Comparison

VAREION vs Stellar Mercenaries

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

Head to head
About

VAREION

Embark on an 8-bit hack-and-slash adventure as a magic knight. Explore randomly generated maps, battle diverse enemies, and collect loot to customize your gear. Destroy turrets and symbols to unlock powerful items and defeat bosses.

Highlights
  • 8-bit hack-and-slash RPG
  • Roguelike experience with random maps
  • Automatic character attacks
  • Collect weapons, armor, and items
  • Destroy turrets and unlock items
  • Defeat 12 gods
Features
Read full description

◆Game Features An authentic and exhilarating hack-and-slash RPG with 8-bit graphics! Become the legendary magic knight Vareion and defeat the 12 gods! Enjoy a roguelike experience with randomly generated maps! A variety of fearsome enemies will come at you! Equip yourself with various weapons and armor to defeat the oncoming enemies! ◆Controls Move your character by tapping your finger anywhere on your screen to control the virtual gamepad. Your character attacks automatically, so control your movement skillfully to defeat the enemies! Weapons, equipment, and consumable items will drop when you defeat enemies! Organize and utilize your weapons and equipment according to your preference, and go forth to defeat the enemies on the field! On the field, there are Castles protected by Turrets that attack at long range. Destroy these to unlock important items! Find and destroy the Symbols and cut through the gate to the boss! ◆Credits Character design: Aleksandr Makarov @IKnowKingRabbit Title art design: anacore BGM: @wyver9 BGM:Kim Lightyear BGM: Kirill Reznikov Eng. Translation: Chika @chika_JPEN Copyright 2023 Dead Fish Eye.

About

Stellar Mercenaries

Engage in offline, vertical scrolling arcade action with this sci-fi RPG. Upgrade your ship, weapons, and abilities to battle rival mercenaries and conquer the solar system. Enjoy endless procedurally generated missions with diverse objectives and challenges.

Highlights
  • Vertical scrolling arcade shooter
  • Offline capable gameplay
  • Upgradable ships and weapons
  • Customizable loadouts
  • Procedurally generated missions
  • Rival mercenary system
Features
Read full description

Ready to vanquish your enemies and change the solar system forever from anywhere? Stellar Mercs is a vertical scrolling, offline capable, action arcade shooter with upgradable ships, weapons, and special abilities. Customize your loadouts for each mission depending on the environments and enemies you'll face! Each mission will reward you with unlocks and cash to continue building your arsenal. You're not the only mercenary out there - the more successful and accomplished you become, the more attention you'll attract. Enemy mercenaries can become persistent arch-rivals, leveling up along side you. Defeating them will net you great rewards, but if you die at their hands, they'll grow even further in power. The fun is never-ending! Fly missions through endless procedurally generated missions with a variety of environments, objectives, hazards, enemies, and rewards. Hijack cargo from speeding space trains, break into heavily guarded research and development space stations to acquire new prototype ships to fly, or defeat mighty leviathan capital ships in your quest to become the wealthiest, most powerful mercenary in the system! Stellar Mercs operates as a single handed action arcade game, so you can play comfortably on the go. SM is offline capable, so even without signal you can keep gaming and conquering the solar system! Configure your spacecraft's loadout and autoshoot your way to victory - focus on maneuvering through hazards and waves of enemies while you employ special abilities for maximum carnage!

Screenshots

VAREION4 screens
Stellar Mercenaries4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Stellar Mercenaries at Free against VAREION's $2.99. Stellar Mercenaries also leads on review sentiment (85% vs 50%) and ratings volume (34 vs 6). VAREION's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 9). On rating, update cadence, ads 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

Stellar Mercenaries is free to download; VAREION costs $2.99 up front. Stellar Mercenaries sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. VAREION asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for VAREION against 4.7 for Stellar Mercenaries. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Stellar Mercenaries has 34 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of VAREION's written reviews are positive against 85% of Stellar Mercenaries's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

VAREION ships an update fortnightly, Stellar Mercenaries every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on August 21, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
VAREION versus Stellar Mercenaries: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVAREIONStellar Mercenaries
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (6 ratings)4.7 (34 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews85.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings634 — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size88 MB198 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperMasahiro KanoQuest Builders LLC

Customer experience

VAREION

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral16.7%
Negative33.3%

Stellar Mercenaries

All ratings34 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive85.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative10.0%

In-app purchases

None

VAREION

No in-app purchases

9 purchases

Stellar Mercenaries

One-time9
  • Currency - Small Pack$1.99
  • Starter Pack - Basic$1.99
  • Gem Pack - Small$2.99
Show 6 more
  • Currency - Medium Pack$3.99
  • Stater Pack - Advanced$5.99
  • Gem Pack - Medium$7.99
  • Currency - Large Pack$7.99
  • Gem Pack - Large$15.99
  • Starter Pack - Legendary$15.99

Questions

Is VAREION free?
VAREION costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Stellar Mercenaries free?
Stellar Mercenaries is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, VAREION or Stellar Mercenaries?
VAREION and Stellar Mercenaries are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 6 and 34 ratings respectively.
Do VAREION or Stellar Mercenaries have ads?
Neither VAREION nor Stellar Mercenaries shows ads.
Which is updated more often, VAREION or Stellar Mercenaries?
VAREION ships an update fortnightly, and Stellar Mercenaries every 3 weeks. Most recently, VAREION was updated on August 21, 2026 and Stellar Mercenaries on September 17, 2026.

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