Comparison

Hero Realms vs Aeon's End

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

Head to head
About

Hero Realms

Engage in strategic deckbuilding combat, recruiting champions and using gold to acquire new cards. Battle opponents online or cooperatively against AI, with a single-player campaign available. Level up your hero and unlock new classes and missions.

Highlights
  • Deckbuilding combat
  • Recruit champions
  • Online PVP
  • Cooperative online play
  • Single player campaign
  • Hero leveling system
Features
Read full description

Become a hero! Choose your class, perform mighty actions, and recruit powerful champions to your cause as you grow in power. Awarded Origins Fan Favorite Best Card Game. From the makers of the award-winning Star Realms® Deckbuilding Game, Hero Realms® combines the fun of deckbuilding games with the interactivity of trading card game-style combat. As you play, use Gold to add new actions and champions to your deck. When played, those actions and champions generate powerful effects, give you additional gold, and attack your opponent and their champions. If you reduce your opponent's health to zero, you win! [Non-Collectible Deck Building Game] Hero Realms does not require you to collect new cards. You start every game with a basic deck, and will acquire cards from the shared center row to build up your deck and defeat your opponent. Victory rewards skill, and not your collection of rare cards! [Level Up Your Heroes] Create a hero from one of several classes (free players start with the Fighter and Wizard available). Level them up with new skills, abilities and equipment, and take them to battle in thrilling Online PVP. Hero Realms uses fair match making, only allowing matches between equal levelled heroes. However, if you feel daring, you can choose to engage in combat against higher levelled opponents for additional XP and bragging rights. [Cooperative Online Play] Hero Realms also features online co-operative play. Battle against challenging AI bosses with another human player as a partner. Free players have access to the Pirate Lord mission, with other co-op missions available with the Base Set purchase. [Single Player Campaign] For offline play, take on the Welcome to Thandar campaign. Fight your way through scripted, story-based chapters against varied AI opponents. [Free Version] Free players will get to experience: - Addictive Deckbuilding Game with Player VS Player Combat. - Play VS the AI - Play with the Fighter and Wizard character classes - Level-up your characters up to Level 3 - Play the first 3 missions in the Welcome to Thandar campaign - Play the Pirate Lord co-op mission Purchasing the Base Set will unlock the full Hero Realms experience: - Unlocks hard AI difficulty level - Unlocks the Cleric, Ranger, and Thief character classes - Level-up your characters to Level 12 - Unlocks the entire Welcome to Thandar campaign. - Unlocks the Necromancers, Inquisition, and Orc Riot co-op missions. Please note that Hero Realms purchases are not compatible with Family Sharing.

About

Aeon's End

Engage in a cooperative deck-building game where mages defend the last city against a relentless onslaught. Utilize unique mechanics like randomized turn order and no deck shuffling to strategize your way to victory. Protect Gravehold from the Nameless and ensure humanity's survival.

Highlights
  • Cooperative deck-building
  • Randomized turn order
  • No deck shuffling
  • Multiple win/loss conditions
  • Unique breach mages
  • Varied Nemesis opponents
Features
Read full description

Randomized turn order, no shuffling, and multiple win and loss conditions make this a deck-building experience like no other! “This is not the end of the world. That already happened. This is what is left: us, Gravehold, and the Nameless. For generations we have taken refuge in an ancient and haunted place. It has taken our mages an aeon to hone their craft, but they are ready... and they are lethal. The breaches, the very conduits through which the Nameless travel, have become our weapon.” - Yaleesa Rhykk, Gravehold survivor The situation is bleak. The final city - Gravehold - needs the power of the breach mages to hold back the Nameless. Join the fight, and maybe… just maybe, Gravehold will live to see another dawn. Aeon’s End is a deck-building game where 1-4 mages fight cooperatively to defeat a Nameless nemesis. You begin with a starting deck of 10 cards. Each turn you play gems to gain aether, buy new gems and relics, learn new spells, and increase your casting potential by opening breaches. You can also play relics to give yourself or your allies a boost. Then prep spells to your breaches to be ready to cast them on your next turn. What makes Aeon’s End unique is how it uses randomness. Unlike other deck-building games, you do not shuffle your deck when it runs out. The order in which you discard is preserved, so plan your discards carefully to set yourself up for later. At the start of each round, the turn order deck is shuffled to determine the order of play. Will the nemesis go twice in a row, pushing back the mages’ defense? Will the mages get 4 turns in a row to set up for the coming onslaught? It can be hard to know what’s coming next when you are deep in the melee! The breach mages of Aeon’s End are not just fighting for their own survival, but the survival of all of humanity. If the city of Gravehold is ever reduced to 0 life, the mages have lost and humanity is but a memory. Protect the city at all costs! * What is included * 8 Breach Mages: • Adelheim • Brama • Jian • Kadir • Lash • Mist • Phaedraxa • Xaxos Each Mage has a unique starting card and an ability that can be charged to use in the fight. For example, Kadir has a gem that heals any mage, and an ability to let any mage prep a lot of spells. Xaxos has a spell that reveals the top card of the turn order deck and an ability that helps allies charge their abilities. You build your deck with player cards from the market. 3 gems, 2 relics, and 4 spells allow you to grow your powers to hold back the nemesis. The market is constructed from 27 unique gems, relics, and spells. Either take a randomly generated market, or build the perfect one yourself during setup. 4 Nameless Nemeses: • Carapace Queen • Crooked Mask • Prince of Gluttons • Rageborne Each Nemesis plays differently with unique mechanics to keep even the most powerful breach mages on their toes. Rageborne lays on the damage in a frontal assault using its Strike Deck, whereas the Prince of Gluttons fights more of a war of attrition, devouring player cards from the market. Aside from their unique mechanics, the Nemesis deck is created before each game from a combination of basic and nemesis-specific cards. You may encounter the same Nemesis many times, but it will never attack you in exactly the same way twice. Expand your gameplay options with In App Purchase: • Promo Pack 1 includes mage Xae from One Deck Dungeon, along with 3 digital exclusive player cards and 3 basic nemesis cards. • The Nameless includes 2 nemeses, 1 mage, and 7 player cards. • The Depths includes 1 nemesis, 3 mages, and 8 player cards. • The New Age more than doubles the content in the core game, and introduces the Expedition system! The last of humanity need your protection! Pick up the mantle, focus your breaches, and beat back the Nameless - We’re all counting on you! Aeon's End is an officially licensed product of “Aeon's End” from Indie Boards and Cards and Action Phase Games.

Screenshots

Hero Realms4 screens
Aeon's End4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Hero Realms at Free against Aeon's End's $12.99. Hero Realms also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (219 vs 44). Aeon's End's advantage is chart position (#50 vs unranked) and review sentiment (70% vs 60%). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Hero Realms is free to download; Aeon's End costs $12.99 up front. Hero Realms sells 13 one-off in-app purchases and Aeon's End sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Hero Realms against 4.2 for Aeon's End. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 219 and 44 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 60% of Hero Realms's written reviews are positive against 70% of Aeon's End's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hero Realms ships an update every 2 weeks, Aeon's End every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Hero Realms versus Aeon's End: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHero RealmsAeon's End
PriceFree — better$12.99
Rating4.3 (219 ratings) — better4.2 (44 ratings)
Positive reviews60.2% of reviews70.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings219 — better44
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#50 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.7 — better
Further details — not scored
Size432 MB413 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperWhite Wizard GamesHandelabra Studio LLC

Customer experience

Hero Realms

All ratings219 ratings
Positive80.8%
Neutral5.0%
Negative14.2%
Written reviews133 reviews
Positive60.2%
Neutral10.5%
Negative29.3%

Aeon's End

All ratings44 ratings
Positive81.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative18.2%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive70.0%
Neutral2.5%
Negative27.5%

Bugs and requests

Hero Realms

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when trying to play online
  • Inability to access purchased content
  • Freezing and black screen issues
  • Incorrect character level progression
  • Matchmaking problems and long wait times

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more expansions and additional content
  • Implement a friends list and social features
  • Improve the campaign mode with more levels and challenges
  • Add an option to check the contents of your deck before playing
  • Implement a turn timer to prevent players from stalling

Aeon's End

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

13 purchases

Hero Realms

One-time13
  • 80 Gems$0.99
  • 200 gems$2.29
  • Four Journeys Campaign$3.99
Show 10 more
  • 500 Gems$4.99
  • Hero Realms: Call to Arms$4.99
  • Journeys Expansions$4.99
  • Journeys Promo Expansion$4.99
  • Dungeons Expansion$7.99
  • 1200 Gems$9.99
  • Hero Realms Base Set$9.99
  • 2500 Gems$19.99
  • 6500 Gems$49.99
  • 14000 Gems$99.99
4 purchases

Aeon's End

One-time4
  • Promo Pack 1$0.99
  • The Nameless$2.49
  • The Depths$2.49
Show 1 more
  • The New Age$4.95

Questions

Is Hero Realms free?
Hero Realms is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Aeon's End free?
Aeon's End costs $12.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Hero Realms or Aeon's End?
Hero Realms is rated higher. Hero Realms averages 4.3 out of 5 from 219 ratings, while Aeon's End averages 4.2 from 44 ratings.
Do Hero Realms or Aeon's End have ads?
Neither Hero Realms nor Aeon's End shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hero Realms or Aeon's End?
Hero Realms ships an update every 2 weeks, and Aeon's End every 2 months. Most recently, Hero Realms was updated on October 12, 2026 and Aeon's End on October 15, 2026.

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