Comparison

Nova Island vs Rage Mage

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

Head to head
About

Nova Island

Engage in strategic card battles with cute anime-inspired characters. Collect friends, powers, and skins while competing in PvP matches or embarking on an adventure. Build decks and master unique playstyles.

Highlights
  • Collectible card battles
  • Strategic deck building
  • PvP and PvE modes
  • Character collection
  • Cosmetic customization
  • Daily challenges
  • Draft mode
Features
Read full description

Discover friends and card duels in this exciting strategic adventure game! Nova Island is an anime inspired card game with cute characters, amazing strategy, and an engaging adventure!  And totally ad free! Looking for a unique collectible card game that combines strategy & chance? On Nova Island, you can take on challenges, play quick matches with friends, or compete against players from around the world to climb the leaderboard. Play cards to gain strength, deal damage, plan ahead, and disrupt opponents in ways they’ll never see coming. It’s fun! Try it out for free and discover its complete strategic freedom! Alert!  A new Nova Researcher has arrived on the island!  With your help and the various Pros by your side, collect all of the Friends, Powers, and customizable Skins found on this colorful island.  Go out on an adventure of a lifetime and see all of the fun in store for you! Quick PvP Matches in Every Mode Compete in fast online Ranked Matches versus players around the world.  Try out your strategic thinking in a unique single-player experience with new themes popping in the Daily Challenges. The Best of Your Favorite TCG and CCG Experiences Train your skills with the Turbo Chaos Draft Challenge against players around the world in a fast-paced draft mode. Challenge yourself with a PVE singleplayer journey around the island and tricky limited time game modes. Level up on Research Road and collect over 100 cards and over 1500 cosmetics, including: - 8 Pros, each with a thematic soundtrack and unique playstyle. - Over 70 Friends with cute animations, sound effects, and custom skins to change their look! So get in there and build your deck with strategy and style! Pick Your Prize or Try Your Luck: Use your winning Tokens on the Vending Machines to collect rewards, level up your favorite strategies, and unlock new cards. You’ll learn more about Nova Island, the Pros and Friends inhabiting the districts, and the challenges that await you as you explore! We have a growing community who love to chat! Discuss tips and tricks with some real Nova Island Pros!  Join in for all fun things NOVA ISLAND! Discord: https://play.novaisland.com/discord Need SUPPORT? Visit our Website: https://novaisland.com or Email us: hello@thirteengames.com Just some important legal information: PRIVACY POLICY: https://novaisland.com/privacy-policy TERMS OF SERVICE: https://novaisland.com/terms-of-service

About

Rage Mage

Embark on a magical adventure on a mysterious island, drawing cards to acquire powerful equipment and upgrade your abilities. Explore ancient runes, forge mystical gear, and engage in strategic duels to conquer a world filled with challenges.

Highlights
  • Card drawing for equipment
  • Equipment upgrading
  • Star chart and gem bonuses
  • Mystical altar and rune upgrades
  • Ranking battles and magic duels
  • Stage challenges and strategy building
Features
Read full description

You can no longer hide as an ordinary person when you set foot on a magical island. This time, fate has chosen you and you will be determined to fulfil your mission. Yes, the gates of magic are opening to you. Discover the mysteries of card magic and formations, decipher the mysteries of forging mysterious equipment, whether the enchantment of runes and sacred weapons can help you conquer this crisis-ridden world of magic. This time, we're going to go on a rampage! [Simple Play & Easy Card Drawing] No need for complicated plays, just tap to draw mystery cards to obtain amazing equipment, and upgrade the cards to increase the equipment acquisition rate. Collect your exclusive equipment, create your own attributes and conquer the world of magic at your fingertips. [Star Chart & Free Matching] Gather the power of the stars to create your own battle style. Combine gems and star charts to provide additional bonuses to help you navigate the dangerous world of magic! [Mystic Altar & Runes Bonus] Capture abundant resources to upgrade your mystical altar, collect rune stones with different attributes and enjoy the bonuses of rune spirits! There are even elemental spirits of the clan level waiting to be unlocked! [Ranking Battle & Magic Duel] Who is the true king of magic? And who is the true master of strategy? Come and enjoy a fair fight in the dueling arena! Fair matching, magic duel, climb the path to magical glory and gain more magical resources! [Stage Challenge & Strategy Building] Facing elite bosses with different attributes, can you find out the best strategy against the enemy and break through the levels to get better resources! Complete the main level and unlock the elite level. Are you willing to accept the challenge!

Screenshots

Nova Island4 screens
Rage Mage4 screens

Verdict

The call

Nova Island and Rage Mage both sit at 4.3 stars, but that hides the real split: 60% of Nova Island's written reviews are positive against 52% of Rage Mage's. Rage Mage's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Nova Island sells 66 one-off in-app purchases and Rage Mage sells 11 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Nova Island against 4.2 for Rage Mage. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 237 and 579 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 60% of Nova Island's written reviews are positive against 52% of Rage Mage's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Nova Island versus Rage Mage: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNova IslandRage Mage
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (237 ratings) — better4.2 (579 ratings)
Positive reviews60.4% of reviews — better51.8% of reviews
Number of ratings237579 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size262 MB137 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperThirteen Games, LLCModo Game

Customer experience

Nova Island

All ratings237 ratings
Positive79.3%
Neutral7.2%
Negative13.5%
Written reviews96 reviews
Positive60.4%
Neutral16.7%
Negative22.9%

Rage Mage

All ratings579 ratings
Positive82.4%
Neutral4.7%
Negative13.0%
Written reviews195 reviews
Positive51.8%
Neutral8.7%
Negative39.5%

User reviews

Nova Island

From 237 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Unique gameplay mechanics
  • 🎨 Appealing art style and animations
  • 💰 Completely free-to-play, no pay-to-win
  • 🕹️ Engaging strategic depth
  • 🌟 Underrated and deserves more attention

Room to improve

  • 🎲 Excessive reliance on RNG
  • 🔁 Repetitive and swingy gameplay
  • 🕰️ Slow progression and grindy unlock system
  • ⚖️ Unbalanced card/character power levels
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and connectivity issues

Rage Mage

From 579 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • ⏱️ Efficient auto-play features
  • 💎 Generous free-to-play progression
  • 🤝 Engaging guild system

Room to improve

  • 💰 Heavily pay-to-win
  • 🕰️ Repetitive and grindy progression
  • 🔍 Lack of content and endgame
  • 🤖 Unbalanced PvP matchmaking

Bugs and requests

Nova Island

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Soft-locking tutorial
  • Inconsistent performance on some devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Offline mode or paid full version
  • Ability to play with friends
  • More character/card customization options
  • Improved tutorial and onboarding experience

Rage Mage

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Account reset issues
  • Unreliable drop rates and event rewards

Requested features

4 requests
  • Faster card opening and rune activation
  • More diverse character customization options
  • Cross-server communication and events
  • Improved guild management tools

In-app purchases

66 purchases

Nova Island

One-time66
  • 90 Island Credits$0.99
  • Researcher’s Starter Bundle$0.99
  • Circuit Boiz Bundle 2$0.99
Show 63 more
  • Circuit Boiz Bundle 1$0.99
  • 4th Anniversary Emotes Bundle1$0.99
  • Halloween Juice Emote$0.99
  • Max Halloween Emote$0.99
  • Artillery Pack$0.99
  • Doodle Branehart Emote$0.99
  • 75 Island Credits2 variants$1.99
  • Welcome Bundle$1.99
  • Power Outage Pack$1.99
  • Researcher's Starter Bundle2 variants$1.99
  • Circuit Boiz Pack$1.99
  • Rerun Activate$1.99
  • Sprynk Activate$1.99
  • Hackmaster Activate$1.99
  • Escape Pod Activate$1.99
  • Novas Special BF$1.99
  • Food Emote Bundle$1.99
  • Cosmicosi Legendary Skin$1.99
  • Cannonball Level Up$1.99
  • Welcome Party Bundle$2.99
  • Mage Rerun$2.99
  • Oddball Filthy Clean Skin$2.99
  • Giving Tree Unlock$2.99
  • Giving Tree Level Up$2.99
  • New Season Novium Special$2.99
  • Greenhouse Pack$2.99
  • Daily Login Bonus$3.99
  • Rainbow Gemma Skin$3.99
  • Gemma Activate$3.99
  • EOY Winter Skins 2024$3.99
  • Unlock Sparki$3.99
  • Nova Tree Giving Tree$3.99
  • Cosmicosi Activate$3.99
  • Crystal Kitten$3.99
  • Arcade Pack$3.99
  • Ghost Blazer$3.99
  • Candy Weade$3.99
  • Frankenjazzy$3.99
  • 575 Island Credits$4.99
  • ULTIMATE Welcome Bundle$4.99
  • Welcome Party Bundle$4.99
  • Bloom King BC Special$4.99
  • 80s Sparki$4.99
  • Observatory Pack$4.99
  • 225 Island Credits$4.99
  • Intranet Pack$5.99
  • Activation Starter Bundle$5.99
  • One Cent and IP$6.99
  • Khrys and Flutter$6.99
  • Crystal Cats$8.99
  • 1175 Island Credits$9.99
  • Nova Tree Bundle$9.99
  • Welcome Bundle 5$9.99
  • Boost Pack C$9.99
  • Hooligan Bundle$9.99
  • Boost Pack B$9.99
  • 480 Island Credits$9.99
  • Ancient 9 Skins$14.99
  • EOY Credits Special 2024$14.99
  • 2400 Island Credits$19.99
  • Super Boost Pack C$19.99
  • 1020 Island Credits$19.99
  • 2155 Island Credits$39.99
11 purchases

Rage Mage

One-time11
  • Purchase Diamond 1$0.99
  • In-game purchase service 1$1.99
  • Month card$3.99
Show 8 more
  • stone month card$4.99
  • Purchase Diamond 2$4.99
  • In-game purchase service 3$9.99
  • In-game purchase service 6$14.99
  • In-game purchase service 4$19.99
  • Purchase Diamond 3$29.99
  • Purchase Diamond 4$49.99
  • Purchase Diamond 5$99.99

Questions

Is Nova Island free?
Nova Island is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Rage Mage free?
Rage Mage is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Nova Island or Rage Mage?
Nova Island is rated higher. Nova Island averages 4.3 out of 5 from 237 ratings, while Rage Mage averages 4.2 from 579 ratings.
Do Nova Island or Rage Mage have ads?
Neither Nova Island nor Rage Mage shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nova Island or Rage Mage?
Nova Island ships an update every 3 weeks, and Rage Mage every 3 weeks. Most recently, Nova Island was updated on October 22, 2026 and Rage Mage on October 27, 2026.

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