Comparison

Dark Meadow vs Surviving Alopolis

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

Head to head
About

Dark Meadow

Explore a decaying hospital in a dark fairytale mystery. Engage in thrilling combat with gesture-based controls, uncover secrets, and upgrade your gear. This visually stunning adventure offers a gripping story and atmospheric gameplay.

Highlights
  • Visually stunning Unreal 3 engine graphics
  • Mature dark fairytale plot
  • Gesture-based combat (crossbow and sword)
  • Deep exploration and item discovery
  • In-world storytelling and acting
  • RPG elements for character progression
Features
Read full description

FREE VERSION OF THE VISUALLY STUNNING, ENGROSSING STORYTELLING GAME ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICE! Nominated for Mobile Game of the Year from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences * IGN: "worth playing just to experience the game’s huge amount of eccentric dialogue, and to experience the unfolding mystery.... one of the best to hit the App Store in recent memory." * KOTAKU: "at home in the halls of BioShock's Rapture...disturbingly gorgeous experience." * DESTRUCTOID: "a very atmospheric and engrossing game with a delicious streak of dark humor coursing through its veins.. worth picking up for anybody with an interest in iOS gaming." * JOYSTIQ: "It's a surprisingly funny, gorgeous game that's an easy recommendation... ram home the truth that mobile games are getting surprisingly good at creating big worlds on tiny screens." * TOUCH ARCADE: "The Dark Meadow is a standout in almost every way. From look to setting to the touch-centric gameplay, it shines, and you can tell this title was crafted with much love " * GIZMODO.UK: "a splendid achievement. The bar has been raised, the gauntlet has been thrown down, and the hyperbole has been exhausted. We can’t wait to see the next game that tries to go one better." * MODOJO: "a cross between BioShock and Infinity Blade... a hauntingly beautiful and intriguing game everyone should play, as it offers both a compelling adventure and a glimpse into the future of smart phone gaming. " * GAMEZEBO: "arguably the best title to come to the genre. It's gorgeous, it's creepy, and it's a blast to play. This is the perfect game to play during the Halloween season. " A dark fairytale of intrigue and mystery, where the sins of the past must be paid for… So sets the stage for The Dark Meadow -- a visually stunning world of deep exploration, gripping story, and heart racing combat, created with the unrivaled power of the Unreal Engine 3. You awake in a hospital uncertain of how you arrived there or why. An old man warns of a beautiful witch whose minions roam the halls seeking the living. It is only when the witch is destroyed that you will be released from this unrelenting torment. Using fun and intuitive fully gesture-based controls, you explore the decaying ruins of Montclair Hospital, armed with your crossbow for long-range combat as well as your sword for up close and personal melee battles. The best elements from role-playing games encourage exploration as a wide variety of items are secreted throughout the world – from hidden scraps of paper that reveal the mystery of your imprisonment, to weapons and items, to money which can be used to purchase better equipment and weapons. - Visually stunning, photo-realistic world built with the Unreal 3 engine - A mature plot, stylized as a dark modern fairytale with bizarre twists and turns; - In-world storytelling and quality acting - Gesture-based action: crossbow ranged combat with ‘pull back and fire’ mechanic, slashing melee combat with dodging, blocking, and combos; - Available in English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean , Italian, Simplified Chinese, Russian, and Brazilian Portuguese languages.

About

Surviving Alopolis

Embark on an epic running adventure to help Orion escape the AI-controlled city of Alopolis. Dodge obstacles, gather power-ups, and upgrade your character to survive Xenox's evil plans and preserve humanity's legacy.

Highlights
  • Slide fingers to maneuver
  • Fast-paced gameplay
  • Multiple character selection
  • Upgrade characters
  • Engaging environment and sounds
  • Gather Orbs and Power-ups
Features
Read full description

Alopolis, 2065. The robot city never sleeps, and the police are after you. Run. Dodge. Don't stop. Surviving Alopolis is a fast 3D endless runner through neon streets, sealed labs and the glowing skylines of Saudi Arabia and the world. Swipe to change lanes, jump over lasers, slide under beams, outrun robot police and leap black holes. Step into a green portal to skip ahead. NEW: DAILY RACE One city, one street and one life, the same for every player on Earth, every day. Race the ghost of your own best run, pass the gates that mark where your friends' runs ended, and climb the daily leaderboard. RUN THE CITIES Pick a city on the world map: Alopolis, Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar, Dammam, Tokyo, New York, London and Dubai. Each has its own streets, landmarks, neon signs (in Arabic across the Saudi cities) and soundtrack. MAKE IT YOURS Play as Orion or Enes, both free. Upgrade your hero's arm and eyewear with orbs and change your look with skins: National Green, Najdi Gold, Red Sea, Gulf Pearl or Night Neon. ALWAYS SOMETHING TO CHASE - Three new missions every day and a 7-day login reward - Power-ups: orb magnet, hoverboard, arm laser, and x2 / x3 score multipliers - Boosters you buy with orbs: Head Start, Score x2 and Magnet - A Game Center leaderboard for every city - A short How to play guide the first time, and a Help screen any time - English and Arabic ON APPLE VISION PRO Step into a fully immersive night street in Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar and Dammam, with each city's landmarks around you. Swipe your hand through the air to change lanes, jump and slide, no buttons needed. Game controllers work too. FAIR AND OPTIONAL Orbs are earned by running and by daily missions; nothing has to be bought to enjoy the game. Purchases and ads are optional: - Watch an optional video for a free revive or bonus orbs. Ads never appear during a run, and there are no ads on Apple Vision Pro. - Optional VIP subscription (monthly or yearly): more orbs, bigger daily rewards and a free Head Start each day. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in your App Store account settings. Fantasy violence is limited to cartoon robots and lasers. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.beneathly.com/Game/privacy.html

Screenshots

Dark Meadow4 screens
Surviving Alopolis4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Surviving Alopolis at 5.0 against Dark Meadow's 4.4. Surviving Alopolis also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 81%). Dark Meadow's advantage is ratings volume (6.6K vs 4) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Dark Meadow sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Surviving Alopolis sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Surviving Alopolis holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dark Meadow has 6.6K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of Dark Meadow's written reviews are positive against 100% of Surviving Alopolis's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dark Meadow ships an update every 9 days, Surviving Alopolis every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Dark Meadow versus Surviving Alopolis: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDark MeadowSurviving Alopolis
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (6.6K ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6.6K — better4
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Vision Pro
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size547 MB68 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperPhosphor Games, LLCTarek AlTalib

Customer experience

Dark Meadow

All ratings6,649 ratings
Positive86.2%
Neutral5.6%
Negative8.2%
Written reviews307 reviews
Positive81.4%
Neutral7.8%
Negative10.7%

Surviving Alopolis

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Dark Meadow

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes on startup or during gameplay
  • Inability to pick up items in certain areas
  • Inconsistent controls and camera movement
  • Compatibility issues on newer devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Update for newer iOS versions
  • More varied enemy types and combat mechanics
  • Ability to save progress and resume later
  • Optimization for larger screens like iPhone 5

Surviving Alopolis

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Dark Meadow

One-time10
  • 35,000 Gold Pieces$0.99
  • 100 Sun Coins$0.99
  • 100,000 Gold Pieces$1.99
Show 7 more
  • 210 Sun Coins$1.99
  • Premium Upgrade$1.99
  • 300,000 Gold Pieces$4.99
  • 550 Sun Coins$4.99
  • 800,000 Gold Pieces$9.99
  • 1250 Sun Coins$9.99
  • 2,000,000 Gold Pieces$19.99
10 purchases

Surviving Alopolis

Subscriptions2
  • VIP ألوبوليس الشهري$2.991 Month
  • Alopolis VIP Yearly$24.991 Year
One-time8
  • اشترِ لنا قهوة$0.99
  • حزمة البداية$2.99
  • حزمة المدن السعودية$2.99
Show 5 more
  • حزمة جولة العالم$3.99
  • الترسانة الذهبية$3.99
  • موّل المدينة القادمة$4.99
  • صندوق أورب$6.99
  • خزنة أورب$14.99

Questions

Is Dark Meadow free?
Dark Meadow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Surviving Alopolis free?
Surviving Alopolis is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Dark Meadow or Surviving Alopolis?
Surviving Alopolis is rated higher. Dark Meadow averages 4.4 out of 5 from 6.6K ratings, while Surviving Alopolis averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Dark Meadow or Surviving Alopolis have ads?
Neither Dark Meadow nor Surviving Alopolis shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dark Meadow or Surviving Alopolis?
Dark Meadow ships an update every 9 days, and Surviving Alopolis every 5 days. Most recently, Dark Meadow was updated on November 10, 2026 and Surviving Alopolis on November 6, 2026.

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