The Executive vs Monster Boy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Executive
Engage in fast-paced martial arts combat and thrilling acrobatic stunts as a CEO fighting werewolves. Run a mining company to earn money and upgrade your abilities across 120 hand-crafted levels. Experience a cinematic action game with no ads or in-app purchases.
- Martial arts combat system
- Acrobatic stunt segments
- Mining company simulation
- 120 hand-crafted levels
- Dozens of abilities and skills
- Over 50 unique enemies
- 12 challenging bosses
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Flame kick werewolves, perform thrilling acrobatic stunts, and run a trillion dollar mining company in Riverman Media’s combat-action masterpiece! The Executive is a fast-paced, cinematic martial-arts action game designed from the ground up for iPhone and iPad. You are the CEO of a company that has been infiltrated by werewolves, and it’s your job to save your employees, and eventually the entire city, from their dastardly schemes. OUR PROMISE TO YOU: No ads. No getting suckered into buying more stuff later. The whole game, for one price, for all updates, forever. The Executive combines a high-speed combat system, timing-based running and platforming, 120 hand-crafted levels, a full inventory of moves and upgrades, and a simple mining company simulation for earning money, all into one cohesive experience. The fighting engine evokes a cross between Street Fighter II and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, with controls designed from scratch to be ideal for touch screens. The platforming (or “stunt”) segments require precise timing, similar to Elite Beat Agents but with an emphasis on visual timing instead of musical rhythm. Both of these mechanics are brought together by the SP bar, which allows you to execute gesture-based special moves like flame kicks, health restoration, and even morphing your character’s arm into a silver spike to impale foes. The Executive uses Riverman Media’s proprietary animation system to bring to life its large, hand-drawn 2D sprites with an unprecedented amount of smoothness and detail. The Executive represents the pinnacle of Riverman Media’s research and development into new 2D graphics technology. FEATURES + 120 levels, hand-crafted one pixel at a time. No randomly generated endless filler. + Dozens of abilities and skills to learn + Battle enemies and execute stunts in every level + Over 50 unique enemies, each with their own intelligence, strengths, and weaknesses + Invest in your mining company and earn money continuously + 12 Menacing bosses that will require your strategy and skill to defeat + Universal App: purchase it once, play forever on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch + 12 Challenging achievements + High-definition “Retina” graphics for all supported devices, Retina HD graphics on iPhone 6+ + iCloud support: touch the Book icon from the main menu to transfer progress between devices! ―――――――――― Riverman Media is two brothers who have dedicated their lives to the art of 2D game making ―――――――――― * Street Fighter 2, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and Elite Beat Agents are not affiliated with Riverman Media or The Executive.
Monster Boy
Embark on a vibrant action-adventure as a young hero tasked with saving a magical kingdom. Utilize unique character forms, discover hidden secrets, and upgrade equipment in a sprawling, hand-drawn world. Enjoy an epic journey with a memorable soundtrack.
- Six unique character forms with special abilities
- Unlock paths with magic weapons and items
- Over 15 hours of interconnected exploration
- Gorgeous hand-drawn animations
- Supports game controllers and touch controls
- Iconic Japanese composer soundtrack
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A legendary series returns with a grand new adventure! Enjoy a colorful action-adventure game made alongside Ryuichi Nishizawa, creator of the original Wonder Boy in Monster World series. Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom borrows the best from the classic series to deliver a fresh, modern adventure with fun gameplay, memorable music and gorgeous hand drawn animations. Can Jin save Monster World Kingdom? Help our young hero defeat challenging enemies, discover hidden locations, upgrade powerful equipment, and more! You'll also unlock special forms with unique skills used to open new paths where mighty bosses and secret treasures await. Feature Overview: - Six awesome forms with unique combat and platforming abilities to make your adventure exciting from start to finish. - Unlock new paths and secrets with special equipment: look for magic weapons and items that gradually open up the world. - Over 15 hours of epic adventure: explore the new Monster World in a vast interconnected environment. - Hand Drawn animations: characters and enemies come to life with detailed animations and fun facial expressions. - Supports game controllers (Xbox, PlayStation, MFi) and touch controls. - Soundtrack from iconic Japanese composers: Yuzo Koshiro, Motoi Sakuraba, Michiru Yamane, Keiki Kobayashi and Takeshi Yanagawa.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: The Executive at $2.99 against Monster Boy's $12.99. The Executive also leads on review sentiment (81% vs 50%) and ratings volume (87 vs 9). Monster Boy's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 5 months) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and iOS requirement 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
The Executive costs $2.99 and Monster Boy $12.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Monster Boy holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Executive has 87 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 81% of The Executive's written reviews are positive against 50% of Monster Boy's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
The Executive ships an update every 5 months, Monster Boy every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.
| Parameter | The Executive | Monster Boy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $12.99 |
| Rating | 4.4 (87 ratings) | 4.7 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 81.3% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 87 — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.1 GB | 1.8 GB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Riverman Media LLC | FDG Entertainment GmbH & Co.KG |
Customer experience
The Executive
Monster Boy
Bugs and requests
The Executive
Reported bugs
2 issues- Crashes when revisiting early levels
- Unresponsive controls in certain situations
Requested features
4 requests- More enemy variety
- Additional levels or content updates
- Ability to reset progress or start over
- Cloud save/sync support
Monster Boy
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
The Executive
No in-app purchases
Monster Boy
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is The Executive free?
Is Monster Boy free?
Which has better reviews, The Executive or Monster Boy?
Do The Executive or Monster Boy have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Executive or Monster Boy?
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