Dactyl vs Sidius Nova
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dactyl
This is a fast-paced game designed to test and improve finger dexterity. Players must quickly defuse virtual bombs before they explode, requiring focus and quick reflexes. It offers a simple yet addictive challenge for those looking to exercise their fingers.
- Finger dexterity test
- Fast-paced gameplay
- Bomb defusal challenge
- Focus and reflex training
- Addictive gameplay
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Test your dexterity! Dactyl is an addictive, fast-paced exercise for your fingers. The premise of the game is simple--defuse the bombs before they blow up. Clear your mind and put your fingers to work... Note: Dactyl 2's first level is approximately the same thing as this app. (There is no penalty in Dactyl 2, however, for stray touches.) To get a feel on where you rank in the world, consult Dactyl 2's leader board for that level. Also available: * Dactyl 2 * Dactyl School
Sidius Nova
Lead your species to survival after a homeworld destruction. Collect resources, build ships, and engage in epic space battles. Choose to play as humans or an alien armada, unlocking new ships and strategies as you conquer galaxies.
- Resource collection
- Ship building
- Epic space battles
- Playable factions (humans/aliens)
- Unlockable ships
- Galactic conquest
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by Stefan Schmitt and Ben Jelter -YOUR HOMEWORLD HAS BEEN DESTROYED- Your remaining motherships are the only way to guarantee the survival of your species. Collect resources to build ships for epic space battles. "has the same 'one more turn oh god one more turn' hook that its grander siblings on the PC have" -KOTAKU Also featured on Space Sector! HOURS OF STRATEGIC DEEP SPACE GAMEPLAY Sidius Nova is a strategy game designed from the ground up to provide a deep and satisfying experience on your iOS device. PICK A SIDE Play as the last humans alive or an alien armada. UNLOCKABLE SHIPS Earn new ships as you play! Conquer entire galaxies and expand your fleet by researching new units. New units dramatically expand the gameplay by offering new defensive and offensive strategies. Follow @sidiusnova on twitter to find out more and give us feedback!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Dactyl at 5.0 against Sidius Nova's 4.4. Dactyl also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 14.0). Sidius Nova's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 9 months). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Sidius Nova sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Dactyl asks for nothing beyond the download.
Dactyl holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 22 and 49 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of Dactyl's written reviews are positive against 84% of Sidius Nova's.
Dactyl ships an update every 9 months, Sidius Nova every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dactyl | Sidius Nova |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (22 ratings) — better | 4.4 (49 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 86.2% of reviews — better | 84.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 22 | 49 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 190 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Mauvila Software | Stefan Schmitt |
Customer experience
Dactyl
Sidius Nova
User reviews
Dactyl
From 22 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Addictive and fun
- 👍 Simple yet engaging gameplay
- 🚀 Great time-killer
- 👍 Challenging and tests reflexes
- 👍 Competitive with friends
Room to improve
- 🐛 Sensitive background causes unintended losses
- 🔍 Lack of difficulty settings or levels
- 🔍 No online leaderboards or global high scores
Sidius Nova
From 49 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ✨ Amazing soundtrack/music
- 🎨 Beautiful/great graphics/art
- 🎮 Addictive/fun gameplay
- 🧠 Deep strategy/gameplay
- 👍 Polished/well-designed
Room to improve
- 🔄 Repetitive gameplay loop
- 🐌 Slow gameplay/pace
- 📉 Lacks strategic depth
- 🤖 AI can be unfair/cheats
- 🤷♂️ Bland gameplay
Bugs and requests
Dactyl
Reported bugs
2 issues- Game ending when touching background
- Occasional crashes or freezes
Requested features
3 requests- Difficulty settings or levels
- Online leaderboards and global high scores
- Pause button or option to save progress
Sidius Nova
Reported bugs
5 issues- Occasional crashing
- Repeated crashing during combat
- Crashing when fighting mothership
- Game progress not syncing between devices
- App leaves residual files after uninstallation
Requested features
16 requests- Add multiplayer/hot seat/skirmish
- Add longer single player campaign
- Add more frequent dialogue
- Add meaningful player-driven plot choices
- Add 'back' button for dialogue
Show 11 moreShow fewer
- Option to skip mothership death animation
- Rework research point system
- Add bonus for multiple fleets
- Improve mothership strength/abilities
- Add iPad version/support
- Add iPhone 5 screen support
- Add Game Center support
- Add cloud saving system
- Add endless mode
- Add asynchronous multiplayer
- Add fast forward button
In-app purchases
Dactyl
No in-app purchases
Sidius Nova
- Genius (RP earned x2)$0.99
- Laboratory (8,000 RP)$1.99
- Singularity (Unlock Everything)$3.99
