Comparison

Year Walk vs Cultist Simulator

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

Head to head
About

Year Walk

Embark on a unique first-person adventure set in 19th-century Sweden, experiencing the ancient phenomenon of year walking. Explore dark woods, solve puzzles, and uncover mysteries to glimpse the future. This atmospheric game blurs reality and the supernatural.

Highlights
  • First-person adventure
  • Ancient Swedish phenomena
  • Cryptic puzzle solving
  • Supernatural elements
  • Vision quest narrative
  • Atmospheric exploration
Features
Read full description

In the old days man tried to catch a glimpse of the future in the strangest of ways. Experience the ancient Swedish phenomena of year walking through a different kind of first person adventure that blurs the line between two and three dimensions as well as reality and the supernatural. Venture out into the dark woods where strange creatures roam, on a vision quest set in 19th century Sweden. Solve cryptic puzzles, touch and listen in your search to foresee the future and finally discover if your loved one will love you back. Mysteries and clues await everywhere in Year Walk, but to fully understand the events that took place on that cold New Year's Eve, you will have to delve deeper than the adventure and lose yourself between fact and fiction. For the complete Year Walk experience, or if you're curious about the folk lore on which Year Walk is based, we recommend downloading Year Walk Companion, available for free on the App Store. "An iOS game like nothing else you’ve seen on the format to date. This is a brave and truly original work" Edge - 9/10 "Elegant and artful, Year Walk is an unmissable piece of work. You can close the app and put down the phone, but the forest may spread beyond its glassy confines, its spindly, silver-skinned trees taking root in your own home, your own dreams." Eurogamer - 9/10 "A game this distinctive, this different, this thrillingly new is the best possible demonstration of the format’s versatility; indeed, of the narrative power of the interactive medium. Simogo has made something very special here." The Telegraph - 5/5 "It's a gripping, somber, atmospheric, and elegantly-designed game, and everyone should play it. I've never played anything quite like it." Touch Arcade 5/5 "An incredible showcase for the potential of tablet games and will undoubtedly become influential over the next few years." CVG - 9/10 "Simogo has packed Year Walk with a hefty share of spine-tingling jump scares, but it’s these external trappings that cause the game’s lore to get under your skin and stick with you long after your phone or tablet has been turned off." Gamezebo - 4,5/5 "Year Walk is smart, thrilling, and absolutely stunningly crafted. It'll throw you for a loop, leaving you transfixed to the screen until you shake out all of its dark secrets." Mac|Life - 5/5 "As with any good page-turner, you won't want to put this game down until you get to the end. It's quite a journey, too. Year Walk is a beguiling adventure, and a truly memorable experience." Pocketgamer - 8/10

About

Cultist Simulator

A challenging roguelike narrative card game where you play as a seeker of forbidden knowledge. Experiment with rituals, summon entities, and ascend to become a herald of a new age in a Lovecraftian 1920s setting.

Highlights
  • Challenging roguelike gameplay
  • Story-driven legacy system
  • Intense, immersive narrative
  • Choice-based storytelling
  • Lovecraftian world
  • Card combination mechanics
Read full description

SEIZE FORBIDDEN TREASURES. SUMMON ALIEN GODS. FEED ON YOUR DISCIPLES. BE WARNED. This game has no tutorial - part of the challenge is figuring out how to play. It's hard, but keep trying, and you'll master it. Good luck! In this infamous roguelike narrative card game, play as a seeker after unholy mysteries in a 1920s-themed setting of hidden gods and secret histories. Become a scholar of the unseen arts. Craft tools and summon spirits. Indoctrinate innocents. Seize your place as the herald of a new age. Cultist Simulator was first released on PC and has more than 200,000 players all over the world. Now we’re bringing the cosmic mysteries of Cultist Simulator to mobile. • Challenging roguelike gameplay - There is never only one history. Cultist Simulator doesn’t hold your hand. Experiment, expire and transcend death with a story-driven legacy system. Over time you’ll learn enough to wrestle the game to its knees. • Intense, immersive narrative – Combine cards to tell your own story. A hefty novel’s worth of choice-based storytelling, from the creator of Fallen London and Sunless Sea. There are many paths through this game of ambition, appetite and abomination, and many ways your tale can end. • A rich Lovecraftian world – Corrupt your friends and consume your enemies. Search your dreams for sanity-twisting rituals. Translate grimoires and glean their lore. Penetrate the realm of the Hours and win a place in their service. Cultist Simulator brings the peripheral horror of Lovecraft’s tales to an entirely new setting. Expand your knowledge with the DLCs: New Legacies, New Ascensions, New Mechanics... • The Dancer - Join the Bacchanal • The Priest - Knock, and Ye Shall Be Opened • The Ghoul - Taste of the graveyard's fruit • The Exile - Some there are who will not yield If you encounter any issue with the game, please click on “Contact us” at the bottom of this page and give us as many details as possible regarding the issue and your device: https://playdigious.helpshift.com/hc/en/11-cultist-simulator/?p=ios

Screenshots

Year Walk4 screens
Cultist Simulator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Cultist Simulator at 4.8 against Year Walk's 4.2. Cultist Simulator also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months) and ratings volume (4.3K vs 368). Year Walk's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and price ($3.99 vs $6.99). On review sentiment, ads, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Year Walk costs $3.99 and Cultist Simulator $6.99 up front. Cultist Simulator sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Year Walk asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cultist Simulator holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cultist Simulator has 4.3K ratings behind it against 368, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 77% of Year Walk's written reviews are positive against 73% of Cultist Simulator's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Year Walk ships an update every 7 months, Cultist Simulator every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Year Walk versus Cultist Simulator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterYear WalkCultist Simulator
Price$3.99 — better$6.99
Rating4.2 (368 ratings)4.8 (4.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews77.1% of reviews — better72.8% of reviews
Number of ratings3684.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#115#33 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size782 MB331 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperSimogo ABPlaydigious

Customer experience

Year Walk

All ratings366 ratings
Positive77.3%
Neutral6.3%
Negative16.4%
Written reviews795 reviews
Positive77.1%
Neutral7.3%
Negative15.6%

Cultist Simulator

All ratings4,221 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral1.6%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews371 reviews
Positive72.8%
Neutral9.4%
Negative17.8%

User reviews

Year Walk

From 368 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Gorgeous artwork and atmosphere
  • 🤯 Creepy and unsettling experience
  • 🧠 Intriguing story and folklore
  • 🔍 Compelling puzzles and exploration
  • 🎨 Unique and innovative gameplay

Room to improve

  • ⏱️ Game is too short
  • 🤔 Puzzles can be confusing and unintuitive
  • 🔇 Sound issues on some devices
  • 🗺️ Frustrating navigation and getting lost
  • 💰 Expensive for the length of gameplay

Cultist Simulator

From 4.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤯 Fascinating and mysterious
  • 🎨 Beautiful atmosphere and writing
  • 🕰️ Compelling time management gameplay
  • 🕵️ Rewarding sense of discovery
  • 💡 Unique and innovative concept

Room to improve

  • 🤯 Steep learning curve with no tutorial
  • 🕰️ Intense time pressure and resource management
  • 🧠 Confusing mechanics and unclear objectives
  • 🧭 Frustrating lack of progress and repeated failures
  • 🔍 Difficult to keep track of cards and game state

Bugs and requests

Year Walk

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Sound not working on certain devices
  • Crashes and freezes on older devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Longer gameplay and additional content
  • More guidance and hints for puzzles
  • Improved navigation and map functionality
  • Support for more devices and screen sizes

Cultist Simulator

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional crashes and save file issues
  • Disappearing cards and UI elements
  • Inability to access certain features like the club

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add tutorial or in-game hints
  • Provide more accessibility options for text size
  • Implement save/load system to avoid losing progress
  • Add DLC content like the Dancer storyline
  • Improve card organization and UI layout

In-app purchases

None

Year Walk

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Cultist Simulator

One-time5
  • The Dancer$1.99
  • The Priest$1.99
  • The Ghoul$1.99
Show 2 more
  • The Exile$4.99
  • Forbidden Bundle$6.99

Questions

Is Year Walk free?
Year Walk costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cultist Simulator free?
Cultist Simulator costs $6.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Year Walk or Cultist Simulator?
Cultist Simulator is rated higher. Year Walk averages 4.2 out of 5 from 368 ratings, while Cultist Simulator averages 4.8 from 4.3K ratings.
Do Year Walk or Cultist Simulator have ads?
Neither Year Walk nor Cultist Simulator shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Year Walk or Cultist Simulator?
Year Walk ships an update every 7 months, and Cultist Simulator every 2 months. Most recently, Year Walk was updated on November 10, 2026 and Cultist Simulator on November 6, 2026.
Which is more popular, Year Walk or Cultist Simulator?
Year Walk currently peaks at #115 in the App Store charts, and Cultist Simulator at #33. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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