Ascension vs Lightseekers
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ascension
Engage in a strategic deck-building card game where you acquire cards to gain Renown and unlock powerful Boons. Battle against the Fallen One alone or with friends, with expansions available to deepen the experience.
- Deck-building card game mechanics
- Single-player and multiplayer modes
- Unlock powerful Boons and Legendary status
- Cross-platform online play
- Offline AI opponents
- Multiple expansions available
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***Legends Expansion Now Available!** Return to the world of Vigil as the Muses of Malevolence rise to bring ruin. Legendary Heroes from Ascension’s past have returned to guide you, granting their power to those who prove worthy. Each card you acquire or defeat grants Renown with its factions, advancing you on the Legendary Track. As your Renown grows, unlock powerful Boons from Legendary Characters and, at the pinnacle of a faction’s track, gain Legendary status with the power to acquire or defeat one card from that faction for free each turn. Ascension: Deck Building Game, is the award winning deck building card game for mobile. Play alone or with friends to battle against the Fallen One for honor and victory. Conceived and designed by Magic: The Gathering tournament champions, Ascension will provide hours of engaging and strategic game play for enthusiast and experienced gamers alike. 2011 Golden Geek award winner (Best Mobile/Handheld Game) Pocket Gamer Bronze Award 2011 Dice Tower Awards Awards: Best Digital Boardgame Best Interface and Graphic Design - 2011 Best Online Multiplayer - 2011 Highlights: • Universal Application: Plays on phones and tablets • Beautifully detailed cards • Full asynchronous support for multiplayer online games • Cross-platform online play • Play against multiple offline A.I. opponents • Multiple expansions available to purchase to expand the Ascension experience! *AN INTERNET CONNECTION AND PLAYDEK ACCOUNT ARE REQUIRED FOR ONLINE PLAY.* Per our Terms of Service, you must be 13 years old or older to use the Playdek online games service. Also by Playdek: - Twilight Struggle - D&D: Lords of Waterdeep - Labyrinth: The War On Terror - Fort Sumter - Fluxx Having an issue? Looking for support? Please contact us at: support@playdekgames.com You can follow us on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram! Facebook: /playdek You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/playdek Twitter: @playdek Instagram: @playdek
Lightseekers
Engage in epic duels against magical heroes in this award-winning Enhanced Reality collectible card game. Build unique decks with hundreds of cards, choose from diverse heroes, and master tactical gameplay. Experience a seamless blend of physical and digital cards with augmented reality effects.
- Enhanced Reality CCG & TCG
- Hundreds of collectible cards
- Choose from over 100 heroes
- Fast, tactical gameplay
- Unique rotating card mechanics
- Construct your own deck
- Scan physical cards
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Epic battles await: Duel powerful, magic heroes in the award-winning Trading Card Game. The world’s first Enhanced Reality CCG & TCG, now more fun and engaging than ever online! With hundreds of collectible cards available, each deck is unique and represents your personal play-style. Collect and trade cards to become the ultimate hero of Tantos – the most diverse planet in the fantasy universe. It’s up to you to decide the future of Tantos! Don’t wait! Start your adventure today! • DISCOVER the magical WORLD of TANTOS with its magnificent mythology and breath-taking imagery • CHOOSE your HERO from more than 100 in six different classes, to match your own card deck and play style • FAST, TACTICAL GAMEPLAY – easy to play, takes skill to master • CARDS with unique rotating mechanics for damage and healing over time • MASTER powerful combo cards and multiple orders • IMMERSE yourself in the thrilling lore and dive into an intriguing magical set up • CONSTRUCT YOUR OWN MIGHTY DECK of collectible cards with one hero card, 5 combo cards and 30 action cards • PLAY with digital cards or scan physical trading cards to add to your deck. • EXPERIENCE the world’s first seamlessly integrated physical digital collectible trading card game with Augmented Reality effects. Are you ready to start your quest? Lightseekers is free to download and play, however some in-game items can be purchased for real money. Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lightseekersgame/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lightseekers Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightseekersgame
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Lightseekers at 4.6 against Ascension's 3.4. Lightseekers also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months) and review sentiment (68% vs 60%). Ascension's advantage is ratings volume (1.1K vs 288). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Ascension sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Lightseekers sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Lightseekers holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.1K and 288 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of Ascension's written reviews are positive against 68% of Lightseekers's.
Ascension ships an update every 3 months, Lightseekers every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ascension | Lightseekers |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.4 (1.1K ratings) | 4.6 (288 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | 68.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K — better | 288 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.2 GB | 119 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Playdek, Inc. | PlayFusion Ltd. |
Customer experience
Ascension
Lightseekers
User reviews
Ascension
From 1.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great game
- 👍 Awesome adaptation of the physical game
- 🕹️ Engaging gameplay
- 💰 Reasonable in-app purchase prices
- 🕰️ Excellent time killer
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and bugs
- 🔄 Slow AI turns
- 🔒 Issues with restoring purchases
- 🔍 Cluttered UI, hard to read cards
- 🔋 High battery consumption
Lightseekers
From 288 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💡 Innovative rotating buff mechanic unique to TCG genre
- 🎨 High-quality artwork and polished graphics
- 🤝 Seamless integration between physical and digital cards via scanning
- ⚖️ Well-balanced card mechanics across six factions
- 🎮 Easy to learn but strategically deep gameplay
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes during PvP matches and draft modes
- 🐛 Login issues claiming user is logged in elsewhere
- 🐛 Account synchronization problems between devices
- 🐛 Cards display incorrectly or show wrong card information
- 💸 Aggressive monetization and cash-grab tactics
Bugs and requests
Ascension
Reported bugs
5 issues- Purchases disappearing after updates
- Restore function not working
- Crashes when certain cards are played
- Constructs getting stuck in the middle of the screen
- Game freezing and logging out users
Requested features
5 requests- Increase honor pool limit for online games
- Add custom deck building options
- Optimize for iPhone X and newer devices
- Provide option to revert to old art style
- Improve online multiplayer experience
Lightseekers
Reported bugs
14 issues- Cannot login - claims user is already logged in elsewhere
- App won't download or install on mobile devices
- App crashes on incoming phone calls
- App crashes during PvP matches and draft modes
- Cards display incorrectly or show wrong card information
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- Crafting currency glitches when selling cards
- All deck cards disappear after updates
- Account data lost when linking devices
- Tutorial cards cannot be used despite being in inventory
- App requires update but no update available in store
- Account synchronization failures between devices
- Notification badges won't clear
- Drag and drop functionality ignored
- Missing starting decks and daily missions on accounts
Requested features
10 requests- Offline mode to view and manage cards during maintenance
- Non-legacy matchmaking option in unranked mode
- Turn timer mechanic to prevent excessive delays
- Physical card figures based on in-game cards
- Mac version of the app
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- Better tutorial and rule explanation system
- More transparent deck building rules for AI opponents
- Separate matchmaking for new players vs experienced players
- Shop interface for purchasing card packs with in-game currency
- Multiplayer mode for multiplayer cards
In-app purchases
Ascension
- Storm of Souls expansion$0.99
- Promo Pack 1$0.99
- Immortal Heroes expansion$0.99
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- Ascension Promo Cards - Pack 4$0.99
- Rise of Vigil$0.99
- Darkness Unleashed expansion$0.99
- Realms Unraveled expansion$0.99
- Dawn of Champions$0.99
- Dreamscape$0.99
- Return of the Fallen expansion$1.99
Lightseekers
- A handful of gems$1.99
- A pile of gems$4.99
- A sack of gems$9.99
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- A barrel of gems$19.99
- A chest of gems$49.99
- A hoard of gems$99.99









