Comparison

Never Night vs Ariana and the Elder Codex

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

Head to head
About

Never Night

Embark on a classic 2D action adventure in a world of humans, vampires, and demons. Choose your character, master combat, and explore a war-torn realm. Discover, craft, and upgrade over 200 items to overcome challenges and earn rewards.

Highlights
  • Old-school hardcore action gameplay
  • Jump, attack, dodge, and combo system
  • Over 200 weapons, equipment, and items to craft/upgrade
  • 3 chapters of story mode
  • Endless Mist Tower challenge mode
  • Special intel missions
Features
Read full description

ABOUT THE GAME Never Night is an old style 2D Action Game for gamers on iOS platform. It sets in a classic world where human, vampires and other demons co-exist and constantly waging war against one another. Play as Blood Knight or Dark Sister to face the incredible challenge and win glorious rewards. Discover, craft and upgrade over 200 weapons, equipments, items and even skills as you explore the war-torn game world. KEY FEATURES Old-school Hardcore Action Game: We gazed back to the very core of action games and aim to create a game we ourselves would love to play.Jump, attack, dodge and link your own combos to fight! Win the fights, and win with style! A Great Deal of Game Content: 3 Chapters of story mode; 3 different challenge modes in endless Mist Tower; Special intel missions; Immerse yourself into dark but beautiful environments; Face the challenge of deadly monsters & bosses…... Contact us : email:support@gamestetris.com

About

Ariana and the Elder Codex

Embark on a 2D action RPG adventure as a magical librarian who enters ancient books to restore lost magic. Battle monsters, master elemental spells, and customize your abilities to save the world.

Highlights
  • 2D side-scrolling action RPG
  • Dynamic anime action combat
  • Master elemental magic and transformations
  • Customize spellbook with 30+ spells
  • Craft magic items and accessories
  • Time attack and repair point challenges
  • Metroidvania exploration
Read full description

MEMBERSHIP REQUIRED - Exclusive to Crunchyroll Mega and Ultimate Fan Memberships STEP INTO A LIVING NOVEL AND RECLAIM THE WORLD'S LOST MAGIC! Dive into an enchanting fantasy world in Ariana and the Elder Codex, a gorgeous 2D side-scrolling action RPG. Take on the role of Ariana Virellis, a young, powerful magical librarian who protects a vast library and possesses the unique ability to venture inside the world’s ancient books. When the Seven Hero Codices are vandalized, magic vanishes from the realm. Now, Ariana must travel inside these corrupted tomes—experiencing their stories as a living fantasy novel brought to life. Defeat monsters, repair the damaged pages, and restore magic to civilization! DYNAMIC 2D ANIME ACTION & RPG COMBAT Enjoy a fast-paced 2D action platformer blending hack-and-slash combat with tactical JRPG depth. Explore beautiful worlds, exploit elemental weaknesses, and cast powerful spells to break enemy posture. Once they are stunned, unleash devastating combos for massive critical damage! MASTER ELEMENTAL MAGIC & TRANSFORMATIONS Master a deep magic system governed by opposing elements: Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind. As you restore each corrupted codex, you unlock the ability to trigger a stunning elemental form change. Transform Ariana by channeling a chosen element, dramatically boosting your spell power, unlocking new navigation skills, and causing explosive elemental bursts on impact. CUSTOMIZE YOUR SPELLBOOK With 30+ unlockable magic spells and abilities, you can completely customize your strategy. Mix, match, and equip your spells across six dynamic slots to build a loadout that perfectly suits your personal playstyle. Prefer a defensive tank build or an all-out elemental mage setup? The choice is yours. CRAFT POWERFUL MAGIC ITEMS & ACCESSORIES Mitigate environmental hazards and brutal challenges by unlocking, crafting, and equipping unique Magic Items. Equip up to five accessories within your equipment cost limit to gain crucial buffs like reduced knockback, enhanced critical hit rates, faster health recovery, and massive elemental stat boosts. THRILLING TIME ATTACK & REPAIR POINT CHALLENGES The adventure is about more than combat. Take on specialized platforming trials at Altered Points throughout the world. Sprint through tight, technical time attack platformer layouts, dodging traps and utilizing precision movement to reach the exit as quickly as possible. Clear these Repair Points efficiently to earn permanent HP upgrades and powerful rewards! KEY FEATURES: A Gorgeous Living Novel: Fall in love with an exquisite, hand-drawn art style that makes every stage feel like an illustration come to life. Intense Boss Battles: Face formidable guardians requiring sharp reflexes, smart spell timing, and quick dodging. Metroidvania Exploration: Revisit previously unreachable areas across interconnected side-scrolling worlds as you unlock new elemental mobility and librarian magic. Epic Story-Driven Adventure: Immerse yourself in rich fantasy library lore, deep NPC interactions, and an emotional tale of restoration. Are you ready to fix history and save magic? Download Ariana and the Elder Codex today and begin your magical librarian adventure! ---- Crunchyroll Premium members enjoy an ad-free experience, with full access to Crunchyroll's library of over 1,300 unique titles and 46,000 episodes, including simulcast series that premiere shortly after airing in Japan. In addition, membership offers special benefits including offline viewing access, discount code to Crunchyroll Store, Crunchyroll Game Vault access, streaming simultaneously on multiple devices, and more! https://www.crunchyroll.com/games/privacy/ https://www.crunchyroll.com/games/terms/

Screenshots

Never Night4 screens
Ariana and the Elder Codex4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Never Night at 3.2 against Ariana and the Elder Codex's 2.6. Ariana and the Elder Codex's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 4 months). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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. Never Night sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Ariana and the Elder Codex asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Never Night holds the better App Store score, 3.2 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Never Night's written reviews are positive against 50% of Ariana and the Elder Codex's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Never Night ships an update every 4 months, Ariana and the Elder Codex every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Never Night versus Ariana and the Elder Codex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNever NightAriana and the Elder Codex
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.2 (13 ratings) — better2.6 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews57.9% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings13 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS1615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size855 MB1.2 GB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperShanghai Tetris Network Technology Co., LTDCrunchyroll, LLC

Customer experience

Never Night

All ratings13 ratings
Positive53.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative46.2%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive57.9%
Neutral10.5%
Negative31.6%

Ariana and the Elder Codex

All ratings5 ratings
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Never Night

One-time7
  • Crimson Gem$0.99
  • Crimson Gem$4.99
  • Crimson Gem$8.99
Show 4 more
  • Higgs$9.99
  • Dove$9.99
  • Crimson Gem$29.99
  • Crimson Gem$74.99
None

Ariana and the Elder Codex

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Never Night free?
Never Night is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ariana and the Elder Codex free?
Ariana and the Elder Codex is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Never Night or Ariana and the Elder Codex?
Never Night is rated higher. Never Night averages 3.2 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while Ariana and the Elder Codex averages 2.6 from 5 ratings.
Do Never Night or Ariana and the Elder Codex have ads?
Neither Never Night nor Ariana and the Elder Codex shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Never Night or Ariana and the Elder Codex?
Never Night ships an update every 4 months, and Ariana and the Elder Codex every 3 days. Most recently, Never Night was updated on October 15, 2026 and Ariana and the Elder Codex on October 4, 2026.

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