Comparison

Star Traders vs Glowhold

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

Head to head
About

Star Traders

Command your own starship and crew in a vast, procedurally generated open universe. Forge your path as a pirate, merchant, bounty hunter, or explorer, influencing factions and shaping your crew through your choices in this epic sci-fi RPG.

Highlights
  • Open universe exploration
  • Multiple captain careers (26 jobs)
  • Spaceship customization (350+ upgrades)
  • Crew assembly and talent management
  • Dynamic narrative and faction influence
  • Crew molding based on player choices
  • Varied difficulty options including permadeath
Features
Read full description

You are the captain of a starship venturing through a massive open universe. Customize your crew and take command at the helm of your very own ship as you explore a galaxy torn apart by internal strife, alien threats, and political intrigue. Command your ship and crew as a space pirate, merchant, bounty hunter, and more in Star Traders: Frontiers – an epic space RPG from Trese Brothers Games. Venture forth into a massive open universe, rich with adventure and the lore of the Star Traders. Choose your path by assembling and commanding your custom crew and spaceship in a constantly evolving galaxy torn by internal strife, political intrigue, and alien threats. Will you fly as a pirate terrorizing shipping lanes, join the solar wars as a military captain, or track targets across the stars as a fearsome bounty hunter? - Explore a rich, open universe: Discover endless procedurally-generated galactic maps, meet unique characters, and take on enemies to conquer the galaxy! - Become an intergalactic captain: Take on the role of a spy, smuggler, explorer, pirate, merchant, bounty hunter, and more (26 jobs total)! - Customize your own spaceship: Choose from more than 350 upgrades and 45 ship hulls to build your very own vessel to venture across the vast reaches of space. - Assemble and tailor a loyal crew: Assign talents and equip specialized gear for every spaceship crew member. - Experience an ever-changing narrative: Decide to make friends or foes with other factions and influence political, economic, and personal vendettas. - Mold the crew by your choices: As you make decisions and set the tone for your ship, your crew will grow and change to match. Destroy enemy ships with all hands on deck and your crew will become more bloodthirsty and savage. Explore distant worlds and loot dangerous wastelands and your crew will become intrepid and clever ... or scarred and half-mad. - Varied Difficulty Options! play with save slots to try out different builds or storylines or turn on character permadeath and enjoy classic roguelike experience - Achievement Unlocks: accomplish story and challenge goals to unlock additional optional (but not better) content like new starting ships and new starting contacts First there was the Exodus – when survivors of a great war left the ruins of the Galactic Core behind in search of a new home in the stars. Scattered worlds were claimed on the fringe of the galaxy. Each pocket of survivors held on to an isolated set of worlds while trying to rebuild under the great law of Shalun. Three centuries later, technology has brought them back together again. Discovery of the hyperwarp has bridged what was once an unimaginable distance between far-flung colonies, long-lost families, and political factions. With that reunification has come great economic prosperity. The hyperwarp reestablished the transportation of cargo, goods, and technologies between the quadrants – but it has also brought great strife. Political rivalries have been rekindled, blood has been shed in age-old feuds, and the fires of war have been stoked. Amidst the political infighting, a ruthless revolution is rising – and the fervent explorers of the hyperwarp have awoken something that was better left asleep. Our very first game, Star Traders RPG, took hundreds of thousands of gamers on an interstellar adventure. Star Traders’ success and overwhelmingly positive reception helped to launch Trese Brothers Games. It was the adventures of our community’s star-crossed captains that put us on a trajectory to share more of our worlds, ideas, and dreams. We set out to capture the loneliness, bravery, and camaraderie of people living together in a spaceship sailing across the stars. It is with great pride that after releasing four other games in the Star Traders universe, we’ve created a sequel to the original Star Traders RPG. Step onto the bridge of your starship, take to the stars, and create your own story in Star Traders: Frontiers.

About

Glowhold

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A peaceful village by day. Eyes in the darkness by night. Take hold of the light and help your villagers reach dawn. Glowhold is a village-defence strategy game made for one-finger controls. Drag to guide your beam, repel enemies and herd them towards torches and towers. Lift your finger to replenish oil. When danger closes in, spend oil on a brilliant flare. BUILD YOUR HAVEN Repair walls and improve buildings between nights. Each in-game day gives you one building action, so choose what your village needs most. Zoom in and tap a building to learn what it does. Villagers bring the valley to life with little speech bubbles. MEET THE CREATURES OF THE DARK Different enemies call for different tactics. Five bosses have their own abilities, with tougher encounters as you progress. Your first boss arrives on night 10, followed by a boss every 5 nights. An in-game guide and bestiary help you prepare. COME BACK TO YOUR VILLAGE Gather sparks while you are away. Starting on night 4, a daily quest gives you another challenge: a new one arrives once per calendar day, at local midnight. Open the quest panel for its full description and the next refresh time. Losing a night does not erase your village. PLAY YOUR WAY • Short nights, touch controls and a storybook landscape. • Polish and English, on iPhone and iPad. • Core gameplay works offline with no account. • Local saves with manual village-code export and import. • No energy system and no subscriptions. Optional rewarded ads require internet and depend on availability. One permanent Glowhold Premium purchase lets you claim eligible bonuses without watching ads, and adds a daily streak shield, an ember beam colour and decorative statue plinths. Reward conditions and limits still apply. The core game remains available without a purchase. Support: https://sowerit.github.io/glowhold-support/en.html Privacy: https://sowerit.github.io/glowhold-support/privacy.html#english

Screenshots

Star Traders4 screens
Glowhold4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Glowhold at Free against Star Traders's $6.99. Star Traders's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On 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

Glowhold is free to download; Star Traders costs $6.99 up front. Glowhold sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Star Traders asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Star Traders versus Glowhold: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStar TradersGlowhold
Price$6.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (673 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews72.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings673 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#55 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.1 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size316 MB34 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperTrese BrothersPawel Smoczynski

Bugs and requests

Star Traders

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crew combat screen UI issues causing accidental input
  • Reputation/faction system bugs leading to unexpected outcomes
  • Crashes and freezes when navigating certain screens
  • Inconsistent behavior with ship component upgrades

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to customize ship colors and appearances
  • Option to command/control multiple ships as a fleet
  • More end-game content and progression systems
  • Improved UI scaling and optimization for larger screens
  • Cloud save/sync functionality across devices

Glowhold

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Star Traders

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Glowhold

One-time1
  • Glowhold Premium$2.99

Questions

Is Star Traders free?
Star Traders costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Glowhold free?
Glowhold is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Star Traders or Glowhold have ads?
Glowhold shows ads; Star Traders does not.

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