Comparison

Nova Island vs Sylva's Blessing

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

Sylva's Blessing

Embark on a quest to save the World-Root by choosing a hero and descending through four distinct dungeons. Engage in deep card combat, build your deck with unique rewards, and uncover a dark secret in a family-friendly fantasy world. Play the first act for free.

Highlights
  • Card combat with mana, creatures, and keywords
  • Branching paths and random events
  • Deck building with rewards and relics
  • Four unique heroes and dungeons
  • Family-friendly fantasy setting
  • Unlockable town and lore
Features
Read full description

The World-Root is dying, and Maelora the Greenmother has called you across death to save it. Choose your vessel — Warrior, Mage, Druid, or Rogue — and descend through four escalating acts, each a distinct dungeon with its own threats and its own lord to break. CARD COMBAT WITH REAL DEPTH Mana, creatures, keywords like Flying, Reach, Trample and Haste, instants, traps, and hero powers. Easy to pick up beside a campfire; hard to put down. EVERY RUN IS YOURS Chart a branching path through combats, elites, strange events, shops, campfires, and treasure on the way to each act's boss. Grow your deck with rewards, relics, a card-forge, and Sylva's between-act blessings. FOUR HEROES, FOUR DUNGEONS The Goblin Warrens. The Drowned Catacombs. The Feral Thornwood. And beneath them all, the Obsidian Spire, where the demon lord Vholgrath festers at the root of the world. A COZY WORLD WITH A DARK SECRET Return to Roothollow between battles, meet its keepers, and learn the truth about a friendly face named Alric. FAMILY-FRIENDLY BY DESIGN Mild fantasy combat, no gore — made by a dad, first playtested by his kids. PLAY THE FIRST ACT FREE The complete Act I — the Goblin Warrens, through the warlord Goresnout — is free. One $4.99 purchase unlocks the full game forever: all four acts, every hero, the forge, the town, and the truth about the blight. No subscriptions. No ads. Your progress saves on your device.

Screenshots

Nova Island4 screens
Sylva's Blessing4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Sylva's Blessing at 5.0 against Nova Island's 4.3. Nova Island's advantage is ratings volume (236 vs 3). On price, ads, 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. Nova Island sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and Sylva's Blessing sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sylva's Blessing holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nova Island has 236 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Nova Island versus Sylva's Blessing: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNova IslandSylva's Blessing
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (236 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings236 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size262 MB371 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperThirteen Games, LLCTimothy Lovely

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

Sylva's Blessing

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Nova Island

One-time9
  • Artillery Pack$0.99
  • 75 Island Credits2 variants$1.99
  • Circuit Boiz Pack$1.99
Show 6 more
  • Daily Login Bonus$3.99
  • 575 Island Credits$4.99
  • Welcome Party Bundle$4.99
  • 225 Island Credits$4.99
  • 1175 Island Credits$9.99
  • 2400 Island Credits$19.99
1 purchases

Sylva's Blessing

One-time1
  • Full Game Unlock$4.99

Questions

Is Nova Island free?
Nova Island is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sylva's Blessing free?
Sylva's Blessing is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Nova Island or Sylva's Blessing?
Sylva's Blessing is rated higher. Nova Island averages 4.3 out of 5 from 236 ratings, while Sylva's Blessing averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Nova Island or Sylva's Blessing have ads?
Neither Nova Island nor Sylva's Blessing shows ads.

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