Comparison

Dead Cells vs Brawl Quest

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

Head to head
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.

About

Brawl Quest

Embark on a roguelike action arcade adventure with simple, one-handed controls. Battle through procedurally generated stages, defeat enemies, and strategically upgrade your brawler's abilities. Collect unique characters and pets to unleash powerful combos and confront epic bosses in this offline beat 'em up.

Highlights
  • Procedurally generated stages
  • Simple one-handed controls
  • Character and pet collection
  • Skill upgrades and perks
  • Intense boss battles
  • Offline play
Features
Read full description

Brawl Quest is a roguelike action arcade beat 'em up that features fast-paced action with simple controls! Embark on an adrenaline-fueled adventure through procedurally generated stages in our action-packed roguelike beat 'em up game! Engage in fast-paced combat, defeat hordes of enemies, and strategically upgrade your abilities as you delve deeper into challenging levels. Unleash powerful combos, discover unique brawlers, and confront epic bosses in this dynamic, ever-evolving adventure. Tap to attack, swipe to dodge, use your burst to deal massive amounts of damage to your enemies! In this beat 'em up brawler, you'll need to master your character, the enemies, and your equipped pets! Collect different characters, try your hero's skills, and combo your way to victory. Fight across several areas, and stages each with their own epic boss battles, and unlock them as playable characters. Brawl Quest Features: Simple Controls - Portrait-optimized gameplay - Gameplay so simple, you can play it with only one hand! - Intuitive gesture-based controls: Tap to attack, drag to move, swipe to dodge. - Use powerful skills with a press of a button - Use your burst move to unleash your character's powerful ultimate ability to deal devastating damage - Upgrade your skills with various perks in our roguelike mode Action Roguelike Beat 'Em Up Genre - Inspired by retro classics, the game takes place in a city-scape showcasing modern areas and environments - Explore the different areas of the city such as gang hideouts, fast-food restaurants, factories, sewers, highways, and more! Pet Collection as Equipment - With over 20+ pets to collect and equip with varying powerups, your equipment combination is limitless - Customize your playstyle with buffs - Your pets will follow you in-game as an added bonus Hero Collection - Unlock varying brawlers in the game and try out their unique and powerful skills to defeat your enemies - Each character has their own type, play style, strengths, and weaknesses. - Unlock and build your team of brawlers to adapt to each situation. Intense Boss Battles - Challenging yet satisfying boss battles that will test your reflexes and skills - Know the weaknesses of your boss to beat them and unlock them as powerful allies Offline Mode - Brawl Quest is playable offline even without Wi-Fi or Data. Beat up those baddies anytime, anywhere! 2D Frame-By-Frame Animation - Get to see cool 2D animations of your brawlers as you dish out damage to your enemies - Each character was made with awesome frame-by-frame animations The Brawl Buffet: Endless Mode Update - Fight endless waves of enemies and randomized stages - Find out how strong you can get by picking up random powerups - Play around with different builds to find which works best for each situation Game Synopsis: Evil bosses have run rampant across the Metro. You must find them and stop them! Go through vast areas of the Metro, complete quests, defeat challenging bosses, unlock unique brawlers, and collect cute pets. Join Alice and Luwan in this all-new beat em up as they fight across the Metro and restore peace and justice to the city.

Screenshots

Dead Cells4 screens
Brawl Quest4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Brawl Quest at Free against Dead Cells's $8.99. Brawl Quest also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15). Dead Cells's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). On in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Brawl Quest is free to download; Dead Cells costs $8.99 up front. Dead Cells sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Brawl Quest sells 17 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

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 319, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Dead Cells's written reviews are positive against 79% of Brawl Quest's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dead Cells ships an update every 2 months, Brawl Quest monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Dead Cells versus Brawl Quest: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDead CellsBrawl Quest
Price$8.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (12K ratings) — better4.5 (319 ratings)
Positive reviews88.5% of reviews — better78.6% of reviews
Number of ratings12K — better319
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#13 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS1513.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1.8 GB626 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperPlaydigiousThinkBIT Solutions Phils. Inc.

Customer experience

Dead Cells

All ratings12,331 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral1.5%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews1,789 reviews
Positive88.5%
Neutral3.6%
Negative7.9%

Brawl Quest

All ratings318 ratings
Positive88.1%
Neutral2.8%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews140 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral5.0%
Negative16.4%

Bugs and requests

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

Brawl Quest

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
17 purchases

Brawl Quest

One-time17
  • 75 Gemss$0.49
  • Area 1 Pack Promo$0.49
  • Area 1 Pack$0.99
Show 14 more
  • 165 Gems$0.99
  • Gems Gacha$1.99
  • Girly Gacha Promo$1.99
  • Taong G Gacha$1.99
  • 425 Gems$2.49
  • General Bantay Gacha$3.99
  • Crizy Gacha$3.99
  • Start Wild Offer$4.99
  • 875 Gems$4.99
  • Girly Gacha$6.99
  • Remove Ads$8.79
  • 1800 Gems$9.99
  • Starter Gacha$9.99
  • 4800 Gems$39.99

Questions

Is Dead Cells free?
Dead Cells costs $8.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Brawl Quest free?
Brawl Quest is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Dead Cells or Brawl Quest?
Dead Cells is rated higher. Dead Cells averages 4.8 out of 5 from 12K ratings, while Brawl Quest averages 4.5 from 319 ratings.
Do Dead Cells or Brawl Quest have ads?
Brawl Quest shows ads; Dead Cells does not.
Which is updated more often, Dead Cells or Brawl Quest?
Dead Cells ships an update every 2 months, and Brawl Quest monthly. Most recently, Dead Cells was updated on October 31, 2026 and Brawl Quest on October 24, 2026.

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