Comparison

Cavern Crawl vs Astro Defender

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

Head to head
About

Cavern Crawl

Pilot a spaceship through a treacherous cavern, dodging obstacles and enemies. Collect orbs for points and fuel, and use rockets to defeat foes. Strategize your collection to maximize your score and survive the descent.

Highlights
  • Spaceship flight controls
  • Obstacle and enemy avoidance
  • Rocket shooting mechanics
  • Orb collection for points
  • Fuel management system
  • Invincibility power-up
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Cavern Crawl! Fly a spaceship through a cavern! Avoid obstacles! Avoid enemies! Shoot at the enemies! Collect orbs to gain points! Try to get the high score! Instructions: The ship floats down. Pressing on the screen will make the ship fly up. Your ship will also drain gas, so make sure to fuel up! Pressing the red shoot button will shoot a rocket. You can try to avoid enemies, or shoot at them, but be careful, the rockets will also destroy the orbs. You don't want to shoot the red or yellow ones since they will give you more gas. Collect red orbs to gain a point, but watch out for the purple orbs, they will subtract a point. If you get a yellow orb, you will get 10 points. Red and yellow orbs will also replenish your gas supply. Shooting the enemies will also give you a point. If you collect the orange coin, you will become invincible from enemies for 10 seconds.

About

Astro Defender

Engage in classic arcade-style space combat with a 150-level campaign. Collect items, upgrade your ship and weapons, and recruit warriors to fight alien waves and epic bosses. Experience fast-paced action with responsive touch controls.

Highlights
  • 150-level campaign mode
  • Ship and weapon upgrades
  • Recruit space warriors
  • Collect in-game items
  • Epic boss fights
  • Responsive touch controls
Read full description

Astro Defender – Alien Shooter is an adventurous iOS space shooter built for players who love classic arcade action, striking sci-fi visuals, powerful ship upgrades, and a 150-level campaign that always gives you one more mission to complete. Fight alien waves, collect battle items, upgrade your ships and weapons, recruit space warriors, complete missions, and push deeper through a handcrafted Campaign Mode. COLLECT, UPGRADE, DOMINATE Build your fleet with powerful ships and weapon systems. Upgrade your firepower, strengthen your combat setup, and prepare for tougher missions across the galaxy. 150 HANDCRAFTED LEVELS Progress through a full Campaign designed around escalating challenge, enemy variety, boss encounters, and rewarding milestones. SPACE WARRIORS & PLAYER PROGRESSION Recruit space warriors, amplify your stats, climb player ranks, complete quests and missions, and keep pushing toward your next upgrade. ITEMS, BONUSES & BATTLE POWER Collect items during combat to boost your ship, amplify your abilities, and turn overwhelming alien swarms into explosive victories. EPIC BOSS FIGHTS Face massive alien threats with deadly attack patterns. Dodge, counterattack, and unleash your strongest firepower at the perfect moment. A GALAXY WORTH DEFENDING From rapid enemy waves to high-intensity boss battles, Astro Defender – Alien Shooter delivers a modern arcade shooter built around skill, upgrades, missions, and replayable progression. Download Astro Defender – Alien Shooter and begin your campaign to defend the galaxy.

Screenshots

Cavern Crawl4 screens
Astro Defender4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Cavern Crawl at 5.0 against Astro Defender's 4.0. Cavern Crawl also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 21) and ads (none vs shown). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and 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

Both are free to download. Astro Defender sells 21 one-off in-app purchases. Cavern Crawl asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cavern Crawl holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 6 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cavern Crawl ships an update every 2 days, Astro Defender every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 4 level
Cavern Crawl versus Astro Defender: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCavern CrawlAstro Defender
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (7 ratings) — better4.0 (6 ratings)
Number of ratings7 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 4 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB656 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperEthan FeldmanMatteus Barhaido

Customer experience

Cavern Crawl

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Astro Defender

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

In-app purchases

None

Cavern Crawl

No in-app purchases

21 purchases

Astro Defender

One-time21
  • 1x Revive Device$0.99
  • Normal Chest$0.99
  • 5 Star Dust$0.99
Show 18 more
  • Small$0.99
  • Star Reactor Core$1.99
  • Epic Chest$1.99
  • Legendary Chest$4.99
  • 30 Star Dust$4.99
  • Craft Bundle$4.99
  • Plenty$4.99
  • 70 Star Dust$9.99
  • Bag$9.99
  • Onyx Bundle$9.99
  • Chaos Bundle$9.99
  • 200 Star Dust$24.99
  • Box$24.99
  • Elite Bundle$39.99
  • Unlock Annihilator Ship$49.99
  • 500 Star Dust$49.99
  • Boxes$69.99
  • Cargo$139.99

Questions

Is Cavern Crawl free?
Cavern Crawl is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Astro Defender free?
Astro Defender is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cavern Crawl or Astro Defender?
Cavern Crawl is rated higher. Cavern Crawl averages 5.0 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Astro Defender averages 4.0 from 6 ratings.
Do Cavern Crawl or Astro Defender have ads?
Astro Defender shows ads; Cavern Crawl does not.
Which is updated more often, Cavern Crawl or Astro Defender?
Cavern Crawl ships an update every 2 days, and Astro Defender every 4 days. Most recently, Cavern Crawl was updated on October 24, 2026 and Astro Defender on October 24, 2026.

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