Comparison

Backpack Battles vs Astrea

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

Head to head
About

Backpack Battles

Strategize and battle using a meticulously organized backpack filled with items. Combine and craft powerful equipment to gain an advantage. Compete against other players in ranked or unranked modes with no time limits.

Highlights
  • Item placement strategy
  • Item combination and crafting
  • Real-player battles
  • Ranked and Unranked modes
  • No time limits
  • Leaderboard climbing
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

[We recommend a total device RAM of 4GB or higher; otherwise, the app may crash due to insufficient memory.] In Backpack Battles, you fight with your backpack full of items! It matters what you buy, and especially how you place them. The smarter you place your items, the stronger you'll be! Items come in different shapes, sizes, prices, and rarities. Combine them into even stronger equipment: brew powerful potions, craft legendary weapons, or even hatch a dragon friend! Face the backpack builds of other real players. See what they came up with, and counter them to win. Test your limits in Ranked Mode and climb the leaderboard! Or relax in Unranked Mode with low pressure. Both modes have no time limits, so take your time to organize your backpack! Join our community for discussion and support! Discord: https://discord.gg/PKPGxFpgFA Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1AtWHngD8v/ New Player Guide Video on Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFtuXBw4bDM Contact Us:support.m@indieark.com

About

Astrea

This roguelike deckbuilder replaces cards with dice, featuring a unique dual damage system of Purification and Corruption. Customize your dice, choose from six distinct Oracles, and discover over 170 Blessings to alter your tactics.

Highlights
  • Unique dual damage system (Purification vs. Corruption)
  • Dynamic health bar with attached skills
  • Dice pool building with over 350 dice
  • Dice customization with new actions
  • Six unique Oracles with distinct playstyles
  • Over 170 modifying Blessings (Star and Black Hole)
Features
Read full description

Astrea is a DICE-deck-building roguelike that flips the script on deckbuilders by using dice instead of cards and an unique dual “damage” system: Purification vs Corruption. Features • Unique dual “damage” system: Purification vs Corruption - In Astrea there is a new type of “damage” system. Purification can be used to damage enemies or heal yourself. On the other hand, corruption can be used to damage yourself or heal the enemies. Pacify enemies through Purification, or Corrupt yourself to unleash abilities that help tip the scales. • Dynamic Health Bar system - With skills attached to your health bar, you can take Corruption to enable these skills and unleash powerful abilities. But be careful, if you take too much Corruption you will be consumed by it. • Not cards, but dice! - Build a dice pool that fits your playstyle. Choose from over 350 dice and three dice types; reliably safe, perfectly balanced, or powerfully risky. A dice type system designed with high-risk, high-reward in its core. • Customize your dice - Forge your fate by editing die faces with new actions, tipping the odds of powerful results into your favor. • Choose from Six Brave Oracles - Each possessing their own unique dice sets, abilities, and playstyles. From ingenious spellcasters to brutish berserkers, whether you like beating the opponent into submission or outsmarting them with clever plays, there’s an oracle for you. • Uncover over 170 modifying Blessings - Imbue your Oracle with unique passives yielding potent effects that changes up your fundamental tactics. Choose between Star Blessings, passive effects with lower power, or Black Hole Blessings, powerful passive effects with a drawback.

Screenshots

Backpack Battles4 screens
Astrea4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Backpack Battles at free against Astrea's paid. Backpack Battles also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs monthly) and ratings volume (327 vs 21). Astrea's advantage is review sentiment (74% vs 47%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and chart position 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

Backpack Battles costs $9.99 and Astrea $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Backpack Battles holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Backpack Battles has 327 ratings behind it against 21, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 47% of Backpack Battles's written reviews are positive against 74% of Astrea's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Backpack Battles ships an update every 8 days, Astrea monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Backpack Battles versus Astrea: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBackpack BattlesAstrea
Price$9.99$9.99
Rating4.5 (327 ratings) — better4.3 (21 ratings)
Positive reviews47.4% of reviews74.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings327 — better21
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank#102#70 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size512 MB712 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperYaozuo Games LtdAkupara Games, LLC

Customer experience

Backpack Battles

All ratings327 ratings
Positive86.5%
Neutral3.4%
Negative10.1%
Written reviews194 reviews
Positive47.4%
Neutral11.9%
Negative40.7%

Astrea

All ratings21 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral4.8%
Negative9.5%
Written reviews35 reviews
Positive74.3%
Neutral11.4%
Negative14.3%

In-app purchases

None

Backpack Battles

No in-app purchases

None

Astrea

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Backpack Battles free?
Backpack Battles costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Astrea free?
Astrea costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Backpack Battles or Astrea?
Backpack Battles is rated higher. Backpack Battles averages 4.5 out of 5 from 327 ratings, while Astrea averages 4.3 from 21 ratings.
Do Backpack Battles or Astrea have ads?
Neither Backpack Battles nor Astrea shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Backpack Battles or Astrea?
Backpack Battles ships an update every 8 days, and Astrea monthly. Most recently, Backpack Battles was updated on October 17, 2026 and Astrea on October 14, 2026.
Which is more popular, Backpack Battles or Astrea?
Backpack Battles currently peaks at #102 in the App Store charts, and Astrea at #70. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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