Comparison

The Complex vs The Sign

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

Head to head
About

The Complex

Experience a sci-fi thriller where your choices shape the narrative and lead to one of eight endings. Navigate a locked-down lab after a bio-weapon attack, managing relationships and your character's personality.

Highlights
  • Interactive gameplay
  • Multiple endings
  • Relationship tracking
  • Personality tracking
  • Branching narrative
Features
Read full description

After a major bio-weapon attack on London, two scientists find themselves in a locked-down laboratory with time, and air, running out. With interactive gameplay, your actions and your relationship with other characters will lead you to one of eight suspenseful endings. Having treated the victims of a chemical attack in the totalitarian state of Kindar, Dr Amy Tenant is a leader in the advancement of Nanocell Technology. Now, in London, news breaks of a blood-vomiting civilian whose identity is far from coincidental. Reunited with an old friend, Amy is trapped in an impenetrable HQ of laboratories—a womb of scientific advancement with a perilous secret. The Complex is written by Lynn Renee Maxcy, part of the Emmy award-winning writing team from The Handmaid’s Tale. The interactive movie stars Michelle Mylett (Letterkenny), Kate Dickie (Game of Thrones) and Al Weaver (Grantchester). Relationship Tracking Throughout the game you will interact with characters and — depending on your choices — will either strengthen or weaken your relationship. The relationship scores are calculated from the start right through to the very end and will affect certain scenarios as well as having major consequences in the concluding scenes. Personality Tracking For every decision you make, every interaction, your character’s personality is being tracked. At the end of each playthrough, you are rewarded with a Personality Score and a breakdown to see how you played the game. Discover the five basic dimensions of a personality; openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. Which of those will your character play?

About

The Sign

Experience a chilling interactive horror story where a mysterious video leads to a 7-day countdown to death. Uncover clues, solve puzzles, and make critical decisions that shape the narrative and relationships to save your loved ones from a terrifying curse.

Highlights
  • Interactive horror story
  • Branching narrative choices
  • Clue gathering and puzzle solving
  • Character relationship building
  • Multimedia elements (videos, chats, calls)
  • Episodic content updates
Features
Read full description

Imagine there’s a video full of nightmarish and shocking pictures. As soon as you’ve seen it, your phone rings and a voice whispers "You have 7 days left …” Does that RING a bell? We bring the triumph of the creepy video cassette from the 90s to the present! When evil enters your smartphone, your life will turn into a horror trip! THE INTERACTIVE HORROR STORY OF “The Sign” Your classmate and good friend Gabriela has been acting strangely for a week and has been keeping to herself more and more. Just when you were about to contact her parents, she gets in touch and shares her mysterious story: Exactly 7 days ago, she saw a creepy video and then received a call saying that she was going to die TODAY ... While you and the other students from your course don't believe the story, the video suddenly starts on your mobile phone - and the real horror begins! You let evil into your life and the lives of your loved ones. Soon the question arises: is there really a curse on the video? Follow the clues hidden in pictures, chat messages, documents and in the video. Solve the dark secret and save the lives of your family and friends. What secret does the mysterious video hide? Who is the mysterious ghost woman? And who is not who he claims to be? Now it's up to you! YOU DECIDE ON CHAT MESSAGES, YOU INFLUENCE THE STORY Your decisions affect the course and end of the interactive horror thriller story. YOU alone decide how the story and your relationship with the different characters develop. It's up to you to collect clues, solve puzzles and ultimately stop evil! But be careful, because you can't trust everyone ... CHARACTERS AND RELATIONSHIPS. In “The Sign”, you can decide for yourself how you want to interact with the people in your life. By selecting your gender and sharing your name, you can enjoy a customized gaming experience. The messages you choose will affect the relationships with all the characters and the development of the story. THE INTERACTIVE GAME OF “THE SIGN” “The Sign” is like a thrilling ride in the ghost train, full of mysterious clues, puzzles and creepy effects. It’s up to you to fight for the life of your friends and family! You will receive and send chat messages that directly affect the course of this interactive horror game. The scary story is accompanied by pictures, voice messages, video calls, mini-games, videos and newspaper reports created especially for the game. “The Sign” is released in episodes, so while you’re playing we’re already working on the next part of the story. Therefore, we're especially looking forward to your feedback and suggestions, which you can send to the following e-mail: support@the-sign.de. This episode and all upcoming ones of the Horror Chat Thriller are completely free to play! Optional in-app purchases can speed up the course of the story and the game. Commissioner for the Protection of Youth Kristine Peters Kattensteert 4 22119 Hamburg Phone: 0174/81 81 81 7 Mail: jugendschutz@reality-games.com Web: www.jugendschutz-beauftragte.de Our data protection policy: https://www.reality-games.com/en/datenschutz.php Our terms and conditions (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

The Complex4 screens
The Sign4 screens

Verdict

The call

The Complex and The Sign both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 84% of The Sign's written reviews are positive against 46% of The Complex's. The Sign also leads on ratings volume (1.5K vs 187) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 3 months). The Complex's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. The Complex sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and The Sign sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Sign holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Sign has 1.5K ratings behind it against 187, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of The Complex's written reviews are positive against 84% of The Sign's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Complex ships an update every 3 months, The Sign every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
The Complex versus The Sign: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe ComplexThe Sign
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (187 ratings)4.6 (1.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews45.8% of reviews84.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1871.5K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better12.2
Further details — not scored
Size2.0 GB122 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperWales Interactive Ltd.SponsorAds GmbH & Co.KG

Customer experience

The Complex

All ratings187 ratings
Positive82.9%
Neutral8.0%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews59 reviews
Positive45.8%
Neutral20.3%
Negative33.9%

The Sign

All ratings1,504 ratings
Positive90.6%
Neutral5.0%
Negative4.4%
Written reviews323 reviews
Positive84.2%
Neutral5.9%
Negative9.9%

Bugs and requests

The Complex

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

The Sign

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Inability to progress due to glitched mini-games
  • Saved data not transferring between devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • More diverse character customization options
  • Ability to replay past conversations
  • Subtitles/captions for accessibility
  • Reduced reliance on in-app purchases

In-app purchases

1 purchases

The Complex

One-time1
  • The Complex - Unlock Full Game$4.99
11 purchases

The Sign

Subscriptions2
  • Premium-Subscription$6.991 Month
  • Flatrate-Subscription$12.991 Month
One-time9
  • 40 BicS$1.99
  • 120 BicS$3.99
  • 300 BicS$8.99
Show 6 more
  • Heart Flatrate$8.99
  • Special$8.99
  • Premium$12.99
  • 800 BicS$16.99
  • 1500 BicS$24.99
  • Flatrate$32.99

Questions

Is The Complex free?
The Complex is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is The Sign free?
The Sign is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Complex or The Sign?
The Sign is rated higher. The Complex averages 4.4 out of 5 from 187 ratings, while The Sign averages 4.6 from 1.5K ratings.
Do The Complex or The Sign have ads?
The Sign shows ads; The Complex does not.
Which is updated more often, The Complex or The Sign?
The Complex ships an update every 3 months, and The Sign every 6 weeks. Most recently, The Complex was updated on September 18, 2026 and The Sign on September 23, 2026.

Other comparisons