Comparison

A Detective's Demise vs Eldershyft

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

Head to head
About

A Detective's Demise

Immerse yourself in a dark, tech-noir 3D audio adventure. Play as a detective navigating the gritty streets of District 5, uncovering mysteries and encountering technologically enhanced adversaries. Experience a gripping narrative in a futuristic urban landscape.

Highlights
  • 3D audio adventure
  • Tech-noir atmosphere
  • Detective role-playing
  • Futuristic District 5 setting
  • Narrative-driven gameplay
Features
Read full description

A Detective’s Demise is a dark, tech-noir inspired 3D audio adventure experience. Take on the role of the “Detective,” a Lambton enforcer with a few tales to tell; as you delve deep in the grime and mystery of a future District 5. Traverse the mean streets of Dusklight’s most brutal district as you search for “her,” encountering all manner of creatures, the lowest of the low, emboldened with heightened technology at your side. Pitch Black: A Detective’s Demise.

About

Eldershyft

A unique match-3 puzzle game where you move entire paths on a hexagonal board to create cascades and combos. Build a mystical island, tame beasts, and choose your strategy to achieve high scores or complete challenges.

Highlights
  • Hexagonal board path movement
  • Cascading matches and combos
  • Endless and Challenge modes
  • Beast management and island building
  • Stackable bonuses and abilities
  • Full VoiceOver support
  • Color-blind and high contrast settings
Features
Read full description

Eldershyft is a match-3 puzzle game with unique gameplay. Instead of swapping individual tiles, you move entire paths across a hexagonal board in 6 directions, opening up cascades, combos, and strategies. Set before the days of Eldermyth, you take control of the Curator of Lands to build the mystical Island whilst trying to tame the Beasts that have followed you from your realm. 

As you grow stronger, will you choose to focus your powers on board manipulation, Beast management or score multipliers? Or, maybe a combination of them all! Two ways to play - Endless Mode: Push for the highest score on the world leaderboard. Survive as long as possible as enemy pressure escalates and the Island becomes more complex - Challenge Mode: Settle the Island by reaching level 5 on each land type in the least amount of turns possible. Each turn counts even more in this mode Deep strategy. Pure puzzle - Cascading matches and board refill from 6 directions reward planning and positional awareness - Ever changing board from multiple different mechanics at play - A rich progression system with stackable bonuses, passive and consumable abilities, and permanent multipliers - No timers. No pay-to-win. Pure strategic depth Fully accessible - Complete VoiceOver support with full gameplay narration, accessible drag-and-drop path building, as well as colour-blind and high contrast settings Try for free before purchasing the full game!

Screenshots

A Detective's Demise3 screens
Eldershyft4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Eldershyft at 5.0 against A Detective's Demise's 4.5. A Detective's Demise's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ratings volume, ads 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. Eldershyft sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. A Detective's Demise asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Eldershyft holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 8 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 63% of A Detective's Demise's written reviews are positive against 50% of Eldershyft's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

A Detective's Demise ships an update every 3 days, Eldershyft every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
A Detective's Demise versus Eldershyft: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterA Detective's DemiseEldershyft
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (6 ratings)5.0 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.5% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings68 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS10.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size180 MB7 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperPurple Jam LtdKIERAN HARTNETT

Customer experience

A Detective's Demise

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative37.5%

Eldershyft

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

A Detective's Demise

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Eldershyft

One-time2
  • Rival Curators$1.99
  • Full base game unlock$2.99

Questions

Is A Detective's Demise free?
A Detective's Demise is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Eldershyft free?
Eldershyft is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, A Detective's Demise or Eldershyft?
Eldershyft is rated higher. A Detective's Demise averages 4.5 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Eldershyft averages 5.0 from 8 ratings.
Do A Detective's Demise or Eldershyft have ads?
Neither A Detective's Demise nor Eldershyft shows ads.
Which is updated more often, A Detective's Demise or Eldershyft?
A Detective's Demise ships an update every 3 days, and Eldershyft every 3 weeks. Most recently, A Detective's Demise was updated on November 3, 2026 and Eldershyft on October 31, 2026.

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