Comparison

Afterplace vs Caves of Lore

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

Head to head
About

Afterplace

Embark on an open-world adventure on your mobile device, exploring a vast landscape filled with hidden secrets, treasures, and quirky characters. Engage in combat, uncover mysteries, and forge your own path through a world without waypoints.

Highlights
  • Open world exploration
  • Hidden secrets and treasures
  • Combat with monsters
  • Interactive characters
  • No virtual buttons
  • Dynamic control adaptation
Features
Read full description

An open world adventure game filled with silly characters and terrible secrets. Afterplace is an adventurous indie game for mobile devices. It's a huge open world, full of hidden secrets, treasures, and creatures. You'll run around the woods, fight monsters, and talk to ostensibly shady characters! All from your pocket! Be warned though - you never know what the forest might be hiding, and not all trails are paved. Labyrinths and dungeons are tucked away in the most concealed nooks. There are no waypoints in Afterplace. You'll have to forge your own path. Afterplace has been designed from the ground up to be a fast, fluid, beautiful experience for mobile. There are no virtual buttons. You can move and attack by touching anywhere. You can tap objects directly to interact or attack, use two thumbs like a traditional controller, or control the game with a physical gamepad. The game will adapt dynamically to your play style. Pick up and set down the game at your own pace, it will always save your progress. Afterplace is made to feel like a full-fledged indie adventure game that fits in your pocket. About the Author: Afterplace is made by one person, Evan Kice. A former software engineer from Austin TX, Evan quit his job (to the dismay of his friends and family) and has been working full time on Afterplace since early 2019. The initial game released in December of 2022, but Evan plans on continuing to support and polish the game when he can!

About

Caves of Lore

Embark on a turn-based, pixel-art fantasy adventure with tactical grid-based combat. Explore a world filled with monsters, humor, and hidden secrets. Build a customizable party and uncover a story filled with dark themes and ancient horrors.

Highlights
  • Turn-based tactical combat
  • Pixel-art fantasy world
  • Environmental exploration
  • Character interaction
  • Highly customizable party
  • Vast amounts of loot and treasure
  • Deep lore and dialogue
Features
Read full description

I'm a self-taught solo-dev who built this passion project over 6 years while holding down a full time job and raising a family. I dedicated myself to work 5 minutes a day no matter what, and built the game piece by piece, not really knowing where I was going or how it would all end. • Caves of Lore is a turn-based, pixel-art, fantasy CRPG that combines elements of environmental exploration and character interaction with tactical, grid-based combat. Fun and weird adventures await as you progress through a world full of monsters and humor. Hidden secrets and strange powers abound, allowing for a highly customizable party. • Vast amounts of loot and treasure constantly increase your power, while dialogue, books and lore are waiting for those who want to be drawn into the world further. • Dark themes and ancient horrors don’t keep this game from remaining upbeat and funny, with a story that unfolds in unexpected ways. Tactical combat, endless magical item combos, and a vast array of spells, abilities and traits make for great replay value. • 6 character capacity party, 65+ spells, 65+ abilities, 65+ traits, 50+ monsters, 40+ NPCs , 30+ quests, and 20+ areas to explore. Hundreds of items and tens of thousands of enchantment combinations make for all manner of powerful items.

Screenshots

Afterplace4 screens
Caves of Lore4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: Afterplace at #38 against Caves of Lore's #181. Afterplace also leads on ratings volume (613 vs 189) and price ($6.99 vs $7.99). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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

Afterplace costs $6.99 and Caves of Lore $7.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Afterplace against 4.9 for Caves of Lore. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 613 and 189 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 94% of Afterplace's written reviews are positive against 92% of Caves of Lore's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Afterplace ships an update monthly, Caves of Lore every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Afterplace versus Caves of Lore: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAfterplaceCaves of Lore
Price$6.99 — better$7.99
Rating4.9 (613 ratings) — better4.9 (189 ratings)
Positive reviews94.0% of reviews — better92.2% of reviews
Number of ratings613 — better189
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#38 — better#181
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size249 MB701 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperEvan KiceTILTGames

Customer experience

Afterplace

All ratings613 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral1.8%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews250 reviews
Positive94.0%
Neutral2.4%
Negative3.6%

Caves of Lore

All ratings189 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral1.1%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews115 reviews
Positive92.2%
Neutral4.3%
Negative3.5%

User reviews

Afterplace

From 613 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 👍 Charming characters and dialogue
  • 🎨 Beautiful pixel art and visuals
  • 🎶 Excellent soundtrack
  • 💡 Unique story and world-building

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or performance issues
  • 🔍 Lack of a map or quest log can lead to getting lost
  • 🔍 Some plot points not fully explained
  • 🔍 Limited weapon/item variety

Caves of Lore

From 189 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great game
  • 👍 Enjoyable gameplay
  • 🎨 Beautiful pixel art
  • 💰 Worth the price
  • 🕹️ Engaging combat

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes
  • 🔍 Steep learning curve
  • 🌐 Lack of language support (e.g. Russian, German)
  • 🔋 High battery consumption

Bugs and requests

Afterplace

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crashes on certain devices
  • Saves not loading properly

Requested features

3 requests
  • Landscape mode support
  • Ability to restart or replay the game
  • More in-depth combat and progression systems

Caves of Lore

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crashes after a few fights
  • Traits menu not showing properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add Russian language support
  • Add German language support
  • Implement cloud save feature
  • Improve UI/UX for better accessibility

In-app purchases

None

Afterplace

No in-app purchases

None

Caves of Lore

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Afterplace free?
Afterplace costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Caves of Lore free?
Caves of Lore costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Afterplace or Caves of Lore?
Afterplace is rated higher. Afterplace averages 4.9 out of 5 from 613 ratings, while Caves of Lore averages 4.9 from 189 ratings.
Do Afterplace or Caves of Lore have ads?
Neither Afterplace nor Caves of Lore shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Afterplace or Caves of Lore?
Afterplace ships an update monthly, and Caves of Lore every 6 weeks. Most recently, Afterplace was updated on September 23, 2026 and Caves of Lore on September 20, 2026.
Which is more popular, Afterplace or Caves of Lore?
Afterplace currently peaks at #38 in the App Store charts, and Caves of Lore at #181. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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