Comparison

Hero Realms vs Payback Arcade

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, recruit powerful champions, and level up your heroes. Enjoy PvP, co-op against AI bosses, or a single-player campaign. The free version offers core gameplay with optional expansions.

Highlights
  • Deckbuilding combat
  • Recruit champions
  • Hero leveling system
  • Online PvP
  • Cooperative play vs AI
  • Single-player campaign
  • Multiple character classes
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

Payback Arcade

Experience a competitive card game of insults and comebacks digitally. Practice solo to master the game, then challenge others online and climb the leaderboards to prove your punchline prowess. Enjoy fast-paced card battles optimized for mobile devices.

Highlights
  • Digital card game adaptation
  • Solo practice mode
  • Online multiplayer matches
  • Leaderboards
  • Optimized for phone and iPad
  • Save profile and progress with Apple ID
Features
Read full description

Payback is the fast, chaotic card game where anyone can make a comeback. Be the first to get rid of all your cards. Payback Arcade is the official app of the Payback party card game, with over 15,000 decks delivered in 50+ countries. Learn it in two minutes with the built-in guided tutorial, then play solo against CPU opponents or online against real players. LEARN AS YOU PLAY • A guided tutorial deals you a real game and walks you through it step by step: who goes first, special cards, Fast Draw and the face-down flips. • Tips stay on in your first games, and you can switch table and card help off in Settings. HOW TO PLAY • Play a card equal to or higher than the pile. Play pairs and triples to empty your hand faster. • Can't play? Pick up the pile, or take a chance and flip the top card of the deck. • Four of the same card in a row burns the pile, and you go again. • Clear your hand, then your face-up cards, then your face-down cards. The last three are pure blind luck. SPECIAL CARDS • Burn: destroy the pile and play again. • Ghost: pass your turn without changing the pile. • Skip: skip the next player. • Reset: drop the pile back to zero. • Mirror: send the pile back to whoever acted last. PLAY SOLO • Classic: you against three CPU players. • Duel: go one-on-one with Uncle Ronnie. • Nightmare: face tougher CPU players for bigger points. • Helpful tips in your first games teach you the rules as you play. PLAY ONLINE • Classic: the full Payback experience against real players. • Duel: prove your skill head to head. • Explosive: three matching cards in a row burn the pile. • Bullet: lightning-fast turns for quick games. • Rooms: create a room for any mode, invite friends with its code. If a player drops out, a Substitute keeps their seat until they, or a friend with the code, take it back. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS • Earn a grade from D to S+ after every game. • Rank up from Bronze to Silver, Gold, Platinum, Master, and Champion. • Compare games played and win rates with the top players. Browse every card in the deck, including previews of the Dark Wizard and Mystery expansions. Want to play in person? Get the physical Payback card game from the official shop. Free to play. Solo games need no account. Online play needs an account: sign in with Apple or create one.

Screenshots

Hero Realms4 screens
Payback Arcade4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Payback Arcade at 5.0 against Hero Realms's 4.3. Payback Arcade also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 60%) and in-app purchases (none vs 10). Hero Realms's advantage is ratings volume (219 vs 4). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Hero Realms sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Payback Arcade asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Payback Arcade holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hero Realms has 219 ratings behind it against 4, 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 100% of Payback Arcade's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hero Realms ships an update every 2 weeks, Payback Arcade weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Hero Realms versus Payback Arcade: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHero RealmsPayback Arcade
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (219 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings219 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size435 MB41 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperWhite Wizard GamesGreat Guy Games, LLC

Customer experience

Hero Realms

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

Payback Arcade

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Payback Arcade

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Hero Realms

One-time10
  • 80 Gems$0.99
  • 200 gems$2.29
  • Four Journeys Campaign$3.99
Show 7 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
None

Payback Arcade

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hero Realms free?
Hero Realms is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Payback Arcade free?
Payback Arcade is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Hero Realms or Payback Arcade?
Payback Arcade is rated higher. Hero Realms averages 4.3 out of 5 from 219 ratings, while Payback Arcade averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Hero Realms or Payback Arcade have ads?
Neither Hero Realms nor Payback Arcade shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hero Realms or Payback Arcade?
Hero Realms ships an update every 2 weeks, and Payback Arcade weekly. Most recently, Hero Realms was updated on November 2, 2026 and Payback Arcade on November 5, 2026.

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