Barnard's Star vs Dungeons of Aether
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Barnard's Star
Engage in strategic, turn-based multiplayer battles across space. Outwit opponents with unique character abilities and tactical map control. Victory depends solely on your strategic prowess, with no reliance on luck or in-app purchases.
- Multiplayer turn-based tactics
- No micro-transactions or random chance
- 3 warring factions (Humans, Robots, Critters)
- 30 characters with unique attacks
- 18 maps on space stations and ships
- Offline vs. AI and local multiplayer
- Online multiplayer challenges
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Snipe your friends, electrocute your enemies and rain down acidic slime in the Barnard’s Star system, 6 light years from Earth. A multiplayer, turn-based tactics battler with no micro-transactions and no random chance — ingenuity is the only way to victory! Features: - Choose between 3 warring factions: Humans, Robots, and Critters - Do battle with 30 characters using dozens of unique attacks and abilities - Conquer 18 different maps set on space stations and intergalactic ships - Play offline vs. AI or locally against a friend - Challenge friends and strangers with online multiplayer
Dungeons of Aether
Embark on a challenging turn-based dungeon crawler where strategic dice drafting determines your fate. Explore diverse biomes, uncover journal entries, and master unique hero skills in a quest for treasure or an early demise.
- Turn-based dice drafting combat
- Four unique heroes with special skills
- Story mode with steampunk town exploration
- Multiple dungeon biomes
- Challenge dungeons for roguelike difficulty
- Collectible journal entries
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Dungeons of Aether is a turn-based dungeon crawler designed by Nikita ‘ampersandbear’ Belorusov from the Aether Studios team. Rivals of Aether is known for its intense competition and twitch skills, while Dungeons of Aether allows you to take things at your own pace - but it’s still just as challenging! Every choice you make can lead you deeper into the dungeons or to an early demise. Will you carry out a treasure chest, or be carried out in a pine box? The combat in Dungeons of Aether uses a dice draft system that ensures each battle is unique while challenging the player to adapt the pool of dice each turn. Use fortune to your favor to defeat your foes, collect treasures and shift the odds in your favor... Game Features: - Meet four NEW HEROES from the world of Aether, each with their own unique skills and memorable personalities. - Play STORY MODE and travel to the steampunk town of Julesvale and brave the sprawling caverns underneath it. - Explore each DUNGEON BIOME as you dive into Julesvale Mines, the Lava Caves, the Underground Oasis and the Mineral Deposits, collecting revealing Journal Entries along the way. - Brave the CHALLENGE DUNGEONS if you are looking for true roguelike difficulty to test your skills in the randomly generated dungeons.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Dungeons of Aether at every 8 days against Barnard's Star's every 4 weeks. Dungeons of Aether also leads on review sentiment (93% vs 78%) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.0). Barnard's Star's advantage is price ($3.99 vs $4.99). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
Barnard's Star costs $3.99 and Dungeons of Aether $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Barnard's Star against 4.8 for Dungeons of Aether. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 46 and 28 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of Barnard's Star's written reviews are positive against 93% of Dungeons of Aether's.
Barnard's Star ships an update every 4 weeks, Dungeons of Aether every 8 days. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.
| Parameter | Barnard's Star | Dungeons of Aether |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (46 ratings) | 4.8 (28 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 78.3% of reviews | 93.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 46 — better | 28 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #138 — better | #182 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 122 MB | 189 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Pollywog Games | Dan Fornace |
Customer experience
Barnard's Star
Dungeons of Aether
In-app purchases
Barnard's Star
No in-app purchases
Dungeons of Aether
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Barnard's Star free?
Is Dungeons of Aether free?
Which has better reviews, Barnard's Star or Dungeons of Aether?
Do Barnard's Star or Dungeons of Aether have ads?
Which is updated more often, Barnard's Star or Dungeons of Aether?
Which is more popular, Barnard's Star or Dungeons of Aether?
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