Comparison

Cultist Simulator vs Expelled!

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

Head to head
About

Cultist Simulator

A challenging roguelike narrative card game where you play as a seeker of forbidden knowledge. Experiment with rituals, summon entities, and ascend to become a herald of a new age in a Lovecraftian 1920s setting.

Highlights
  • Challenging roguelike gameplay
  • Story-driven legacy system
  • Intense, immersive narrative
  • Choice-based storytelling
  • Lovecraftian world
  • Card combination mechanics
Read full description

SEIZE FORBIDDEN TREASURES. SUMMON ALIEN GODS. FEED ON YOUR DISCIPLES. BE WARNED. This game has no tutorial - part of the challenge is figuring out how to play. It's hard, but keep trying, and you'll master it. Good luck! In this infamous roguelike narrative card game, play as a seeker after unholy mysteries in a 1920s-themed setting of hidden gods and secret histories. Become a scholar of the unseen arts. Craft tools and summon spirits. Indoctrinate innocents. Seize your place as the herald of a new age. Cultist Simulator was first released on PC and has more than 200,000 players all over the world. Now we’re bringing the cosmic mysteries of Cultist Simulator to mobile. • Challenging roguelike gameplay - There is never only one history. Cultist Simulator doesn’t hold your hand. Experiment, expire and transcend death with a story-driven legacy system. Over time you’ll learn enough to wrestle the game to its knees. • Intense, immersive narrative – Combine cards to tell your own story. A hefty novel’s worth of choice-based storytelling, from the creator of Fallen London and Sunless Sea. There are many paths through this game of ambition, appetite and abomination, and many ways your tale can end. • A rich Lovecraftian world – Corrupt your friends and consume your enemies. Search your dreams for sanity-twisting rituals. Translate grimoires and glean their lore. Penetrate the realm of the Hours and win a place in their service. Cultist Simulator brings the peripheral horror of Lovecraft’s tales to an entirely new setting. Expand your knowledge with the DLCs: New Legacies, New Ascensions, New Mechanics... • The Dancer - Join the Bacchanal • The Priest - Knock, and Ye Shall Be Opened • The Ghoul - Taste of the graveyard's fruit • The Exile - Some there are who will not yield If you encounter any issue with the game, please click on “Contact us” at the bottom of this page and give us as many details as possible regarding the issue and your device: https://playdigious.helpshift.com/hc/en/11-cultist-simulator/?p=ios

About

Expelled!

Navigate a boarding school day as a scholarship student accused of attempted murder. Gossip, lie, and manipulate your way to escaping expulsion or finding someone else to blame. This replayable detective game features a dynamic narrative and a unique morality system.

Highlights
  • Navigate school day and interact with characters
  • Sneak around and avoid detection
  • Dynamic narrative with character memory
  • Unique morality system
  • Simulated story-world
  • Highly replayable with varied outcomes
Features
Read full description

1922. Miss Mulligatawney's School for Promising Girls is one of the best boarding schools in England. You are Verity Amersham, here on a scholarship - and today you're going to be expelled for attempted murder. From the creators of Overboard! and A Highland Song comes a highly replayable detective game with a wicked twist. Can you escape expulsion through fair means - or foul? Can you find the culprit - or someone else to take the blame? GAMEPLAY Gossip, lie, steal, manipulate - but don't get caught! * Navigate the school day, talk to other characters, sneak around - and try not to get expelled! * Your actions will affect other characters, who remember everything they see and hear. * Everyone here has secrets - students and teachers alike. Remember, knowledge is power. * Unique morality system: the more EVIL you are, the more choices you'll have... DYNAMIC NARRATIVE CLOCKWORK * Next-gen visual novel: go where you want, when you want, and say what you want. * Simulated story-world: other characters move and act independently, remembering everything they see and hear - and everything you do. * Every minute counts: you have one school day to escape punishment. The clock is always ticking! * Who can you trust? Some characters are friendly and some are out to get you. Who will you befriend? Who will you betray? HIGHLY REPLAYABLE * Every run is different, with new leads and new opportunities for mayhem. * Avoiding expulsion is just the start. Can you rise to the position of Head Girl? * Mysteries abound. Why is the cellar locked? What is your best friend's dark secret? One play-through lasts about 30 - 45 minutes, but achieving that perfect run will take a lot longer... SOMEONE HAS TO TAKE THE FALL

Screenshots

Cultist Simulator4 screens
Expelled!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Cultist Simulator at 4.8 against Expelled!'s 4.0. Cultist Simulator also leads on ratings volume (4.2K vs 49) and review sentiment (72% vs 57%). Expelled!'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 months). On ads, monetization model, 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

Cultist Simulator costs $6.99 and Expelled! $5.99 up front. Cultist Simulator sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Expelled! asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cultist Simulator holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cultist Simulator has 4.2K ratings behind it against 49, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Cultist Simulator's written reviews are positive against 57% of Expelled!'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cultist Simulator ships an update every 2 months, Expelled! every 2 days. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Cultist Simulator versus Expelled!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCultist SimulatorExpelled!
Price$6.99$5.99 — better
Rating4.8 (4.2K ratings) — better4.0 (49 ratings)
Positive reviews72.5% of reviews — better57.1% of reviews
Number of ratings4.2K — better49
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#11 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.012.0
Further details — not scored
Size331 MB690 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperPlaydigiousinkle

Customer experience

Cultist Simulator

All ratings4,221 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral1.6%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews367 reviews
Positive72.5%
Neutral9.5%
Negative18.0%

Expelled!

All ratings49 ratings
Positive67.3%
Neutral16.3%
Negative16.3%
Written reviews28 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral17.9%
Negative25.0%

User reviews

Cultist Simulator

From 4.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤯 Fascinating and mysterious
  • 🎨 Beautiful atmosphere and writing
  • 🕰️ Compelling time management gameplay
  • 🕵️ Rewarding sense of discovery
  • 💡 Unique and innovative concept

Room to improve

  • 🤯 Steep learning curve with no tutorial
  • 🕰️ Intense time pressure and resource management
  • 🧠 Confusing mechanics and unclear objectives
  • 🧭 Frustrating lack of progress and repeated failures
  • 🔍 Difficult to keep track of cards and game state

Expelled!

From 49 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Truly enjoyable
  • 👍 Incredible potential
  • 👍 Mysteries on top of mysteries
  • 👍 Really fun

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Certain textures won't load
  • 🐛 Glitchy with lapses in logic
  • 🐛 Unplayable, crashes and can't be played

Bugs and requests

Cultist Simulator

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional crashes and save file issues
  • Disappearing cards and UI elements
  • Inability to access certain features like the club

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add tutorial or in-game hints
  • Provide more accessibility options for text size
  • Implement save/load system to avoid losing progress
  • Add DLC content like the Dancer storyline
  • Improve card organization and UI layout

Expelled!

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Textures not loading properly
  • Glitches and logical inconsistencies
  • Crashes and unable to play

Requested features

2 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Save point system

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Cultist Simulator

One-time5
  • The Dancer$1.99
  • The Priest$1.99
  • The Ghoul$1.99
Show 2 more
  • The Exile$4.99
  • Forbidden Bundle$6.99
None

Expelled!

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cultist Simulator free?
Cultist Simulator costs $6.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Expelled! free?
Expelled! costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Cultist Simulator or Expelled!?
Cultist Simulator is rated higher. Cultist Simulator averages 4.8 out of 5 from 4.2K ratings, while Expelled! averages 4.0 from 49 ratings.
Do Cultist Simulator or Expelled! have ads?
Neither Cultist Simulator nor Expelled! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cultist Simulator or Expelled!?
Cultist Simulator ships an update every 2 months, and Expelled! every 2 days. Most recently, Cultist Simulator was updated on September 23, 2026 and Expelled! on September 23, 2026.

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