# Sword & Glory vs Gladiator Rising

The clearest difference is ads: Sword & Glory at none against Gladiator Rising's shown. Sword & Glory also leads on review sentiment (83% vs 65%). Gladiator Rising's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Sword & Glory sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Gladiator Rising sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Sword & Glory against 4.6 for Gladiator Rising. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 972 and 2.6K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 83% of Sword & Glory's written reviews are positive against 65% of Gladiator Rising's.

Sword & Glory ships an update every 6 months, Gladiator Rising every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Sword & Glory | Gladiator Rising |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (972 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sword-and-glory/id530457379/reviews)** | [4.6 (2.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gladiator-rising/id1333928862/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 972 | **2.6K** |
| Positive reviews | **83.5% of reviews** | 65.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Every 4 months** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 194 MB | 99 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Ifelse Media Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/470499390) | [Happii Gamer Studios Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1331663692) |

## What reviewers say

### Sword & Glory

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sword-and-glory/id530457379)

Embark on a text-based adventure where every choice matters, leading to glory or a swift end. Experience permadeath, challenging combat, and deep character customization. Define your legacy by the causes you champion and the opponents you defeat.

**Highlights:** Permadeath with legacy titles, Branching text adventures, Challenging combat system, Character customization, Home village upgrades, GameCenter leaderboards and achievements

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 800 Epic Points | $2.99 | one-time |
| 3000 Epic Points | $7.99 | one-time |
| 10000 Epic Points | $19.99 | one-time |
| 18000 Epic Points | $29.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great game
- 👍 Unique and interesting
- 👍 Addictive gameplay
- 👍 Challenging combat
- 👍 Immersive atmosphere

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Bugs and glitches
- 🔋 Crashes and freezes
- 🔒 Progression loss on death
- 🔒 Unfair enemy difficulty
- 🔒 Repetitive quests

**Reported bugs**

- Outfit/equipment glitches
- Enemies clipping through terrain
- Progression loss on crashes
- Unresponsive combat controls

**Requested features**

- More content updates
- New weapons and armor
- Difficulty settings
- Checkpoint system
- Clan/faction expansion


### Gladiator Rising

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gladiator-rising/id1333928862)

Engage in strategic turn-based combat against procedurally generated opponents across five chapters. Equip and utilize a variety of items to hone your warrior skills and achieve ultimate victory in this challenging roguelike RPG.

**Highlights:** Procedurally generated gladiators, Five chapters of progression, Item buying and equipping, Turn-based RPG combat, Strategic gameplay

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Small Donation | $0.99 | one-time |
| Remove Ads | $1.99 | one-time |
| Medium Donation | $2.99 | one-time |
| Large Donation | $8.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fun gameplay
- 👍 Challenging and addictive
- 🤺 Gladiator theme
- 💎 Good value for a free game

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔨 Progression-blocking issues
- 🕹️ Unresponsive controls
- 🤯 Frustrating difficulty spikes

**Reported bugs**

- Game crashes when opening ad chests
- Unable to progress past 3rd or 4th fight
- Character instantly dying when sleeping
- Inventory and skill issues on reloading

**Requested features**

- More character classes and abilities
- Improved save/load system
- Better in-app purchase options
- Expanded post-game content


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Sword & Glory free?

Sword & Glory is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Gladiator Rising free?

Gladiator Rising is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Sword & Glory or Gladiator Rising?

Sword & Glory is rated higher. Sword & Glory averages 4.7 out of 5 from 972 ratings, while Gladiator Rising averages 4.6 from 2.6K ratings.

### Do Sword & Glory or Gladiator Rising have ads?

Gladiator Rising shows ads; Sword & Glory does not.

### Which is updated more often, Sword & Glory or Gladiator Rising?

Sword & Glory ships an update every 6 months, and Gladiator Rising every 4 months. Most recently, Sword & Glory was updated on November 1, 2026 and Gladiator Rising on November 2, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*