Comparison

Sublight Empire vs Red Fire

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

Head to head
About

Sublight Empire

Experience a unique 4X space strategy game where actions and events unfold over years due to the speed of light limitations. Explore, colonize, and conquer star systems to achieve galactic dominance.

Highlights
  • Relativistic speed of light mechanics
  • Real-time command propagation delays
  • Explore and colonize star systems
  • Defend and conquer colonies
  • Classic 4X gameplay
  • Galactic conquest objective
Features
Read full description

Einstein's theory of relativity states that nothing is faster than light. This also applies to this game. Information is radio signals propagating at the speed of light. These radio signals transmit your commands and the events you receive. Spaceships move at a fraction of the speed of light. So it takes years for a command or a spaceship to reach its destination. When a battle takes place, you won't know about it until years later. Apart from this, it is a classic 4X game. In the beginning you rule a single star system and you are exploring and colonizing the surrounding systems. Later on you will meet your opponents and you will have to defend and conquer colonies. To win the game, you must conquer 2/3 of all stars.

About

Red Fire

Engage in turn-based strategic warfare across East Asia from 1950-1975. Command diverse land, air, and naval forces of numerous nations in historical and fictional conflicts. Experience realistic Cold War combat with intelligent AI and hotseat multiplayer.

Highlights
  • Turn-based strategy
  • East Asian Cold War setting
  • Land, air, and naval forces
  • Dozens of nations
  • Realistic combat simulation
  • Intelligent adaptive AI
  • Hotseat multiplayer
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Red Fire is a turn-based strategic wargame set in East Asia between the years 1950-1975. Take command of land, air, and naval forces of dozens of nations including the US, USSR, China, Taiwan, North and South Korea, North and South Vietnam, France, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Experience Korean War, Vietnam War, and many other conflicts - both historical and fictional. Command squadrons of more than 500 types of aircraft, from biplanes to multirole fighter jets. Control the seas with more than 500 types of warships including submarines, battleships and aircraft carriers. Leverage new tools like surface-air missiles, air-air refueling tankers, attack helicopters, and missile cruisers to dominate the battlefield. Red Fire is powered by a detailed and realistic simulation of Cold War-era air, naval, and ground combat. Fight against an intelligent AI which constantly adapts its strategy to ensure every game is challenging and unique. Challenge a friend in hotseat multiplayer (pass-and-play). Red Fire contains no in-app purchases or ads of any kind, and an internet connection is not required to play. Buy the game once and get access to all current and future content.

Screenshots

Sublight Empire4 screens
Red Fire4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sublight Empire at Free against Red Fire's $5.99. Sublight Empire also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Red Fire's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (90 vs 2). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

Sublight Empire is free to download; Red Fire costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sublight Empire holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Red Fire has 90 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sublight Empire ships an update every 6 months, Red Fire every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Sublight Empire versus Red Fire: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSublight EmpireRed Fire
PriceFree — better$5.99
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.8 (90 ratings)
Positive reviews—92.2% of reviews
Number of ratings290 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#168 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB166 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperEnrico UngerGeoffrey Ayre

Customer experience

Sublight Empire

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Red Fire

All ratings90 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral2.2%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews77 reviews
Positive92.2%
Neutral3.9%
Negative3.9%

Bugs and requests

Sublight Empire

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Red Fire

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • Game crashes frequently
  • Freezes on resolving conflicts preventing turn progression
  • Aircraft auto-renew orders system malfunction
  • Naval and land forces stuck on Guam island
  • Ships unable to find routes from Guam
Show 6 more
  • AI captures areas behind player lines unrealistically
  • Carrier planes launch from destroyers instead of carriers
  • Notch display compatibility issue
  • Campaign Red Fire ends prematurely at March 26, 1969
  • Nuclear war notifications trigger without player action
  • Game lag with large unit concentrations (6.7M+ troops)

Requested features

20 requests
  • European theatre/Cold War Europe map
  • Middle East and North Africa campaigns
  • South America and Central America scenarios
  • Modern era (1970s-2020s) game version
  • Group land and air units like naval units
Show 15 more
  • Artillery units with ranged mechanics
  • Individual aircraft selection from squadrons
  • WWI and Gulf War scenarios
  • India and Pakistan as playable nations
  • Mission editor for campaign customization
  • Ability to disband units and ships
  • Force allied AI to move troops
  • More save slots
  • PC/desktop port
  • Star Wars version
  • American Civil War scenario
  • Cuban Missile Crisis campaign
  • Diplomacy complexity improvements
  • Vehicle variants expansion
  • Reduced AA missile quantities

In-app purchases

None

Sublight Empire

No in-app purchases

None

Red Fire

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sublight Empire free?
Sublight Empire is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Red Fire free?
Red Fire costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Sublight Empire or Red Fire?
Sublight Empire is rated higher. Sublight Empire averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Red Fire averages 4.8 from 90 ratings.
Do Sublight Empire or Red Fire have ads?
Neither Sublight Empire nor Red Fire shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sublight Empire or Red Fire?
Sublight Empire ships an update every 6 months, and Red Fire every 6 weeks. Most recently, Sublight Empire was updated on September 20, 2026 and Red Fire on September 25, 2026.

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