Comparison

DEATHSMILES vs RayForce

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

Head to head
About

DEATHSMILES

Experience a gothic horror shooter with unique sliding controls adapted for smartphones. Choose between two game modes, power up your character with items, and compete globally via Game Center rankings and achievements.

Highlights
  • Smartphone-adapted slide controls
  • Practice mode for learning stages
  • Smartphone Mode with new character and story
  • Arcade Mode port of the classic shooter
  • Character power-ups via shop and enemy drops
  • Game Center rankings and achievements
Features
Read full description

Now updated for iOS 11 or later! Enjoy the bullet hell with your new iOS! ### DEATHSMILES ### Gothic Horror Shooter “Deathsmiles” finally arrives on your iPhone! Once more, the Angels descend upon Gilverado! ● The unique sliding maneuvering just with Smartphone. Controls adapted to the iPhone feature slide controls for comfortable play! Several button layouts are available in the Options so that even beginners can handle complicated controls. ●PRACTICE MODE AVAILABLE And those who are just starting out. Practice Modes are also included for learning the stages! ● TWO GAME MODES Two fully-featured game modes: Smartphone Mode,with a new character, revamped character designs and original story! and Arcade Mode, a port of the arcade shooter classic. Players can power up their Princess by using equipment and items bought from “Sakura’s Shop”, as well as those dropped by enemies in stages throughout the game. ● COMPATIBLE WITH GAME CENTER Rankings are included for each game mode and character! Compete with players all over the world for high scores, and unlock achievements by completing in-game challenges! Go for a full achievement list! ### Important ###: Please read the following before downloading this application. ●Compatibility: iPhone5S or later, iPod touch 6thGen. or later and iPad Air or later. ●Compatible OS: iOS 11 or later. ●This application will use mass volume of memory. Please note the application may not function properly or shutdown without any notice when used with limited memory space. ●Turning ON the accessibility option setting may cause malfunctions in certain features.

About

RayForce

Experience a classic 2D arcade shooter on your mobile device. Choose between faithful arcade recreation or optimized touch controls, with multiple shooting methods and display options. Compete globally for high scores and achievements.

Highlights
  • Remix Mode with flick controls
  • Arcade Mode faithful recreation
  • Auto and Manual shooting methods
  • MFi Bluetooth controller support
  • Game Center rankings and achievements
  • Zoom and Original display types
  • 8 difficulty modes
Read full description

TAITO is famous for arcade shooting games, and the RAY trilogy is one of the most beloved series! Ever since the 1993 release of the trilogy's first installment, RAYFORCE, fans have been thrilled by the game's cinematic visuals and gorgeous layered raster scrolling graphics. RAYFORCE became a 2D shooting instant classic, and now it's available for iPhone and iPad! *Two Game Modes: Remix Mode and Arcade Mode! The Remix Mode provides a new, iPhone-optimized experience with simple flick-style controls. For the hardcore, Arcade Mode is a faithful touchscreen recreation of the original arcade game. *Two Shooting Methods: Auto and Manual! Auto Mode provides automatic, button-free firing for both the standard weapon and lock on laser, allowing players to take on this challenging game with a single finger. Manual Mode adds weapon controls (a toggle for the standard shot and a fire button for the lock on laser), providing a more arcade-like play experience. *Support MFi Bluetooth controllers!! Key configuration is also possible! *Game Center Compatibility! Individual rankings have been prepared for each ships and for each game mode. Let's compete with high-score players from all over the world! Get Achievement fulfilling various conditions in game! Aim for Achievement Complete!! *Two Display Types: Zoom and Original! The Zoom display enlarges the play area, filling the entire iPhone screen with dynamic visuals. For the purist, the Original display mode delivers a pixel-perfect rendition of the arcade game's screen. *Difficulty Modes Added! A total of 8 difficulty modes are now available, ranging from Very Easy to Very Hard. *RAYFORCE's gorgeous graphics and striking raster scrolling, perfectly recreated! RAYFORCE owes much of its unique look to the arcade technology of the time, and no expense has been spared replicating those visuals for the iPhone edition of the game. *RAYFORCE's enchanting soundtrack is back! One of the highlights of the original RAYFORCE experience was its sound design, perfectly replicated here under the supervision of TAITO's ZUNTATA sound team. *Added a arranged BGM by SHOHEI TSUCHIYA(ZUNTATA) on Area1! Using Option setting,you can choose Original BGM or Arranged BGM!! **Nortification** This app is intended for the iPhone 4 or newer, running iOS version 4.2 or newer. **A Request from TAITO** If you have any question, please contact our customer support address: appsupport@taito.co.jp

Screenshots

DEATHSMILES4 screens
RayForce4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: DEATHSMILES at 4.6 against RayForce's 4.1. DEATHSMILES also leads on review sentiment (73% vs 57%) and ratings volume (111 vs 10). RayForce's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 11.0). On ads 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

DEATHSMILES costs $5.99 and RayForce $6.99 up front. DEATHSMILES sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. RayForce asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DEATHSMILES holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DEATHSMILES has 111 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of DEATHSMILES's written reviews are positive against 57% of RayForce's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DEATHSMILES ships an update every 2 months, RayForce every 3 months. Both last shipped on September 30, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
DEATHSMILES versus RayForce: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDEATHSMILESRayForce
Price$5.99 — better$6.99
Rating4.6 (111 ratings) — better4.1 (10 ratings)
Positive reviews73.2% of reviews — better57.3% of reviews
Number of ratings111 — better10
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size500 MB52 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperCAVE CO.,LTD.TAITO Corporation

Customer experience

DEATHSMILES

All ratings111 ratings
Positive89.2%
Neutral4.5%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews205 reviews
Positive73.2%
Neutral10.2%
Negative16.6%

RayForce

All ratings10 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews75 reviews
Positive57.3%
Neutral18.7%
Negative24.0%

Bugs and requests

DEATHSMILES

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on iOS 8 and newer
  • Save data corruption issues
  • Unresponsive controls near screen edges

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for Backbone controller
  • Implement full screen mode without borders
  • Add widescreen/HD display options
  • Provide cloud save/sync functionality

RayForce

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

DEATHSMILES

One-time10
  • Continues +22 variants$0.99
  • Princess Umbrella$1.99
  • Princess Crown$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Princess Dress$1.99
  • Princess Heels$1.99
  • Continues +5$1.99
  • Blissful Death$2.99
  • Resurrection$2.99
  • Golden Horn$2.99
  • Lucky Charm$3.99
None

RayForce

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is DEATHSMILES free?
DEATHSMILES costs $5.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is RayForce free?
RayForce costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, DEATHSMILES or RayForce?
DEATHSMILES is rated higher. DEATHSMILES averages 4.6 out of 5 from 111 ratings, while RayForce averages 4.1 from 10 ratings.
Do DEATHSMILES or RayForce have ads?
Neither DEATHSMILES nor RayForce shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DEATHSMILES or RayForce?
DEATHSMILES ships an update every 2 months, and RayForce every 3 months. Most recently, DEATHSMILES was updated on September 30, 2026 and RayForce on September 30, 2026.

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