Comparison

Grimvalor vs Dead Cells

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

Head to head
About

Grimvalor

Embark on a dark fantasy adventure as a lone warrior battling through a corrupted realm. Master skill-based combat, explore atmospheric landscapes, and face epic boss fights in this challenging hack and slash platformer. Restore the kingdom and uncover the fate of its lost king.

Highlights
  • Skill-based combat
  • Exploration of dark fantasy world
  • Epic boss fights
  • Stunning 3D visuals
  • Customizable touch controls
  • MFi controller support
  • Offline play
Features
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Slash your way through the hordes of darkness and defeat King Valor's fearsome guardians in this breathtaking adventure! "Chaining together a slick series of attacks, dodges, and jumps, is incredibly satisfying." — PocketGamer "I suspect mobile gaming fans will be playing and replaying this one for years to come." — TouchArcade, 5/5 A malicious power stirs in the forgotten kingdom of Vallaris. Tasked with discovering the fate of its lost king, your quest quickly takes a sinister turn and you are cast into darkness. Surrounded and outnumbered, you must grab your sword, steel your temper and fight your way through a land that does not welcome you. Except for the friendly merchant - he's grateful for your business. ABOUT THE GAME Grimvalor is a challenging hack & slash platformer with fast-paced combat in a dark fantasy world. Take control of a lone warrior on a quest to restore a corrupted realm. Embark on a journey through atmospheric landscapes and dungeons in a massive story-driven premium experience. COMBAT & EXPLORATION Master skill-based combat, learn enemy patterns and bring them down with all your fury. Explore the shattered lands of Vallaris, find and upgrade equipment and level up your character. Face the legacy of King Valor's madness and prevail! FEATURES • Epic boss fights • Stunning 3D visuals accelerated by Metal graphics • Accurate and customizable touch controls • Full support for MFi game controllers • Use iCloud to keep your saves in sync between devices. • Play offline - perfect for commute. • No ads or in-app purchases

About

Dead Cells

Explore a sprawling, ever-changing castle as a failed alchemic experiment. Master frantic 2D combat with a variety of weapons and skills against dangerous foes. Death is not the end; learn from each attempt to progress through this roguevania action platformer.

Highlights
  • Roguevania exploration
  • Frantic 2D action combat
  • Nonlinear progression
  • Permadeath with learning
  • Unlockable weapons and skills
  • DLC content packs
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Death is not the end. Play as a failed alchemic experiment and explore the sprawling, ever-changing castle to find out what happened on this gloomy island…! That is, assuming you’re able to fight your way past its keepers. Dead Cells is a roguevania action platformer that will require you to master frantic 2D combat with a wide variety of weapons and skills against merciless minions and boss. Kill. Die. Learn. Repeat. First available on PC and consoles, the indie hit Dead Cells is now slaying foes on mobile! Main Features • Roguevania: The progressive exploration of an interconnected world, with the replayability of a rogue-lite and the adrenaline-pumping threat of permadeath • Frantic and Dynamic 2D Action: Learn your enemies’ patterns to stay alive, or prepare to be sent back to your cell before you can say “baguette” • Nonlinear Progression: Unlock new levels with every death, opt for the path that suits your current build, your playstyle or just your mood. Surely, the ramparts can’t be as bad as the sewers, right? • Play at your own pace: Will you explore every nook and cranny of the castle, or rush to the end? *Latest updates are available: Clean Cut & The End is Near* RETURN TO CASTLEVANIA DLC Time for some vampire slaying • New storyline - overcome the Ruler of Darkness alongside Alucard and Richter Belmont, • 2 new biomes - Explore Dracula's Castle and its outskirts • 9 new monsters - Werewolves, haunted armors, and medusas are waiting for you • 14 new weapons - wield the Vampire Killer or the Holy Water to defeat creatures of the night, • 3 new bosses - go fangs to fangs against Death and Dracula himself • 20 new outfits - dress as your favorite Castlevania characters such as Simon and Richter Belmont or Alucard • Alternative soundtracks - play along 51 Castlevania original tracks and 12 tunes reimagined in the style of Dead Cells THE BAD SEED DLC You reap what you sow • New levels to lose your head in the not-so-peaceful Dilapidated Arboretum and the noxious Morass of the Banished • New monsters to rip to pieces: get to know the locals, such as the Jerkshroom and the Yeeter • New weapons to play with: trim sticking-out heads with the Scythe Claw, or make them dance to the sound of the Rhythm n' Bouzouki • New boss to fight against: Mama Tick is dying to meet you FATAL FALLS DLC Ready for a leap of faith? • 3 new biomes - Get some fresh air at the Fractured Shrines, splash around at the Undying Shores and take a picture at the Mausoleum • 8 new monsters - The Cold Blooded Guardians and their friends would love to teach you about their culture. ... Wait, aren't those relatives of yours in the Undying Shores...? • 7 new weapons - Lil' Serenade is perfect for breaking the ice with the locals, although the Snake Fangs would make for a perfect souvenir... • 1 new boss - The Scarecrow is very proud of his gardening skills and won't hesitate to show off QUEEN AND THE SEA DLC Take it to the sea! • 2 new biomes - Battle your way through a rotten shipwreck, or scale a burning lighthouse and confront your deadliest foe yet. • 9 new weapons, including a throwable shark, a trident and a pirate hook hand (eyepatch not included). • 2 new bosses - Don't lose your head before you meet the Queen! This DLC also gives you the usual extras: - A not-so-cute pet. - Loads of new outfits. - New enemies to bash. WARNING: Devices with less than 2 Gb of RAM may not be able to run this content correctly. We recommend not to take this DLC if your device is under 2gb of RAM. Carefully redesigned for mobile with a revamped interface • Two game modes available: Original & Auto-Hit • Custom controls & More touch controls options available: Change the buttons’ position and size to your liking, swipe to dodge… • MFi external controller support • No ads, no F2P mechanics! If you run into a problem, please contact us at support@playdigious.mail.helpshift.com with as much information as possible on the issue.

Screenshots

Grimvalor4 screens
Dead Cells4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Grimvalor at none against Dead Cells's 4. Grimvalor also leads on price ($5.99 vs $8.99). Dead Cells's advantage is chart position (#6 vs #151) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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

Grimvalor costs $5.99 and Dead Cells $8.99 up front. Dead Cells sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Grimvalor asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Grimvalor against 4.8 for Dead Cells. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9.8K and 12K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Grimvalor's written reviews are positive against 89% of Dead Cells's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Grimvalor ships an update every 2 months, Dead Cells every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Grimvalor versus Dead Cells: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGrimvalorDead Cells
Price$5.99 — better$8.99
Rating4.9 (9.8K ratings) — better4.8 (12K ratings)
Positive reviews90.8% of reviews — better88.5% of reviews
Number of ratings9.8K12K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#151#6 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS14.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size739 MB1.8 GB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperDirelightPlaydigious

Customer experience

Grimvalor

All ratings9,754 ratings
Positive97.2%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews803 reviews
Positive90.8%
Neutral3.2%
Negative6.0%

Dead Cells

All ratings12,164 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral1.5%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews1,780 reviews
Positive88.5%
Neutral3.6%
Negative7.9%

User reviews

Grimvalor

From 9.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 👍 Excellent controls
  • 🎨 Beautiful graphics
  • 🎶 Great soundtrack
  • 💰 Worth the price

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
  • 🕹️ Challenging difficulty spikes
  • 🕹️ Frustrating jumping puzzles
  • 🕹️ Dodge mechanic issues
  • 🔍 Lack of character customization

Dead Cells

From 12K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 👍 Excellent controls
  • 💎 High-quality graphics
  • 🎮 Great controller support
  • 🔥 Addictive and challenging

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Audio glitches and bugs
  • 🤔 Lack of custom mode
  • 📱 Finicky touch controls
  • 🔇 No background music support

Bugs and requests

Grimvalor

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Dodge not registering properly
  • Crashes in New Game Plus
  • Companion AI issues
  • Graphical glitches on older devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • More levels and content
  • Ability to replay bosses
  • Enemy scaling for higher difficulties
  • Expanded weapon and trinket selection
  • New game plus improvements

Dead Cells

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Saves not compatible across platforms
  • Texture and graphical issues on some devices
  • Persistent memory leaks causing performance drops

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add Chinese language support
  • Implement cross-save functionality
  • Introduce online multiplayer mode
  • Optimize for older devices

In-app purchases

None

Grimvalor

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Dead Cells

One-time4
  • The Bad Seed$3.99
  • Fatal Falls$3.99
  • The Queen and the Sea$3.99
Show 1 more
  • Return to Castlevania$6.99

Questions

Is Grimvalor free?
Grimvalor costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dead Cells free?
Dead Cells costs $8.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Grimvalor or Dead Cells?
Grimvalor is rated higher. Grimvalor averages 4.9 out of 5 from 9.8K ratings, while Dead Cells averages 4.8 from 12K ratings.
Do Grimvalor or Dead Cells have ads?
Neither Grimvalor nor Dead Cells shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Grimvalor or Dead Cells?
Grimvalor ships an update every 2 months, and Dead Cells every 5 weeks. Most recently, Grimvalor was updated on September 23, 2026 and Dead Cells on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Grimvalor or Dead Cells?
Grimvalor currently peaks at #151 in the App Store charts, and Dead Cells at #6. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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