Comparison

Critical vs Ever Beyond

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

Head to head
About

Critical

Manage a reactor to prevent it from becoming critical by delivering water. Earn money over time to unlock permanent upgrades and improve your survival capabilities. Invest wisely to extend your runs and uncover secrets.

Highlights
  • Reactor management
  • Incremental income generation
  • Permanent upgrades
  • Research and secrets
  • Survival gameplay
Features
Read full description

Stop the reactor from going critical by delivering water. Robots are expensive though, so we use cheap expendable personnel instead. Money earned ramps up incrementally the longer you last. Survive as long as possible to maximize your income! Spend your hard earned cash to unlock permanent upgrades. Invest wisely to make each new run longer than the last. Tons of upgrades to buy, research to be done, and secrets to uncover. Give it a try! The longer you can keep the reactor from exploding, the more money you’ll make. Start small and watch your income grow exponentially as you survive longer and longer. Delay the inevitable cataclysm as long as possible and watch your cashflow go through the roof.

About

Ever Beyond

Engage in a single-player space strategy game where you reclaim Earth and then conquer the galaxy. Utilize an idle merge empire to create stronger units and upgrades, even while offline. Battle through diverse landscapes and face challenging bosses.

Highlights
  • Idle merge empire building
  • Galactic conquest campaign
  • Strategic unit merging
  • Hand-crafted puzzle battles
  • Daily quests and challenges
  • Offline progress and earnings
  • Story-driven AI companion
Features
Read full description

Aliens reset Earth by a thousand years. Win it back, then conquer the galaxy, in a single-player space strategy game with an idle merge empire behind it. FROM EARTH TO THE GALAXY Start on an Earth thrown back into its distant past. Secure it target by target, then Mars, Saturn and the Sun, and set course for star systems across whole galaxies. MERGE TO CONQUER Merge scientists and satellites into stronger producers. They earn food, energy and science every second, even while you're away, and that pays for every unit and upgrade you take into battle. DRAG, DROP, DEFEND Tap a unit card, drag it onto the battlefield and watch your squad fight. Every level is hand-made: high ground, rivers and chokepoints change the fight, and every unit has a counter. Then the bosses arrive. PLAY YOUR WAY Check in for a few minutes to collect, merge and win a battle, or settle in for a long campaign. A new hand-made puzzle battle arrives every day. No PvP: nobody raids you while you sleep. BY THE NUMBERS • 16 units in 3 factions, from Space Marines to dragons • 13 power-ups, from turrets to black holes • 100+ targets on Earth alone, then planets and star systems • A new Daily Quest every day • Permanent research and upgrades for the long game • English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, 日本語, Türkçe, Русский, Bahasa Indonesia THE STORY Wake Cresnia, an AI companion who lost her memory. Follow the prank to the aliens behind it, and find out why she was hidden on Earth.

Screenshots

Critical4 screens
Ever Beyond4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Critical at 4.4 against Ever Beyond's 4.1. Critical also leads on ratings volume (147 vs 32) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). Ever Beyond's advantage is review sentiment (33% vs 18%) and update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Critical sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Ever Beyond sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Critical holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 147 and 32 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 18% of Critical's written reviews are positive against 33% of Ever Beyond's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Critical ships an update fortnightly, Ever Beyond weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Critical versus Ever Beyond: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCriticalEver Beyond
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (147 ratings) — better4.1 (32 ratings)
Positive reviews18.2% of reviews33.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings147 — better32
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size99 MB370 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperWaffleStack Studio LLCKazim Gokhan Dogramaci

Customer experience

Critical

All ratings125 ratings
Positive84.0%
Neutral4.8%
Negative11.2%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive18.2%
Neutral18.2%
Negative63.6%

Ever Beyond

All ratings32 ratings
Positive78.1%
Neutral9.4%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Critical

One-time10
  • 100 Gems$4.99
  • Starter Pack$9.99
  • Remove All Ads$9.99
Show 7 more
  • 225 Gems$9.99
  • Pro Pack$9.99
  • Pro Pack$14.99
  • New Player Sale$14.99
  • 500 Gems$14.99
  • 800 Gems$19.99
  • 3000 Gems$39.99
5 purchases

Ever Beyond

One-time5
  • Quantum Charges Pack$0.99
  • Cosmic Shards$1.99
  • Ad-Free Version$2.99
Show 2 more
  • Production Boost$2.99
  • Starter Pack$4.99

Questions

Is Critical free?
Critical is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ever Beyond free?
Ever Beyond is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Critical or Ever Beyond?
Critical is rated higher. Critical averages 4.4 out of 5 from 147 ratings, while Ever Beyond averages 4.1 from 32 ratings.
Do Critical or Ever Beyond have ads?
Both Critical and Ever Beyond show ads.
Which is updated more often, Critical or Ever Beyond?
Critical ships an update fortnightly, and Ever Beyond weekly. Most recently, Critical was updated on November 3, 2026 and Ever Beyond on November 12, 2026.

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