Comparison

Grimvalor vs Dark Raider

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

Dark Raider

Embark on a hardcore retro action adventure to save a world facing apocalypse. Explore randomly generated dungeons, battle waves of enemies, and defeat epic bosses. Choose from multiple heroes, each with unique abilities, and collect powerful runes to grow stronger in your fight against impending doom.

Highlights
  • Randomly generated dungeons
  • Multiple playable heroes
  • Hack & Slash combat
  • Epic boss fights
  • Collectable runes
  • Unique dark theme art style
Features
Read full description

Apocalypse has come. It had been prophesied centuries ago, and people all over the world of Ylkis were expecting it, ready to one day face the wrath of the Gods. Chaos reigns, and the End of Times seemed inevitable. But the Gods seem to have given us one last chance. The Dungeons have opened and hope has been brought back. It is said that for every Dungeon conquered, the world will live another day, and that humanity may prove its worth to the Gods once again. And so the race against time began. Will you save the world from its impending doom, or will you be the one who brought upon its extinction? ► ► ► ► ► Dark Raider is a new retro Action game brought to you by the same team that gave you Tribemen. Raid hundreds of dungeons, hack through waves of enemies, and defeat powerful bosses in this new take to the Hack & Slash action genre. RANDOM GENERATED MAP The game uses random maps. The player needs to explore new areas and fight against different monsters every time, the dungeon will reset upon the player’s death. So the player will never do the same run twice. MULTIPLE HEROES AVAILABLE As the mainline advances, you can unlock three different heroes. They are Warrior, Mage and Barbarian. Warrior focuses on fast attack speed and quick movement, he is the best choice to deal with fast enemies. Mage focuses on burst damage, she is very squishy but can deal tons of damage. Barbarian focuses on survive, he has higher defense and more health, but he also has the slowest attack speed. DARK THEME ART STYLE Dark Raider has its unique art style. It uses the modern way to create a retro feeling. It also uses TFR-ISO to make the dungeon more immerse. The player will have a chance to explore this great fantasy world and enjoy their adventure. ► ► ► ► ► • Multiple characters available, you can always find one that fits you. • Hardcore action combat, you can use various combos to defeat the enemies. • Each run, you will grow stronger, and there are more than 17 different runes to collect • Epic boss fight, there are 23 different bosses waiting for your challenge. • Unique art style that create a great dark theme dungeon. ► ► ► ► ► http://twitter.com/TRINITIgames http://facebook.com/TRINITIgames

Screenshots

Grimvalor4 screens
Dark Raider4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Dark Raider at Free against Grimvalor's $5.99. Dark Raider also leads on iOS requirement (10.0 vs 14.0). Grimvalor's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 3.4) and in-app purchases (none vs 5). On update cadence, ads 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

Dark Raider is free to download; Grimvalor costs $5.99 up front. Dark Raider sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Grimvalor asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Grimvalor holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Grimvalor has 9.8K ratings behind it against 47, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Grimvalor's written reviews are positive against 67% of Dark Raider's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Grimvalor versus Dark Raider: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGrimvalorDark Raider
Price$5.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (9.8K ratings) — better3.4 (47 ratings)
Positive reviews90.8% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings9.8K — better47
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#100 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size739 MB630 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperDirelightTriniti Interactive Limited

Customer experience

Grimvalor

All ratings9,754 ratings
Positive97.2%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews804 reviews
Positive90.8%
Neutral3.2%
Negative6.0%

Dark Raider

All ratings47 ratings
Positive55.3%
Neutral4.3%
Negative40.4%
Written reviews39 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral7.7%
Negative25.6%

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

Dark Raider

From 47 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Amazing art style
  • 🎮 Smooth gameplay
  • 🔥 Addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Great roguelite action
  • 💡 Good inter-run progression

Room to improve

  • 💀 Very difficult
  • 🐢 Slow character movement
  • 🐛 Buggy controls
  • 💰 Expensive upgrades
  • 😩 Punishing runs

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

Dark Raider

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Forces to enter market on fourth mission
  • Cannot move or shoot in Battlefield
  • Controls are buggy and unresponsive
  • Cannot use purchased mage and barbarian characters
  • Destroy altar command not triggering
Show 5 more
  • Game gets stuck on first boss
  • No pause button
  • Dark Raider removed from App Store
  • Sound is lacking
  • Inbox not found

Requested features

10 requests
  • Bring back classic Call of Mini games
  • Update pixel version for comz1
  • Add other classes of heroes
  • Add more stages
  • Refine game mechanics
Show 5 more
  • Add a sprint button
  • Make maps more horizontal
  • Add combos
  • Fix screen fit on iPhone XR
  • Add more descriptions for IAPs

In-app purchases

None

Grimvalor

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Dark Raider

One-time5
  • Full stages and Warrior$0.99
  • New character Mage$0.99
  • New character Barbarian$0.99
Show 2 more
  • $0.99 PACK.$0.99
  • Full stages + three chatacters$2.99

Questions

Is Grimvalor free?
Grimvalor costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dark Raider free?
Dark Raider is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Grimvalor or Dark Raider?
Grimvalor is rated higher. Grimvalor averages 4.9 out of 5 from 9.8K ratings, while Dark Raider averages 3.4 from 47 ratings.
Do Grimvalor or Dark Raider have ads?
Neither Grimvalor nor Dark Raider shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Grimvalor or Dark Raider?
Grimvalor ships an update every 2 months, and Dark Raider every 2 months. Most recently, Grimvalor was updated on October 25, 2026 and Dark Raider on October 19, 2026.

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