Comparison

Once Upon a Galaxy vs Synapse

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

Head to head
About

Once Upon a Galaxy

Embark on a fantasy card battling adventure where you draft unique captains and their friends to complete quests. Choose your path with diverse characters and strategic gameplay. Experience a game free of ads and AI art, focusing on player choice and engaging battles.

Highlights
  • Fantasy card battling
  • Captain drafting
  • Quest completion
  • Strategic gameplay
  • No AI artwork
  • Asynchronous play
Features
Read full description

Galaxy is FREE to play, has NO ADS, uses NO AI artwork. Will you choose Dorothy as your captain and help her and friends on their journey to complete their quests? Or Dragonmother and discover what will hatch from her dragon egg? Or maybe Indiana Clones, who will "clone" your best three treasures? It's all up to you!

About

Synapse

Features
Read full description

Something is walking down your neural pathways, and it is not a thought. Synapse TD is a tower defense game set inside a nervous system that has, frankly, stopped coping. Sixteen signal paths. Thirty waves. An assortment of luminous enemies advancing steadily toward the part of you that remembers where you put your keys. Deeper in the network lies The Cortex: sixteen more maps where three signals converge into one trunk or two routes cross, four creatures built to punish the habits the first maps taught you, and sixteen crystalline engrams to collect. Unlock it with one purchase, or earn it by clearing every Neural Path. You are the immune response. You have lasers. BUILD A DEFENSE Eleven towers, from a modest green laser up to things that should probably require paperwork. Place them along the signal path, watch the firing arcs overlap, and feel briefly competent. Every tower earns its keep differently - some chip away steadily, some panic in short violent bursts, one is just there to slow things down and think about its choices. THE BANK IS THE REAL GAME Unspent cash earns interest between waves. Which means the strongest opening is often to build almost nothing and let your money sit there thinking about itself - sophisticated economic strategy, or an elaborate way to lose on wave eleven. Both outcomes are available, and only one of them feels good in the moment. REWIRE BETWEEN WAVES Clear a bonus wave and the game offers you a permanent choice: more damage, more range, more interest, or five lives right now, no questions. Pick one. It holds for the rest of the run. Neuroplasticity, in the sense that your brain is now permanently different and there is no undo button. Exactly like the real thing. WHAT IT DOESN'T DO No energy meter. No daily streak quietly conditioning you like laboratory equipment. No timer between waves - think as long as you like, the enemies are patient, being conceptual. No forced tutorials once you know what a tower is. One hand, one thumb, portrait. Open it, think, close it. Thirty waves. Eleven towers. One increasingly concerned nervous system.

Screenshots

Once Upon a Galaxy4 screens
Synapse4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Once Upon a Galaxy at none against Synapse's shown. Synapse's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs fortnightly). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. Once Upon a Galaxy sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and Synapse sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Once Upon a Galaxy ships an update fortnightly, Synapse every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Once Upon a Galaxy versus Synapse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOnce Upon a GalaxySynapse
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.4K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews83.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.4K — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size195 MB228 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperMillion Dreams GamesDisquiet Studio

Bugs and requests

Once Upon a Galaxy

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Black screen on startup
  • Infinite loading issues
  • Progression loss after updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • More hero/card variety
  • Improved tutorial and learning tools
  • Offline/save progress mode
  • Cosmetic/non-gameplay monetization
  • Competitive/ranked modes

Synapse

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Once Upon a Galaxy

One-time9
  • Welcome Bundle2 variants$4.99
  • 500 Gems$4.99
  • October 2026 Galaxy Pass$9.99
Show 6 more
  • March 2026 Galaxy Pass$9.99
  • December Galaxy Pass$9.99
  • October 2025 Galaxy Pass$9.99
  • September 2025 Galaxy Pass$9.99
  • 1,100 Gems$9.99
  • 2,300 Gems$19.99
2 purchases

Synapse

One-time2
  • Unlock All Maps$9.99
  • Unlock The Cortex$9.99

Questions

Is Once Upon a Galaxy free?
Once Upon a Galaxy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Synapse free?
Synapse is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Once Upon a Galaxy or Synapse have ads?
Synapse shows ads; Once Upon a Galaxy does not.
Which is updated more often, Once Upon a Galaxy or Synapse?
Once Upon a Galaxy ships an update fortnightly, and Synapse every 3 days. Most recently, Once Upon a Galaxy was updated on November 4, 2026 and Synapse on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons