Comparison

Stellar Mercenaries vs Dead At Dusk

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

Head to head
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!

About

Dead At Dusk

Survive the night against relentless enemy hordes by choosing unique heroes and weapons. Specialize your character with powerful abilities to withstand the onslaught.

Highlights
  • Endless enemy horde survival
  • Diverse hero selection
  • Variety of weapon choices
  • Character ability specialization
  • Nighttime survival gameplay
Read full description

Survive through the night against an endless horde of enemies! HEROES & WEAPONS Choose from a diverse selection of characters and weapons that offer a variety of gameplay experiences. ABILITIES Specialize or equip multiple abilities so your character is strong enough to survive through the night.

Screenshots

Stellar Mercenaries4 screens
Dead At Dusk4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Stellar Mercenaries at none against Dead At Dusk's shown. Stellar Mercenaries also leads on ratings volume (38 vs 7). Dead At Dusk's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and review sentiment (100% vs 86%). On price, update cadence, 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. Stellar Mercenaries sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and Dead At Dusk sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dead At Dusk holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Stellar Mercenaries has 38 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of Stellar Mercenaries's written reviews are positive against 100% of Dead At Dusk's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Stellar Mercenaries ships an update every 3 weeks, Dead At Dusk every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Stellar Mercenaries versus Dead At Dusk: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStellar MercenariesDead At Dusk
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (38 ratings)5.0 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings38 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.012.0
Further details — not scored
Size198 MB191 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperQuest Builders LLCwhale oild LLC

Customer experience

Stellar Mercenaries

All ratings34 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews21 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral4.8%
Negative9.5%

Dead At Dusk

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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
3 purchases

Dead At Dusk

One-time3
  • 500 Cleansed Blood$0.99
  • 5000 Cleansed Blood$4.99
  • 15000 Cleansed Blood$9.99

Questions

Is Stellar Mercenaries free?
Stellar Mercenaries is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dead At Dusk free?
Dead At Dusk is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Stellar Mercenaries or Dead At Dusk?
Dead At Dusk is rated higher. Stellar Mercenaries averages 4.8 out of 5 from 38 ratings, while Dead At Dusk averages 5.0 from 7 ratings.
Do Stellar Mercenaries or Dead At Dusk have ads?
Dead At Dusk shows ads; Stellar Mercenaries does not.
Which is updated more often, Stellar Mercenaries or Dead At Dusk?
Stellar Mercenaries ships an update every 3 weeks, and Dead At Dusk every 5 weeks. Most recently, Stellar Mercenaries was updated on November 3, 2026 and Dead At Dusk on November 3, 2026.

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