Comparison

Gordian Quest vs Payroll Dice

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

Head to head
About

Gordian Quest

Embark on an epic deckbuilding RPG adventure to save a cursed land. Lead a party of heroes, manage their skills, and engage in strategic turn-based combat. Explore diverse game modes with high replayability and challenging decisions.

Highlights
  • Campaign Mode with 4 Acts
  • Frenetic roguelite Realm Mode
  • Procedurally generated Adventure Mode
  • Ten unique heroes with specializations
  • Hundreds of passive and active skills
  • Hero training and equipment customization
  • High replayability with randomized elements
Features
Read full description

Play for free, with just one purchase to unlock the full game! A sinister curse corrupts the land. Darkness reigns. Monsters roam. Scoundrels loot. Cowards flee. Heroes emerge. Lead heroes on an adventure to save what’s left of this fallen world and destroy the root of evil abound. Will you fall at the claws of your enemies or the consequences of your poor decisions? Your Gordian Quest is about to begin. Gordian Quest is an epic deckbuilding RPG inspired by old-school classics like Ultima and D&D, using modern gaming concepts like roguelite elements and turn-based strategic combat. You will form parties of heroes whom you will have to lead and manage on grueling missions. Help them forge bonds and discover new skills among them. Be fearless and unwavering as you work to unravel the curses laid upon the lands and defeat the ultimate evil at the heart of it all. Features: *Campaign Mode - Venture through 4 Acts, taking you from the troubled lands of Westmire to the enigmatic Sky Imperium, in an epic journey to save the land of Wrendia. *Realm Mode - A frenetic and fast-paced roguelite mode. Challenge an ever-changing version of the game with unpredictable threats and rewards. Complete 5 realms, or take on an endless challenge to see how far you can go. *Adventure Mode - An end-game mode where you can explore procedurally generated areas or take on solo challenges. *Ten heroes - Each with their own unique class, skills, and playstyle to form a party of three and bring to adventure. Play as the Swordhand, Cleric, Ranger, Scoundrel, Spellbinder, Druid, Bard, Warlock, Golemancer, or the Monk. Each Hero has 3 further Class Specialisations each! *Hundreds of skills - The heroes have a combined total of close to 800 passive and active skills that can be deployed during turn-based battles, allowing players to discover and formulate their favorite combos. *Train and equip heroes - Heroes can be upgraded, trained and equipped with a large selection of weapons, armor and enchanted trinkets to enhance their abilities. *High replayability - Procedurally generated maps, dungeons and randomized hero skills make each playthrough different from the last. *Various difficulty levels - Take on hardcore mode for a teeth-gritting permadeath experience, or play more casually where death is only a setback. *Loot galore - Gather items and relics throughout your journey to boost your heroes’ abilities. You may also encounter mysterious items that can bless your heroes but also cripple them with a curse at the same time. *Carryover rewards and progression system - Get rewarded the more you play through an Artifacts system that can benefit Realm Mode, Campaigns, or Adventure Mode. *Decisions to make - Shape the course of your adventure with critical decisions and dice rolls.

About

Payroll Dice

Strategically manipulate dice rolls to score points and pay off debts. Build unique dice combinations with new faces and synergies to overcome challenges. Face a loan shark in boss rounds with random modifiers and test your skills in an endless mode.

Highlights
  • Strategic dice manipulation
  • Dice face customization
  • Synergy crafting
  • Boss rounds with modifiers
  • Unlockable dice sets
  • Endless mode
  • Bite-sized runs
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

CONTROL THE CHAOS This isn't a luck simulator. This is strategic dice manipulation. Throw your dice. Rotate each die to any visible face. Score to pay your debts. BUILD YOUR PERFECT DICE Spend pips in the shop after each roll. Add new faces, craft synergies, and build something that probably shouldn't work — until it does. Every decision compounds. Every run feels different. Grow to 6 dice and upgrade them into d12s. FACE THE LOAN SHARK Clear your debts and the shark himself shows up. He doesn't play fair. Boss rounds twist the rules with random modifiers. 8 DICE SETS TO UNLOCK Different starting faces, unique passive abilities, and entirely new combo potential — every unlocked die opens a fresh tactical rabbit hole. Over 100 Unique Dice Faces Rotate Dice to Control Your Luck 7 Unlockable Dice — each transforms how you play Boss Rounds with Random Modifiers Endless Mode — difficulty scales infinitely 15–30 Minute Runs — perfect bite-sized sessions True Roguelike — no permanent upgrades, pure skill Strategic Combo Crafting High Replayability NO SAFETY NETS. NO EXCUSES. No meta-progression. No permanent upgrades. Every run starts from zero. Build from blank dice to devastating combos in 10 rounds. Think you've figured it out? Endless Mode is waiting. Simple to learn. Impossible to master. Throw. Rotate. Score. Shop. Survive. Can you pay off the loan shark before he cashes in?

Screenshots

Gordian Quest4 screens
Payroll Dice4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Gordian Quest at Free against Payroll Dice's $4.99. Gordian Quest also leads on ratings volume (153 vs 11) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Payroll Dice's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (80% vs 52%). On update cadence, ads and device support 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

Gordian Quest is free to download; Payroll Dice costs $4.99 up front. Gordian Quest sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Payroll Dice asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Payroll Dice holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Gordian Quest has 153 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Gordian Quest's written reviews are positive against 80% of Payroll Dice's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Gordian Quest ships an update weekly, Payroll Dice every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Gordian Quest versus Payroll Dice: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGordian QuestPayroll Dice
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.7 (153 ratings)5.0 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews51.5% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings153 — better11
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#52 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.6 GB156 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperAether SkyGeorge Timms

Customer experience

Gordian Quest

All ratings147 ratings
Positive94.6%
Neutral1.4%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews33 reviews
Positive51.5%
Neutral15.2%
Negative33.3%

Payroll Dice

All ratings10 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

Bugs and requests

Gordian Quest

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Unable to purchase full game unlock
  • Character levels resetting to 1
  • Restore purchase button not working
  • Game-breaking bugs causing data loss

Requested features

2 requests
  • More polished and optimized UI
  • Improved tutorial and onboarding

Payroll Dice

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Gordian Quest

One-time1
  • Unlock Full Game2 variants$6.99
None

Payroll Dice

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Gordian Quest free?
Gordian Quest is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Payroll Dice free?
Payroll Dice costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Gordian Quest or Payroll Dice?
Payroll Dice is rated higher. Gordian Quest averages 4.7 out of 5 from 153 ratings, while Payroll Dice averages 5.0 from 11 ratings.
Do Gordian Quest or Payroll Dice have ads?
Neither Gordian Quest nor Payroll Dice shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Gordian Quest or Payroll Dice?
Gordian Quest ships an update weekly, and Payroll Dice every 6 days. Most recently, Gordian Quest was updated on November 8, 2026 and Payroll Dice on November 5, 2026.

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