Comparison

Sidius Nova vs Arcane Trigger

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

Head to head
About

Sidius Nova

Lead your species to survival after a homeworld destruction. Collect resources, build ships, and engage in epic space battles. Choose to play as humans or an alien armada, unlocking new ships and strategies as you conquer galaxies.

Highlights
  • Resource collection
  • Ship building
  • Epic space battles
  • Playable factions (humans/aliens)
  • Unlockable ships
  • Galactic conquest
Features
Read full description

by Stefan Schmitt and Ben Jelter -YOUR HOMEWORLD HAS BEEN DESTROYED- Your remaining motherships are the only way to guarantee the survival of your species. Collect resources to build ships for epic space battles. "has the same 'one more turn oh god one more turn' hook that its grander siblings on the PC have" -KOTAKU Also featured on Space Sector! HOURS OF STRATEGIC DEEP SPACE GAMEPLAY Sidius Nova is a strategy game designed from the ground up to provide a deep and satisfying experience on your iOS device. PICK A SIDE Play as the last humans alive or an alien armada. UNLOCKABLE SHIPS Earn new ships as you play! Conquer entire galaxies and expand your fleet by researching new units. New units dramatically expand the gameplay by offering new defensive and offensive strategies. Follow @sidiusnova on twitter to find out more and give us feedback!

About

Arcane Trigger

Defend your cottage from shadow creatures pouring from a dimensional rift. Utilize an arcane rifle, craft unique ammunition, and strategically combine buffs to survive increasingly difficult waves and challenging bosses in this roguelike shooter.

Highlights
  • Arcane rifle combat
  • Bullet crafting with varied attributes
  • Mix and match trajectory buffs
  • Roguelike progression
  • 7 distinct bosses
  • 240 unique bullet types
Features
Read full description

After years of diligent work, the young mage finally saved up enough to build a beautiful cottage in the woods—only to find it sits right at the convergence point between the Shadow Plane and the Material Plane. Every time night falls, entropic shadow creatures pour forth from the rift, laying waste to everything nearby. 200 sealing artifacts, 40 events, 15 difficulty tiers, and 7 wildly distinct bosses await you! Take up your arcane rifle! Squeeze the trigger and rain down fury on these ill-mannered pests! Mix and match to craft devastating high-damage trajectories. Some buffs rely on proper positioning, so think carefully before you pull the trigger. Don't forget to forge new bullets! Click the winged hammer in the bottom-left corner to craft new ammunition with varied attributes — choose from 240 unique bullet types! When the smoke clears, the roguelike spirit remains. At the end of each run, select the optimal build buffs based on your current setup.

Screenshots

Sidius Nova4 screens
Arcane Trigger4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Sidius Nova at 84% against Arcane Trigger's 25%. Sidius Nova also leads on rating (4.4 vs 2.7) and ratings volume (49 vs 3). Arcane Trigger's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Sidius Nova sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Arcane Trigger asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sidius Nova holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sidius Nova has 49 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Sidius Nova's written reviews are positive against 25% of Arcane Trigger's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sidius Nova ships an update every 3 months, Arcane Trigger every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Sidius Nova versus Arcane Trigger: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSidius NovaArcane Trigger
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (49 ratings) — better2.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews84.3% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings49 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS14.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size190 MB907 MB
Age rating9+17+
DeveloperStefan SchmittMiniWhale

Customer experience

Sidius Nova

All ratings49 ratings
Positive83.7%
Neutral8.2%
Negative8.2%
Written reviews83 reviews
Positive84.3%
Neutral7.2%
Negative8.4%

Arcane Trigger

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Sidius Nova

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Occasional crashing
  • Repeated crashing during combat
  • Crashing when fighting mothership
  • Game progress not syncing between devices
  • App leaves residual files after uninstallation

Requested features

16 requests
  • Add multiplayer/hot seat/skirmish
  • Add longer single player campaign
  • Add more frequent dialogue
  • Add meaningful player-driven plot choices
  • Add 'back' button for dialogue
Show 11 more
  • Option to skip mothership death animation
  • Rework research point system
  • Add bonus for multiple fleets
  • Improve mothership strength/abilities
  • Add iPad version/support
  • Add iPhone 5 screen support
  • Add Game Center support
  • Add cloud saving system
  • Add endless mode
  • Add asynchronous multiplayer
  • Add fast forward button

Arcane Trigger

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Sidius Nova

One-time3
  • Genius (RP earned x2)$0.99
  • Laboratory (8,000 RP)$1.99
  • Singularity (Unlock Everything)$3.99
None

Arcane Trigger

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sidius Nova free?
Sidius Nova is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Arcane Trigger free?
Arcane Trigger is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Sidius Nova or Arcane Trigger?
Sidius Nova is rated higher. Sidius Nova averages 4.4 out of 5 from 49 ratings, while Arcane Trigger averages 2.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Sidius Nova or Arcane Trigger have ads?
Neither Sidius Nova nor Arcane Trigger shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sidius Nova or Arcane Trigger?
Sidius Nova ships an update every 3 months, and Arcane Trigger every 2 weeks. Most recently, Sidius Nova was updated on October 6, 2026 and Arcane Trigger on October 3, 2026.

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