Ultra Blade vs Nova Drift
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ultra Blade
Engage in a pixelated roguelike survival RPG where you defend humanity's final city from relentless darkness. Master simple controls to unleash devastating attacks and build unique heroes with diverse powers and weapons for dynamic gameplay sessions.
- Horde survival RPG gameplay
- Rogue-lite progression
- Unlockable heroes with unique powers
- Deep combat build customization
- One-touch controls with skill-based combat
- Endless Challenge Mode
- Offline play
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Defend Mankind's last city from the endless hordes of darkness! Ultra Blade is a horde survival RPG with rogue-lite progression elements. Build new heroes to take on new challenges while cutting through 1000s of foes at once. New heroes unlock new powers, making runs more dynamic the more you play. Drag to move and auto attack, release to execute a heavy attack. Swipe to dodge. The controls are simple, but the real complexity is in how you build your champion. Infuse flaming bolts into your bow, generate earthquakes with your slashes, or summon blizzards with your shield- the possibilities are almost limitless. Built for short, action-packed sessions. Core features Include: - One-touch control scheme and challenging, skill-based combat - Endless Challenge Mode that refreshes every hour - 27 Unique arena gauntlets to master - 12 Unique heroes to unlock by completing challenges. - 5 core classes (Bow, Shield, Greatsword, Gun, and Staff) and 100s of weapons to mix and match - 15 Meta-changing relics to unlock and upgrade - Mutating enemies that change how they fight and behave. - Fully offline - Blood-pumping soundtrack And more to come! https://twitter.com/_FoolishMortal
Nova Drift
This roguelike space shooter blends arcade combat with RPG elements for deep ship customization. Evolve your vessel through rapid gameplay sessions, experimenting with over 200 modular upgrades to craft unique builds and dominate unpredictable, randomly generated challenges.
- Roguelike space shooter gameplay
- Deep ship build-crafting
- Over 200 modular upgrades
- Quick, iterative gameplay sessions
- Randomly generated challenges
- Permanent death
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- SURVIVE - EVOLVE - DOMINATE - Nova Drift is a roguelike space shooter that combines classic arcade combat with action-rpg elements, emphasizing build-crafting and deep customization. Your ship rapidly evolves as you defeat enemies, allowing you to take a build from inception to execution in a single, captivating game session. Featuring: - Quick gameplay sessions (15-45 minutes) that allow for rapid experimentation, iteration, and advancement. - Over 200 modular upgrades, unlocked over time, to create your ideal build with. Snipe, command a drone army, discharge your shields, charge up, burn enemies with your thrusters, or smash right through them... there's a way to make it work. - Modular challenge modes to unlock and activate, providing greater risk and rewards. The stakes are high, as death is permanent! - Every game is randomly generated, keeping the fight intense and unpredictable. Fight through the campaign or play endlessly... Nova Drift is created by Chimeric, with music by Miles Tilmann. Website: https://novadrift.io/ Discord: https://discord.com/invite/Zp2MkPJ
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Ultra Blade at $3.49 against Nova Drift's $9.99. Ultra Blade also leads on chart position (#141 vs unranked). Nova Drift's advantage is review sentiment (81% vs 68%). On rating, ratings volume, 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
Ultra Blade costs $3.49 and Nova Drift $9.99 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 — 4.5 for Ultra Blade against 4.4 for Nova Drift. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 77 and 56 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 68% of Ultra Blade's written reviews are positive against 81% of Nova Drift's.
Ultra Blade ships an update weekly, Nova Drift every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ultra Blade | Nova Drift |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.49 — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (77 ratings) — better | 4.4 (56 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 67.7% of reviews | 81.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 77 — better | 56 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 10 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #141 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 61 MB | 573 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Kyle Barrett | Chimeric LLC |
Customer experience
Ultra Blade
Nova Drift
Bugs and requests
Ultra Blade
Reported bugs
38 issues- Game crashes after an hour
- Doesn't save progress sometimes
- XP disappears
- Menus are confusing
- Game crashed with error code
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- UI is cut off by screen edges
- Button labeled 'nper'
- Game doesn't start anymore after crash
- Error in action number 1 of Create Event for object controller 3
- Game breaks and doesn't return after first play
- Can't unlock new zones
- Notch hides health bar on iPhone 12 mini
- Game doesn't follow its own rules (damage/aiming)
- Game won't progress (completed waves not counted)
- Game is super zoomed in on iPhone 16 Pro Max
- Settings are hard to get to
- Game hangs after character dies
- Black screen error message
- Crashing every time, losing progress
- Glitch after second time trying to open the game, blank screen
- Progress reset after update
- Freezes and then error code
- Later waves cannot be efficiently navigated
- Performance issues on 13pro
- Game crashed, won't open, black screen
- Character won't unlock after meeting criteria
- Teleport item doesn't proc with staff on later levels
- App froze and wouldn't open, lost progress after uninstall
- Perk options are too similar
- Game suddenly becomes slow and hard to control
- Can't retire blade
- Equipping skull in stage stops the game
- Dying to a boss before grabbing loot, can't exit screen
- Start menu confusing, swiping on sword starts game
- Camera shake on Rebus Prime is too much
- Settings button tucked in top left corner
- Cannot see character sometimes
- Can't get past character selection screen
Requested features
17 requests- Landscape/controller support
- Streamlined menus
- More lore/dialogue
- Korean localization
- Dash button
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- Quit round option
- Return to main menu option
- Tutorial
- Joystick-like controls
- Long-term hero development
- More items
- Specific hero development
- Screen shake option
- Reroll button placement adjustment
- Grid of icons for blades
- Dark mode
- Advanced analytics dashboard
Nova Drift
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Ultra Blade
No in-app purchases
Nova Drift
No in-app purchases
