SIDE will attempt to USE what is in that hand - such as eating food or reading books (notice that some actions may cause you to swap hands to use them properly). + Pressing BOTH pick-up buttons together will COMBINE the objects you have in each hand or nearby on the ground. Both hands can also be used to pick up larger furniture so long as they are empty and there is nothing closer to handle. + Pressing BOTH attack buttons together will attempt to GRAB your opponent (press again to release or any other combination of buttons to execute moves). + DOUBLE-TAP any direction to RUN. - Touch the HEALTH METER to SLEEP when your energy is low. - Touch the CLOCK to PAUSE - where you can exit or access other options. I regret that there's more to this game than could ever be explained here, so please look out for additional hints in the game itself.

About

The Wanderer

Explore a post-apocalyptic wasteland, scavenge for supplies, and battle enemies in this Fallout-inspired RPG. Customize your character, upgrade stats, and find a companion to survive the harsh environment. Features include randomized maps, various locations to explore, and selectable difficulty levels for high replayability.

Highlights
  • Post-apocalyptic RPG survival
  • Character customization
  • Upgradeable stats and items
  • Randomized map and locations
  • Companion system
  • Difficulty selection
  • Camper van traversal
Features
Read full description

Wander the harsh wasteland as one of the last remaining survivors searching for supplies and battling any unwanted visitors in this Fallout inspired pocket based post-apocalyptic RPG survival game. FREE TO PLAY ON MOBILE Pixel quality gaming on your phone with customizable characters and upgradeable stats and items. Experience the thrill of this Fallout inspired action/adventure game with no forced adverts and no pay wall, now on your phone for easy on-the-go fun. VARIOUS LOCATIONS Traverse through different towns that have unique places to search from random houses -> medical shops -> police stations, all with lots of places to search for supplies. RANDOMISED MAP With each playthrough, the map changes and locations scatter to give a different playthrough as you plan for expeditions. FIND YOUR FELLOW COMPANION Be on the lookout for a beloved pet that could help you gather supplies or help fend off attackers. Level their stats up and have a powerful companion. DIFFICULTY SELECTION & REPLAYABILITY With a selection of difficulties to customise, the player can manually choose how hard they want their experience to be. This will add to the replayability and will allow players to try out different playthroughs that can really change up how events turn out. TRAVERSING THE MAP Find all new parts to build the broken down camper van and be able to travel across the wasteland faster along with extra storage space. Get out of radiated areas quicker and be able to head back to your campsite before you become mutated. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST Use skill and strategy to battle any unwanted attackers and be rewarded with their loot which will help you survive longer in this harsh wasteland. CHOICE AND COMPLEXITY While exploring the player will have the chance to engage with various interactions that can affect your karma as well as trade supplies with another fellow survivor. Have what it takes to survive the wasteland? Download The Wanderer now! _________________________________________________________ NOTE: We welcome any feedback during your experience to improve the game. To give feedback, in-game go to > Options > Discord or use this link https://discord.gg/97av7Nf _________________________________________________________ Visit the Wiki for tips and detailed information - https://the-wanderer-game.fandom.com/wiki/The_Wanderer _________________________________________________________ Please note this app contains social features that allow you to compete for the high scores in the leaderboards and push notifications to inform you when free supplies are ready to be given. You can choose whether or not to utilize these features. CREDIT Music track - Zachfitzgeraldmusic.com TERMS OF USE https://www.jamiepparish.com/terms-of-use PRIVACY POLICY https://www.jamiepparish.com/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Extra Lives4 screens
The Wanderer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Extra Lives at none against The Wanderer's shown. Extra Lives also leads on iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.0). The Wanderer's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.1) and ratings volume (44K vs 1.6K). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Extra Lives sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and The Wanderer sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Wanderer holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Wanderer has 44K ratings behind it against 1.6K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Extra Lives's written reviews are positive against 80% of The Wanderer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Extra Lives ships an update every 8 days, The Wanderer weekly. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Extra Lives versus The Wanderer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExtra LivesThe Wanderer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (1.6K ratings)4.6 (44K ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.8% of reviews79.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.6K44K — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS10.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size87 MB429 MB
Age rating+174+
DeveloperMDickie LimitedJamie Parish

Customer experience

Extra Lives

All ratings1,534 ratings
Positive76.3%
Neutral5.9%
Negative17.7%
Written reviews284 reviews
Positive71.8%
Neutral7.7%
Negative20.4%

The Wanderer

All ratings43,658 ratings
Positive91.8%
Neutral5.0%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews2,296 reviews
Positive79.9%
Neutral7.8%
Negative12.3%

User reviews

Extra Lives

From 1.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great game
  • 👍 Fun to play
  • 💡 Unique concept
  • 👍 Lots of customization
  • 👍 Realistic gore and dismemberment

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Clunky controls
  • 🐛 Aggressive and unreasonable NPCs
  • 🐛 Unfair combat mechanics
  • 🐛 Slow character recovery time
  • 🐛 Repetitive dialogue and quests

The Wanderer

From 44K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Fun way to kill some time
  • 👍 Very fun game
  • 👍 Enjoyable gameplay
  • 👍 Interesting style
  • 👍 Relaxing and low key

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and glitches
  • 🐛 Buggy and unstable
  • 🐛 Laggy performance
  • 🔋 Drains battery quickly
  • 💰 Excessive ads and monetization

Bugs and requests

Extra Lives

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Game crashing after ads
  • Disappearing character limbs
  • Inability to restore purchases
  • Automatic movement/actions
  • Inconsistent NPC reactions

Requested features

8 requests
  • 3D version of the game
  • More weapon and character variety
  • Improved AI and NPC behavior
  • Ability to skip dialogue
  • Online/multiplayer mode
Show 3 more
  • More locations and environments
  • Customizable character creation
  • Adjustable hunger/survival mechanics

The Wanderer

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Inventory and storage issues
  • Disappearing vehicle parts
  • Incorrect or missing information display
  • Inconsistent difficulty scaling
  • Progression-blocking bugs

Requested features

11 requests
  • More maps and locations to explore
  • Ability to move camp and settle in new areas
  • More enemy and faction variety
  • Craftable weapons and gear
  • Cooking and food preparation options
Show 6 more
  • Companion system with different pet types
  • Multiplayer or co-op functionality
  • Endgame content and boss encounters
  • Landscape mode support
  • Customization options for character and camp
  • Better UI and information display

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Extra Lives

One-time1
  • Infinite Lives$2.99
10 purchases

The Wanderer

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Access Content$4.991 Month
One-time9
  • 1000 Bottle Caps$1.99
  • 1 Token$2.99
  • 6 Survivor Tokens$4.99
Show 6 more
  • STARTER PACK$4.99
  • Material Scavenger$5.49
  • 5000 Bottle Caps$5.99
  • Remove Ad Banners/Billboards$5.99
  • Maximum Bag Upgrade$6.99
  • Van Warranty$9.99

Questions

Is Extra Lives free?
Extra Lives is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is The Wanderer free?
The Wanderer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Extra Lives or The Wanderer?
The Wanderer is rated higher. Extra Lives averages 4.1 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while The Wanderer averages 4.6 from 44K ratings.
Do Extra Lives or The Wanderer have ads?
The Wanderer shows ads; Extra Lives does not.
Which is updated more often, Extra Lives or The Wanderer?
Extra Lives ships an update every 8 days, and The Wanderer weekly. Most recently, Extra Lives was updated on November 5, 2026 and The Wanderer on November 5, 2026.

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