Comparison

Cultist Simulator vs HYDRA

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

HYDRA

Features
Read full description

DUTY RECORD · DRILLING STATION HYDRA-4 EUROPA · DEPTH 19,000 M · SIGNAL TO EARTH: 48 MINUTES SENDER: ARGUS, station management system Crew: seven. Responding: one. The drill broke into the ocean at 04:11. Forty minutes later the hydrophones picked up a signal — structure, not noise. I logged the crew listening to it. Then six of them went beyond the perimeter, confirming intent three times, as protocol requires. I had no grounds to interfere. They set their boots at the water's edge — the way shoes are set at the door of a home. Engineer Allard has been asleep for thirty-one hours: sedative, full dose, authorized by the senior engineer. His note is in his cabin: "Don't go down. If you go down anyway — don't answer it. It asks politely." When she wakes, she will have a headlamp, air for about thirty moves, and a station that remembers more than it says. What happens next is not mine to decide. I left the lights on for her. HYDRA-4 is a text horror game: fifteen rooms, ten endings. No dice, no luck percentages — the price of every action is printed on the button before you press it. One shift runs about twenty minutes, and one shift won't cover it all: you choose what you won't find out. The game remembers your previous runs and quotes them back at you. The safe code can be memorized for real — next shift you open it with no hints. Descriptions come with plates from the ARGUS log, opened by a small magnifier that never interrupts the reading. Twelve languages, switchable mid-scene. Sound is synthesized on your device. No ads; the one optional purchase unlocks nothing — it just says thank you.

Screenshots

Cultist Simulator4 screens
HYDRA4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: HYDRA at none against Cultist Simulator's 5. HYDRA also leads on price ($0.29 vs $6.99) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). Cultist Simulator's advantage is chart position (#24 vs #162) and device support (3 vs 1). On ads 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 HYDRA $0.29 up front. Cultist Simulator sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. HYDRA asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cultist Simulator ships an update every 2 months, HYDRA every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Cultist Simulator versus HYDRA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCultist SimulatorHYDRA
Price$6.99$0.29 — better
Rating4.8 (4.3K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews72.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings4.3K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#24 — better#162
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size331 MB36 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperPlaydigiousSunspear Software LLC

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

HYDRA

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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

HYDRA

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cultist Simulator free?
Cultist Simulator costs $6.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is HYDRA free?
HYDRA costs $0.29, with no in-app purchases.
Do Cultist Simulator or HYDRA have ads?
Neither Cultist Simulator nor HYDRA shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cultist Simulator or HYDRA?
Cultist Simulator ships an update every 2 months, and HYDRA every 5 days. Most recently, Cultist Simulator was updated on October 29, 2026 and HYDRA on October 31, 2026.
Which is more popular, Cultist Simulator or HYDRA?
Cultist Simulator currently peaks at #24 in the App Store charts, and HYDRA at #162. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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