Comparison

Hero Realms vs Dune

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

Dune

Engage in strategic warfare and political intrigue on the desert planet Arrakis. This award-winning board game adaptation blends deck-building and worker placement mechanics. Compete against AI, other players online, or face unique challenges and rotating game modes.

Highlights
  • Deck-building mechanics
  • Worker placement strategy
  • Online multiplayer
  • Local AI battles
  • Unique challenges
  • Rotating Skirmish Mode
  • Achievement system
Features
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Immerse yourself in the world of Dune. Experience the ultimate blend of strategy and intrigue as you navigate the treacherous landscapes of Arrakis in the award-winning board game Dune: Imperium! Battle online, locally with AI, or against the formidable House Hagal. Earn Achievements that showcase your prowess as a leader. Embark on more than a dozen Challenges that will test your wit and cunning. Compete for badges in the rotating Skirmish Mode where no two games are the same! Control the Spice. Control the Universe. Arrakis. Dune. Desert Planet. Raise your banner above the vast wasteland before you. As the Great Houses of the Landsraad marshal their forces and their spies, whom will you influence, and whom will you betray? A tyrannical Emperor. The secretive Bene Gesserit. The shrewd Spacing Guild. The ferocious Fremen of the Deep Desert. The power of the Imperium can be yours, but war is not the only way to claim it. Dune: Imperium blends deck-building and worker placement in a deeply thematic new strategy game where the fate of the Empire hangs on your decisions. Will you seek political allies or rely upon military might? Economic strength or subtle intrigues? A council seat… or a sharpened blade? The cards are dealt. The choice is yours. The Imperium awaits.

Screenshots

Hero Realms4 screens
Dune4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Hero Realms at Free against Dune's $10.99. Dune's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (79% vs 60%). On ads, 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

Hero Realms is free to download; Dune costs $10.99 up front. Hero Realms sells 13 one-off in-app purchases and Dune sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dune holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dune has 4.7K ratings behind it against 219, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of Hero Realms's written reviews are positive against 79% of Dune's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hero Realms ships an update every 2 weeks, Dune every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Hero Realms versus Dune: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHero RealmsDune
PriceFree — better$10.99
Rating4.3 (219 ratings)4.9 (4.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.2% of reviews78.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2194.7K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#15 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size414 MB774 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperWhite Wizard GamesDire Wolf Digital

Customer experience

Hero Realms

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

Dune

All ratings4,697 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral1.0%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews483 reviews
Positive78.7%
Neutral6.2%
Negative15.1%

User reviews

Hero Realms

From 219 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great game mechanics
  • 🚀 Smooth and polished app
  • 💡 Diverse game modes (PvP, co-op, campaign)
  • 👍 Faithful adaptation of the physical card game
  • 💡 Character progression and leveling system

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes
  • 🔒 Lack of local multiplayer (pass-and-play)
  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases for additional content
  • 🌐 Lack of language support (e.g., no French, Spanish)
  • 🔍 Unclear tutorial and explanations of game mechanics

Dune

From 4.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 🎨 Beautiful implementation
  • 💪 Challenging AI
  • 🕹️ Great digital adaptation of the board game
  • 🕰️ Quick gameplay sessions

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Obtrusive DRM
  • 🕹️ No local multiplayer/pass-and-play
  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes
  • 🔁 Slow reloading when switching between app and game
  • 🔍 Difficulty seeing card details

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

Dune

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Intrigue card issues
  • Inconsistent login credentials
  • Notification problems
  • Victory points reset bug

Requested features

4 requests
  • Controller support
  • Pass and play mode
  • Ability to choose leaders
  • Expand card detail visibility

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
3 purchases

Dune

One-time3
  • Dune: Imperium - Rise of Ix$9.99
  • Dune: Imperium - Immortality$9.99
  • Dune: Imperium - Uprising$10.99

Questions

Is Hero Realms free?
Hero Realms is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dune free?
Dune costs $10.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Hero Realms or Dune?
Dune is rated higher. Hero Realms averages 4.3 out of 5 from 219 ratings, while Dune averages 4.9 from 4.7K ratings.
Do Hero Realms or Dune have ads?
Neither Hero Realms nor Dune shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hero Realms or Dune?
Hero Realms ships an update every 2 weeks, and Dune every 6 days. Most recently, Hero Realms was updated on September 21, 2026 and Dune on September 25, 2026.

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