Comparison

Year Walk vs A Dark Room

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

A Dark Room

Awaken in a mysterious world with a throbbing head and blurry vision. Follow the voices' instructions to survive and explore this text-based adventure. Experience a game free from ads, loot boxes, in-app purchases, and tracking, fully playable with VoiceOver.

Highlights
  • Text-based adventure
  • Survival mechanics
  • Exploration
  • Resource management
  • VoiceOver compatible
  • No ads or IAP
Features
Read full description

awake. head throbbing. vision blurry. the voices say to survive. - One of Apple's most downloaded apps of 2014. - Ranked in the top 10 games in 70 countries, #1 app overall in 7 countries. - No ads, no loot boxes, no IAP, no tracking. - 100% playable via VoiceOver. - Relive the glory days of gaming from the era of Zork.

Screenshots

Year Walk4 screens
A Dark Room4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: A Dark Room at 4.8 against Year Walk's 4.2. A Dark Room also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months) and review sentiment (93% vs 77%). Year Walk's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 11.0). On ads, in-app purchases, 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 A Dark Room $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

A Dark Room holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: A Dark Room has 2.7K ratings behind it against 366, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of Year Walk's written reviews are positive against 93% of A Dark Room's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Year Walk ships an update every 7 months, A Dark Room every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Year Walk versus A Dark Room: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterYear WalkA Dark Room
Price$3.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.2 (366 ratings)4.8 (2.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews77.1% of reviews92.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3662.7K — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#102#29 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better11.0
Further details — not scored
Size782 MB100 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperSimogo ABAmirali Rajan

Customer experience

Year Walk

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

A Dark Room

All ratings2,655 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral1.4%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews1,401 reviews
Positive92.7%
Neutral1.6%
Negative5.7%

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

A Dark Room

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Year Walk

No in-app purchases

None

A Dark Room

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Year Walk free?
Year Walk costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is A Dark Room free?
A Dark Room costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Year Walk or A Dark Room?
A Dark Room is rated higher. Year Walk averages 4.2 out of 5 from 366 ratings, while A Dark Room averages 4.8 from 2.7K ratings.
Do Year Walk or A Dark Room have ads?
Neither Year Walk nor A Dark Room shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Year Walk or A Dark Room?
Year Walk ships an update every 7 months, and A Dark Room every 2 months. Most recently, Year Walk was updated on October 19, 2026 and A Dark Room on October 20, 2026.
Which is more popular, Year Walk or A Dark Room?
Year Walk currently peaks at #102 in the App Store charts, and A Dark Room at #29. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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