Comparison

Hero Realms vs Ark Nova

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

Ark Nova

Design and manage a modern zoo to support global conservation efforts. Build enclosures, house animals, and utilize unique cards for special abilities. Compete to create the most successful zoological establishment.

Highlights
  • Plan and design a modern zoo
  • Build enclosures and accommodate animals
  • Support global conservation projects
  • Utilize 255 unique cards (animals, specialists, projects)
  • Upgrade action cards for gameplay
  • Increase zoo appeal and scientific reputation
Features
Read full description

Plan and build a modern, scientifically managed zoo to support conservation projects in an acclaimed strategy board game. In Ark Nova, you will plan and design a modern, scientifically managed zoo. With the ultimate goal of owning the most successful zoological establishment, you will build enclosures, accommodate animals, and support conservation projects all over the world. Specialists and unique buildings will help you in achieving this goal. At the heart of Ark Nova are 255 cards featuring animals, specialists, unique enclosures, and conservation projects, each with a particular ability. Use them to increase the appeal and scientific reputation of your zoo and to collect conservation points. Each player has a set of action cards, which you will use and upgrade to carry out your plans. Each player has a set of five action cards to manage their gameplay, and the power of an action is determined by the slot the card currently occupies. The cards are: BUILD: Allows you to build standard or special enclosures, kiosks, and pavilions. ANIMALS: Allows you to accommodate animals in your zoo. CARDS: Allows you to gain new zoo cards (animals, sponsors, and conservation project cards). ASSOCIATION: Allows your association workers to carry out different tasks. SPONSORS: Allows you to play a sponsor card in your zoo or to raise money. With high replayability and rich components, Ark Nova provides a remarkable gaming experience that will bring the game to the table again and again.

Screenshots

Hero Realms4 screens
Ark Nova4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Hero Realms at Free against Ark Nova's $10.99. Ark Nova's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.3) and in-app purchases (none vs 13). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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; Ark Nova costs $10.99 up front. Hero Realms sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Ark Nova asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ark Nova holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ark Nova has 1.2K 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 73% of Ark Nova's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hero Realms ships an update every 2 weeks, Ark Nova fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Hero Realms versus Ark Nova: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHero RealmsArk Nova
PriceFree — better$10.99
Rating4.3 (219 ratings)4.8 (1.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.2% of reviews72.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2191.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#26 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size432 MB682 MB
Age rating12+4+
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%

Ark Nova

All ratings1,236 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral1.9%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews133 reviews
Positive72.9%
Neutral10.5%
Negative16.5%

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

Ark Nova

From 1.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great implementation overall
  • 👍 Lots of fun
  • 👍 Good animations
  • 👍 Choice of modes
  • 👍 Clean, modern and enjoyable design

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Tile placement/rotation issues on iPad
  • 🐛 Building placement UI issues
  • 👎 Difficult to read board state on mobile
  • 👎 Lack of simultaneous view for key game info
  • 👎 Cumbersome to create games with friends

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

Ark Nova

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • iPad Flash exit issue
  • Rewards screen being blocked by other UI elements

Requested features

4 requests
  • Option to enable larger UI buttons for modal panels
  • Full screen mode
  • Option to reverse zoom direction
  • Improved card readability/zoom

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
None

Ark Nova

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hero Realms free?
Hero Realms is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ark Nova free?
Ark Nova costs $10.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Hero Realms or Ark Nova?
Ark Nova is rated higher. Hero Realms averages 4.3 out of 5 from 219 ratings, while Ark Nova averages 4.8 from 1.2K ratings.
Do Hero Realms or Ark Nova have ads?
Neither Hero Realms nor Ark Nova shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hero Realms or Ark Nova?
Hero Realms ships an update every 2 weeks, and Ark Nova fortnightly. Most recently, Hero Realms was updated on October 12, 2026 and Ark Nova on October 17, 2026.

Other comparisons