Comparison

Alien vs ARK

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

Head to head
About

Alien

Embark on a terrifying quest for survival aboard a space station. Unprepared and underequipped, you must use your wits and courage to escape an unknown menace. Experience a faithful mobile replication of the classic survival horror game, complete with AAA visuals and an arresting narrative.

Highlights
  • Survival horror gameplay
  • Stealth and evasion mechanics
  • Resource scavenging and crafting
  • Touchscreen controls with customization
  • Gamepad and mouse/keyboard support
  • Faithful mobile replication of AAA visuals
  • Includes all DLC content
Currently charting
Read full description

READ BEFORE DOWNLOADING: Please expand this description and read the full list of supported devices below to confirm that your device is supported. When she left Earth, Ellen Ripley promised her daughter she would return home to celebrate her 11th birthday. She never made it. Fifteen years later, Amanda Ripley learns that the flight recorder from her mother’s ship has been recovered. Amanda enters Sevastopol space station to finally solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance, only to confront an unknown menace. Engage in a terrifying quest for survival as you navigate the labyrinthine Sevastopol station. Unprepared and underequipped, you will need all your wits and daring to get out alive. TWO MISSIONS FREE Play missions 1 and 2 for free, then unlock the complete game and all DLC via a single in-app purchase. A SURVIVAL HORROR MASTERPIECE The stunning AAA visuals, arresting narrative and terrifying atmosphere of Creative Assembly’s classic – faithfully replicated on mobile. This is the complete survival horror experience brought to mobile without compromise. TAILORED FOR MOBILE Run, hide and survive using a redesigned interface, offering total touchscreen control and full customisation options. Resize and reposition on-screen buttons and joysticks, or play with a gamepad or any iPadOS-compatible mouse & keyboard. INSPIRED BY THE 1979 FILM ‘ALIEN’ A game that returns to the roots of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror masterpiece, using its atmosphere, art direction and production values to deliver the same terrifying thrills. IMPROVISE AND SURVIVE Explore Sevastopol station and scavenge for hidden resources, crafting items and tech to improvise weapons and deterrents against the ultimate threat. ADAPT TO THE ALIEN’S MOVES To evade the Alien as it hunts you down, make calculated moves and use your environment, from crawling through ventilation ducts to hiding in the shadows. THE COMPLETE COLLECTION Buy the full game with all seven DLCs included, such as ‘Last Survivor’ — a recreation of Ellen Ripley’s final mission on board the Nostromo. === Alien: Isolation requires iOS 16.5 or later and 11GB of storage. For installation we recommend having at least 22GB of free space. Supported iPhones: • iPhone 8 Plus • iPhone X and later • iPhone SE 2 (2020) and later Supported iPads: • iPad mini 5 (2019) and later • iPad Air 3 (2019) and later • iPad 7 (2019) and later • iPad Pro 1st gen (2015), 12.9" model only • iPad Pro 2nd gen (2017) and later • If you require assistance, please contact our support team at support@feralinteractive.com © 2024 20th Century Studios. Alien: Isolation game software, excluding 20th Century Studios elements © SEGA. Originally developed by The Creative Assembly Limited. Creative Assembly and the Creative Assembly logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of The Creative Assembly Limited. SEGA and the SEGA logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Corporation. Developed for and published on iOS by Feral Interactive. iOS and the iOS logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Feral and the Feral logo are trademarks of Feral Interactive Ltd. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

About

ARK

Explore vast, savage lands filled with primeval creatures. Tame and ride dinosaurs, team up with others for tribal battles, and embark on an epic adventure. Conquer diverse environments and discover hundreds of unique species.

Highlights
  • Tame and ride primeval creatures
  • Explore savage lands and diverse environments
  • Team up for epic tribal battles
  • Access five huge expansion packs
  • Discover hundreds of unique species
  • Conquer boss challenges
Features
Read full description

***This game requires additional data to play. You will be prompted to download an additional 2GB of data after launching the game.*** Experience everything that the ARK franchise has to offer in this massive mobile edition! Tame and ride primeval creatures as you explore savage lands, team up with other players to compete in epic tribal battles, and travel together on the greatest Dinosaur-filled adventure of all time. ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition includes the original Island map alongside access to five huge Expansion Packs - Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, and Genesis Parts 1 & 2 - adding up to thousands of hours of gameplay! From primordial island jungles to the futuristic gardens of an interstellar starship, every sprawling environment is here for you to conquer! Discover the hundreds of unique species roaming these lands, from the prehistoric to the fantastical, and learn how to befriend these creatures, or to defeat them. Complete your collection of notes and dossiers left by past explorers to learn the surprising history of the ARKs. Test your tribe and your beasts in battle with every boss challenge from the franchise! Do you and your friends have what it takes to survive the ultimate ARK experience? Mobile version developed by Grove Street Games.

Screenshots

Alien4 screens
ARK4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Alien at none against ARK's shown. Alien also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 45%) and iOS requirement (16.5 vs 18.0). ARK's advantage is ratings volume (14K vs 1.3K). On price, rating, update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Alien sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and ARK sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. 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 — 4.5 for Alien against 4.4 for ARK. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ARK has 14K ratings behind it against 1.3K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Alien's written reviews are positive against 45% of ARK's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Alien ships an update every 2 months, ARK monthly. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Alien versus ARK: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAlienARK
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (1.3K ratings) — better4.4 (14K ratings)
Positive reviews79.7% of reviews — better45.1% of reviews
Number of ratings1.3K14K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#183#103 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.5 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.9 GB3.5 GB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperFeral Interactive LtdStudio Wildcard

Customer experience

Alien

All ratings1,292 ratings
Positive86.6%
Neutral2.6%
Negative10.8%
Written reviews870 reviews
Positive79.7%
Neutral5.1%
Negative15.3%

ARK

All ratings13,944 ratings
Positive84.7%
Neutral3.5%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews3,571 reviews
Positive45.1%
Neutral13.6%
Negative41.3%

User reviews

Alien

From 1.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent port with great performance
  • 👍 Impressive graphics and visuals
  • 🎮 Smooth controls and controller support
  • 🎬 Captures the Alien franchise atmosphere well
  • 🕹️ Immersive gameplay experience

Room to improve

  • 🔋 Device overheating and battery drain issues
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 🕹️ Touchscreen controls not ideal for certain gameplay elements
  • 🕰️ Long loading times and unskippable intro

ARK

From 14K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Impressive graphics and animations
  • 🌐 All maps and content included
  • 👍 Smooth gameplay and controls
  • 🕹️ Faithful to the PC/console experience

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🤖 Hackers and cheaters in multiplayer
  • 💰 Paid features and content locked behind paywall

Bugs and requests

Alien

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Certain puzzles/objectives not triggering correctly
  • Sound issues like audio cutting out
  • Compatibility problems with older devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more graphics/performance options
  • Improve auto-save and checkpoint system
  • Implement Magic Keyboard support
  • Include Chinese language support

ARK

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Saving and progress loss issues
  • Inventory and taming bugs
  • Rendering and collision detection problems
  • Unstable server connections

Requested features

4 requests
  • Customizable UI and controls
  • Offline/local multiplayer mode
  • More graphics and performance options
  • Ability to adjust difficulty settings in singleplayer

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Alien

One-time1
  • Full Game Unlock$14.99
11 purchases

ARK

Subscriptions2
  • ARK Pass - Monthly$4.991 Month
  • ARK Pass - Annual$49.991 Year
One-time9
  • 100 Keys$0.99
  • Ragnarok$2.99
  • 500 Keys$3.99
Show 6 more
  • Scorched Earth$5.99
  • Aberration$5.99
  • Extinction$5.99
  • 1500 Keys$9.99
  • God Console$17.99
  • 5000 Keys$29.99

Questions

Is Alien free?
Alien is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ARK free?
ARK is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Alien or ARK?
Alien is rated higher. Alien averages 4.5 out of 5 from 1.3K ratings, while ARK averages 4.4 from 14K ratings.
Do Alien or ARK have ads?
ARK shows ads; Alien does not.
Which is updated more often, Alien or ARK?
Alien ships an update every 2 months, and ARK monthly. Most recently, Alien was updated on September 25, 2026 and ARK on September 25, 2026.
Which is more popular, Alien or ARK?
Alien currently peaks at #183 in the App Store charts, and ARK at #103. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

Other comparisons