Comparison

Grimvalor vs Hyper Light Drifter

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
Read full description

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

Hyper Light Drifter

Embark on an action-adventure RPG journey through a vast, ruined world filled with danger and lost technologies. Explore, battle vicious enemies, and uncover secrets in this hand-animated, visually stunning experience.

Highlights
  • Hand-animated visuals
  • Vast, ruined world exploration
  • Challenging combat
  • Weapon upgrades and skills
  • Branching paths and secrets
  • Evocative soundtrack
Features
Read full description

Finally, Heart Machine's award winning slash-'em-up arrives to iOS in the most polished and refined version yet, the Special Edition. ► Winner of the Audience Award and Excellence in Visual Art awards of the prestigious Independent Games Festival. ► 14 + nominations among the Best Visual Design, Best Audio and Best original Game categories. ► 9/10 Destructoid - A hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won't cause massive damage. ► 9.5/10 Game Informer - The combination of soundtrack, art, and combat creates a rabbit hole worth your full exploration. ► Eurogamer Recommended - Heart Machine's slash-'em-up is punishing and precise - and incredibly beautiful. ► 9/10 GameSpot - It is more than simply pretty; Hyper Light Drifter uses its visuals to both guide and relax you. The grandest vistas calm your pulse between difficult, breathless combat sequences. ► 8.5 Polygon - Hyper Light Drifter deftly mixes contemplative moments with breakneck action. ► 5 Stars Darkstation - The top-down action-RPG Hyper Light Drifter is an amazing game: gorgeous, a fascinating world to explore, tight controls, beautiful music, and the faith in the player for you to figure things out on your own. Echoes of a dark and violent past resonate throughout a savage land, steeped in treasure and blood. Drifters of this world are the collectors of forgotten knowledge, lost technologies and broken histories. Our Drifter is haunted by an insatiable illness, traveling further into the lands of Buried Time, hoping to discover a way to quiet the vicious disease. Hyper Light Drifter is an action adventure RPG in the vein of the best 16-bit classics, with modernized mechanics and designs on a much grander scale. Explore a beautiful, vast and ruined world riddled with dangers and lost technologies. Features: ● 120 fps gameplay on iPad Pro / 60 fps on iPhone and iPad. ● Compatible with MFi controllers. ● Game Center achievements. ● Haptic Vibration. ● From each character to subtle background elements, everything is lovingly hand-animated. ● Easy to pick up, difficult to master; enemies are vicious and numerous, hazards will easily crush your frail body, and friendly faces remain rare. ● Upgrade weapons, learn new skills, discover equipment and traverse a dark, detailed world with branching paths and secrets abound. ● Evocative soundtrack composed by Disasterpeace. ● All the content from the original game + more weapons, enemies and areas from the Special edition.

Screenshots

Grimvalor4 screens
Hyper Light Drifter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Hyper Light Drifter at $4.99 against Grimvalor's $5.99. 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 Hyper Light Drifter $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Grimvalor against 4.9 for Hyper Light Drifter. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9.8K and 6.7K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Grimvalor's written reviews are positive against 83% of Hyper Light Drifter's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Grimvalor ships an update every 2 months, Hyper Light Drifter every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on October 2, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 10 level
Grimvalor versus Hyper Light Drifter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGrimvalorHyper Light Drifter
Price$5.99$4.99 — better
Rating4.9 (9.8K ratings)4.9 (6.7K ratings)
Positive reviews90.8% of reviews — better83.3% of reviews
Number of ratings9.8K — better6.7K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#150#140 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS14.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size739 MB813 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperDirelightAbylight S.L.

Customer experience

Grimvalor

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

Hyper Light Drifter

All ratings6,721 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral1.0%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews544 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral5.0%
Negative11.8%

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

Hyper Light Drifter

From 6.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🔥 Gorgeous game
  • 👍 Engaging gameplay
  • 🎨 Beautiful art style
  • 🎶 Excellent soundtrack
  • 🤯 Challenging but fair

Room to improve

  • 🤖 Unclear controls/tutorials
  • 🤕 Frustrating difficulty
  • 🤔 Lack of story explanation
  • 🤖 Unresponsive touch controls
  • 🤕 Imprecise aiming/platforming

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

Hyper Light Drifter

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game crashes when fighting in the tower
  • Background glitches and visual issues
  • Inconsistent frame rate on some devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add controller remapping
  • Improve touch control responsiveness
  • Provide more story context
  • Adjust difficulty settings
  • Add widescreen support for newer devices

In-app purchases

None

Grimvalor

No in-app purchases

None

Hyper Light Drifter

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Grimvalor free?
Grimvalor costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Hyper Light Drifter free?
Hyper Light Drifter costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Grimvalor or Hyper Light Drifter?
Grimvalor and Hyper Light Drifter are both rated 4.9 out of 5 on the App Store, from 9.8K and 6.7K ratings respectively.
Do Grimvalor or Hyper Light Drifter have ads?
Neither Grimvalor nor Hyper Light Drifter shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Grimvalor or Hyper Light Drifter?
Grimvalor ships an update every 2 months, and Hyper Light Drifter every 6 weeks. Most recently, Grimvalor was updated on October 2, 2026 and Hyper Light Drifter on October 2, 2026.
Which is more popular, Grimvalor or Hyper Light Drifter?
Grimvalor currently peaks at #150 in the App Store charts, and Hyper Light Drifter at #140. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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