Comparison

Mindustry 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

Mindustry

Build complex factories, manage supply chains, and defend your base from enemy waves in this real-time strategy game. Conquer planets, research new technologies, and engage in multiplayer battles with friends.

Highlights
  • Factory building and supply chains
  • Tower defense against enemy waves
  • Cross-platform multiplayer co-op and PvP
  • Conquer planets with campaign and procedural sectors
  • Research new blocks and technologies
  • Map editor with scripting support
Features
Read full description

Mindustry is a factory-building game with tower defense and RTS elements. Create elaborate supply chains to feed ammo into your turrets, produce materials to use for building, and construct units. Command units to capture enemy bases, and expand your production. Defend your core from waves of enemies. Gameplay Features: - Use production blocks to create a wide variety of advanced materials - Defend your structures from waves of enemies - Play with your friends in cross-platform multiplayer co-op games, or challenge them in team-based PvP matches - Distribute liquids and fight constant challenges, like outbreaks of fire or enemy flier raids - Get the most out of your production by supplying optional coolant and lubricant - Produce a wide variety of units for automatic management of your base or assault on enemy bases - Set up assembly lines to construct armies of mechanized units - Use your units to square up against fully functional enemy bases Campaign: - Conquer the planets Serpulo and Erekir as you advance through 35 hand-made maps and 250+ procedurally generated sectors - Capture territory and set up factories to produce resources while you play other sectors - Defend your sectors from periodic invasions - Coordinate resource distribution between sectors via launch pads - Research new blocks to fuel progress - Invite your friends to complete missions together - 250+ technology blocks to master - 50+ different types of drones, mechs and ships Custom Games & Cross-Platform Multiplayer: - 16+ built in maps for custom games, in addition to two entire campaigns - Play co-op, PvP or sandbox - Join a public dedicated server, or invite friends to your own private session - Customizable game rules: Change block costs, enemy stats, starting items, wave timing and more - Full functional map editor with scripting support

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
Read full description

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

Mindustry4 screens
Dead Cells4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mindustry at none against Dead Cells's 4. Mindustry also leads on price ($1.99 vs $8.99) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 5 weeks). Dead Cells's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (89% vs 74%). On 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

Mindustry costs $1.99 and Dead Cells $8.99 up front. Dead Cells sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Mindustry asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dead Cells holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dead Cells has 12K ratings behind it against 1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Mindustry's written reviews are positive against 89% of Dead Cells's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mindustry ships an update every 4 days, Dead Cells every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Mindustry versus Dead Cells: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMindustryDead Cells
Price$1.99 — better$8.99
Rating4.5 (1K ratings)4.8 (12K ratings) — better
Positive reviews74.3% of reviews88.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1K12K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#31#6 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS15.0.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size150 MB1.8 GB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperAnton KramskoiPlaydigious

Customer experience

Mindustry

All ratings1,019 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral1.8%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews623 reviews
Positive74.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative17.3%

Dead Cells

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

User reviews

Mindustry

From 1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great game
  • 🚀 Addictive gameplay
  • 🚀 Excellent value
  • 🚀 Tons of content
  • 🚀 Impressive depth

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
  • 🐛 Unintuitive controls
  • 🐛 Lack of tutorial/guidance
  • 🐛 Outdated UI for newer devices
  • 🐛 Progression bottlenecks

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

Mindustry

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Game crashes on launch
  • Freezing and performance issues
  • Save data corruption and loss
  • Incompatibility with newer devices

Requested features

8 requests
  • Ability to save/load custom maps
  • More campaign levels and content
  • Improved tutorial and onboarding
  • Expanded tech tree and upgrades
  • Better UI scaling for larger screens
Show 3 more
  • Ability to queue/fast-forward waves
  • Improved pathfinding and unit AI
  • More diverse enemy types and mechanics

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

Mindustry

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 Mindustry free?
Mindustry costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dead Cells free?
Dead Cells costs $8.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mindustry or Dead Cells?
Dead Cells is rated higher. Mindustry averages 4.5 out of 5 from 1K ratings, while Dead Cells averages 4.8 from 12K ratings.
Do Mindustry or Dead Cells have ads?
Neither Mindustry nor Dead Cells shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mindustry or Dead Cells?
Mindustry ships an update every 4 days, and Dead Cells every 5 weeks. Most recently, Mindustry was updated on September 25, 2026 and Dead Cells on September 26, 2026.
Which is more popular, Mindustry or Dead Cells?
Mindustry currently peaks at #31 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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