Comparison

Fastar! vs Spider Defense Squad

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

Head to head
About

Fastar!

Embark on a fast-paced action RPG adventure where you slash and shop your way through a whimsical world. Master the art of speed to achieve your goals and climb global high score lists. Enjoy hours of simple arcade-style fun with adorable graphics and flashy spells.

Highlights
  • Fast-paced action RPG gameplay
  • Hand-drawn graphics
  • 24 game modes
  • Global high score lists
  • Flashy magic spells
  • Variety of control schemes
Features
Read full description

Action and Role-Playing in their purest, gleefulest form! Fastar! is the timeless tale of a boy with a big sword and a bowtie journeying across vast lands while being ambushed by malicious geometry. Wait, what, seriously? I'm not typing that, it doesn't make any sense. Oh, look what you made me do. I'll just start over. Fastar! is an Action RPG for when you just don't have time for an Action RPG. Dead simple to pick up and play, you'll be slashing and shopping your way across the grassy plains of [irrelevant flavorful name of fantasy world here] in seconds. You'll cross the world in mere minutes. But mastery of your true objective -- reaching that goal as fast as humanly possible -- could take a lifetime*. Fun for everyone from the casual player who loves to mash buttons, to the hardcore gamer-optimizer who loves to mash numbers, Fastar! will provide you with hours of minutes of seconds of simple arcadey joy. Featured features: - Reasonably adorable hand-drawn graphics! - 24 different game modes for a variety of play experiences, some of which don't actually count! - Global arcade-style high scores lists, where you can become internationally renowned if your full name is three letters or less! - Flashy magic spells for any kind of player, from Daring to Thrifty to Congealed! - A variety of control schemes to suit your particular playing posture! (Astronaut gymnasts excepted) - Sometimes in the background you can see a guy on a unicycle! Look for him, he's nice. * Lifetime reference mammal unspecified "A ridiculous amount of fun!" --TouchArcade Review "It's all about speed and it's ridiculously enjoyable." --Gizmodo "It’s all about distilling the unique fun of RPGs... into mere seconds of play." --PocketGamer "Expected to operate uncomfortable" --WeiPhone.com User Comment (translation c/o Google) "This is a game everyone can, and should enjoy!" --AppAdvice "[A] great cartoon RPG for the iPhone!" --1stimpressions.mobi "What this game has, above all, is that very particular, intangible magic which makes the very few select games rise above the rest." --Gabrien, TouchArcade forums "Fastar is a game that tried to do something different, and managed to get it absolutely right." --TouchAHolics "Pick it up for some great action!" --148Apps

About

Spider Defense Squad

Features
Read full description

As the commander of an elite squadron of supercharged spiders, it's your responsibility to strategically place and upgrade spiders in your squad along the path to most efficiently eradicate the stream of bugs attempting to take over your territory, eat your spiderlings, and annoy the humans. With a variety of enemy types to face and an array of upgradeable spiders at your disposal, do you have what it takes to stop the baddest of the bugs?

Screenshots

Fastar!4 screens
Spider Defense Squad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Spider Defense Squad at Free against Fastar!'s $1.99. Spider Defense Squad also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). Fastar!'s advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 14 months). On ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Spider Defense Squad is free to download; Fastar! costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Fastar! ships an update every 6 weeks, Spider Defense Squad every 14 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Fastar! versus Spider Defense Squad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFastar!Spider Defense Squad
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (53 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews78.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings53 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 14 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB132 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperCat in a Box SoftwareTalking Timpani LLC

Bugs and requests

Fastar!

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on loading certain game modes
  • Leaderboard and score submission issues
  • Compatibility problems on newer iOS devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add character customization options
  • Implement a story mode or campaign
  • Allow listening to own music
  • Add more enemy types and weapon variety
  • Introduce persistent progression and leveling

Spider Defense Squad

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Fastar!

No in-app purchases

None

Spider Defense Squad

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Fastar! free?
Fastar! costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Spider Defense Squad free?
Spider Defense Squad is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Fastar! or Spider Defense Squad have ads?
Neither Fastar! nor Spider Defense Squad shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Fastar! or Spider Defense Squad?
Fastar! ships an update every 6 weeks, and Spider Defense Squad every 14 months. Most recently, Fastar! was updated on October 21, 2026 and Spider Defense Squad on October 14, 2026.

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