Dark Summoner vs Castlevania
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dark Summoner
Engage in a dark fantasy world by summoning and powering up over 5,000 unique monsters. Team up with friends to defeat powerful raid bosses, form clans, and craft items to enhance your team's abilities. Play at your own pace with regular free updates and events.
- Summon and power up over 5,000 monsters
- Cooperative raid boss battles
- Form and develop clans with friends
- Craft powerful battle items
- Artwork by famous artists
- Regular free events and updates
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Garnering Critical Acclaim from Around the World! Dark Summoner, a Dark Fantasy Social Game Gem! Downloaded over 9 million times worldwide! Overwhelming Quality Recognized Around the Globe! *********************************************************** 【Game Introduction】 Bring about an end to the war that's plunged the world into chaos! Summon powerful Rare Monsters and power them up to be mighty warriors for your cause. Form Clans with your friends and aim for the top rank! ■Featuring artwork by many famous Japanese and international artists! A large number of artists from Japan and other countries have contributed to the game. Gorgeous illustrations and intense CG movies deepen the game experience. ■Features over 5,000 Monsters! Featuring more than 5,000 types of monsters designed by famous artists! Monsters are frequently added! Get them all to complete your collection! ■Power up your monsters! Make sacrifices to the monsters you've collected to create the strongest team. Raise epic monsters and become the best! ■Team up with friends to defeat legendary Dark Lord Raid Bosses! Summon legendary Dark Lords using items gathered from completing missions. Cooperate with friends to defeat the Dark Lords and their unbelievable power! Defeated Dark Lords will join your team! ■Form Clans with your friends! In the newly implemented Clan System, create and develop Clans with your friends to gain bonuses! Battle against your Clan mates in future in-game events! Secure your spot in history alongside your friends! ■Craft Relica that can influence the outcome of Battle! Monsters aren't the only vital part of Battles! Gather Magic Crystals to Craft powerful Items, and equip them to boost your stats! There are endless combinations! Find the one that suits your play style! ■Only have a few minutes free? That's OK! The game is playable even if you only have a few minutes to spare. Play at your own pace -- on the train to work or school, before bed, whatever fits your lifestyle! ■New free events and updates added monthly! New events and content are added to the game each month. Dark Summoner is constantly evolving! *********************************************************** ※This game is playable on iOS 15.0 and higher. ※The game may not run if your device's time and date settings are not correct. ※The game's initial load time may take a few minutes in areas with a weak network connection. In such cases, please wait for the load to complete and do not close the application. ※A Wi-Fi connection is recommended for the optimal Dark Summoner experience.
Castlevania
Experience a classic action RPG on mobile. Explore a vast castle, battle unique enemies, and uncover secrets as Alucard. This port features updated controls and achievements.
- Direct port of the console classic
- Play as Alucard
- Jump, dash, and slash combat
- Vast castle exploration
- Game controller compatibility
- New continue feature
- Unlockable achievements
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The iconic game from the beloved Castlevania series finally comes to mobile. This direct port of the classic console action RPG lets you jump, dash and slash your way through Dracula’s vast castle as Alucard while encountering a unique array of enemies and characters along the way. Rediscover the world of Castlevania with one of its original groundbreaking games and renowned music and graphics. □Features Fully compatible with game controllers New continue feature Unlock achievements with hard-fought battle milestones Available in 6 languages: English, Japanese, German, French, Italian, Spanish
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Dark Summoner at Free against Castlevania's $2.99. Dark Summoner also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 29 months). Castlevania's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 12) and ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment 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
Dark Summoner is free to download; Castlevania costs $2.99 up front. Dark Summoner sells 12 one-off in-app purchases. Castlevania asks for nothing beyond the download.
Castlevania holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Castlevania has 1.8K ratings behind it against 290, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 62% of Dark Summoner's written reviews are positive against 54% of Castlevania's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Dark Summoner ships an update every 3 months, Castlevania every 29 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dark Summoner | Castlevania |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 3.6 (290 ratings) | 3.9 (1.8K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 61.6% of reviews — better | 53.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 290 | 1.8K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 29 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #193 | #21 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 105 MB | 326 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ateam Entertainment Inc. | KONAMI |
Customer experience
Dark Summoner
Castlevania
User reviews
Dark Summoner
From 290 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Beautiful artwork
- 🕹️ Addictive gameplay
- 🤝 Helpful community
- 🏆 Competitive events
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 💰 Pay-to-win mechanics
- 🕰️ Slow loading times
- 🤯 Overwhelming complexity
- 📱 Screen size issues on newer devices
Castlevania
From 1.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Faithful port of a classic game
- 🎮 Works well with controllers
- 💰 Great value for the price
Room to improve
- 🎮 Unresponsive touch controls
- 🔍 Small action buttons
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches (clock room issue, save system issues)
Bugs and requests
Dark Summoner
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inability to log in or create account
- Disappearing rewards and progress
- Broken trading/gifting functionality
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
Requested features
4 requests- Account recovery option
- Improved tutorial and onboarding
- Rebalance of progression system
- More F2P-friendly content
Castlevania
Reported bugs
3 issues- Clock room not functioning properly
- Save system issues (not saving, losing progress)
- Audio issues (no sound, pitch/speed problems)
Requested features
4 requests- Customizable controls and button layout
- Original voice acting option
- Improved cutscene quality
- Cloud save support
In-app purchases
Dark Summoner
- 120 Soul Points$0.99
- 365 Soul Points$2.99
- Event Value Pack I$3.99
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- 1000 Soul Points$7.99
- Royal Pack C$7.99
- 1520 Soul Points$11.99
- Summoner's Pass$12.99
- 3100 Soul Points$22.99
- 4800 Soul Points$34.99
- 8300 Soul Points$59.99
- 11000 Soul Points$69.99
- Value Pack! (Platinum)$79.99
Castlevania
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Dark Summoner free?
Is Castlevania free?
Which has better reviews, Dark Summoner or Castlevania?
Do Dark Summoner or Castlevania have ads?
Which is updated more often, Dark Summoner or Castlevania?
Which is more popular, Dark Summoner or Castlevania?
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