Comparison

Valor Keep vs buckets

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

Head to head
About

Valor Keep

A side-scrolling strategy game where players summon units using cards to defend their tower from waves of monsters. Manage gold resources, defeat bosses for rewards, and utilize a prestige system for faster progression.

Highlights
  • Card-based unit summoning
  • Side-scrolling tower defense
  • Gold mining and economy management
  • Epic boss battles
  • Prestige system for progression
  • Global buff cards
Features
Read full description

Valor Keep – Card Summon. Gold Mine. Tower Defense. Defend your last stronghold in Valor Keep, a side-scrolling strategy game where timing, tactics, and deck-building decide your fate! Summon with Cards Deploy powerful units using energy-based cards! Each card has its own cost and role in battle. Build the perfect deck and unleash your strategy on the battlefield. Defend Your Tower Your tower stands alone on the left. Waves of monsters will try to destroy it from the right. If it falls – it's game over! Mine Gold to Survive Send workers from your tower to gather gold from the mine. Manage your economy to keep your defenses strong and your summons steady. Epic Boss Battles Defeat bosses to earn massive gold and precious gems. Use rewards to power up and prepare for even greater threats. Prestige System Reset your army to increase your gold income rate, while keeping valuable upgrades and cards. Progress faster each time you restart! Global Buff Cards Collect and equip special cards that boost all units, making your entire army stronger with each upgrade. Free Gems Every 10 Minutes Claim free gems in the store every 10 minutes ! Whether you’re a tactical mastermind or just love card-based battles, Valor Keep brings exciting defense gameplay with deep progression and satisfying upgrades. Download Valor Keep now – and hold the line!

About

buckets

Experience a fun and unique 3D basketball game with intuitive flick-to-shoot controls. Master dribbling, defense, and dunking across various game modes, including a story-driven campaign and endless arcade challenges. Unlock rewards and customize your experience.

Highlights
  • Flick-to-shoot controls
  • Campaign mode with cutscenes
  • Arcade endless survival
  • 1v1 gameplay
  • Defense mode
  • Over 40 minigames
  • Daily rewards and quests
Features
Read full description

Buckets is a fast, flick-to-shoot 3D basketball game — simple to pick up, hard to put down. Drag the ball down to aim — a live shot meter shows your power. Stop your drag in the GREEN band for a PERFECT release: a pure swish that builds HEAT. Misjudge it and the rim isn't so forgiving. Read the defender, drag into the pump-fake zone to send him flying, then rise up and cook him — crossovers, ankle breakers, lockdown defense, and thunderous DUNKS. FIVE WAYS TO PLAY - Campaign — a story mode with cutscenes: climb a road of themed levels (1v1, defense, deep threes, dunks) on 2 lives each, earning Buckets as you go. - Pickup Games — full 5-on-5: move the ball, feed your teammates, play defense, and win the game. - Arcade — endless survival. Your streak climbs and the defense tightens, with dunk slams, time-attack, sudden-death and lockdown challenges mixed in. - Defense — flip sides and lock the opponent down: slide, contest, and swat shots away. - 1v1 — a level-climbing one-on-one. Dribble, break ankles, drive and throw down. Every bucket levels you up. Plus a built-in Tutorial to learn the timing. UPGRADE YOUR PLAYER Level up like a pro — boost Shooting, Dunking, Dribbling and Pokes, plus Speed, Blocks and Ankle Strength. Five tiers, Rookie to Legend. DOZENS OF MINIGAMES Twists drop mid-game — DUNK ZONE, NO-LOOK SHOTS, DOUBLE TEAM, ANKLE BREAKER, SUPA DUNK, 2-ON-1 and more. REWARDS & STYLE - Daily login rewards on a 7-day streak. - Daily & Weekly Quests that pay out Buckets and Ad-Skips for scoring, dunking, breaking ankles and more. - Earn Buckets to unlock a huge shop: jerseys, balls, arenas, trails, victory taunts, hats & accessories, and music tracks. A fully procedural arena: a jersey-wearing defender who contests, blocks, and reaches for steals — and gets smarter every level — a roaring crowd, spotlights, and dunk cinematics where your player throws it down over the top. No forced ads. No logins. No data collection. No paywall to play — just hoops.

Screenshots

Valor Keep4 screens
buckets4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: buckets at 4.7 against Valor Keep's 2.6. buckets also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly) and review sentiment (50% vs 29%). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Valor Keep sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and buckets sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

buckets holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of Valor Keep's written reviews are positive against 50% of buckets's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Valor Keep ships an update fortnightly, buckets every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Valor Keep versus buckets: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterValor Keepbuckets
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.6 (5 ratings)4.7 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.6% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5 — better3
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size162 MB17 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperThu HienHummus Development

Customer experience

Valor Keep

All ratings5 ratings
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive28.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative71.4%

buckets

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Valor Keep

One-time12
  • auto pack$0.99
  • card slot$1.99
  • ad skip ticket$1.99
Show 9 more
  • horse pack 1$2.99
  • gem pack 1$3.99
  • horse pack 2$4.99
  • starter pack$7.99
  • fight speed$8.99
  • skip ad ticket 2$9.99
  • master pack$14.99
  • gem pack 2$24.99
  • legendary pack$29.99
10 purchases

buckets

One-time10
  • 1 Ad-Skip$0.99
  • 10 Tokens$0.99
  • 100 Buckets$0.99
Show 7 more
  • 25 Tokens$1.99
  • 5 Ad-Skips$4.99
  • 80 Tokens$5.99
  • 1,600 Buckets$9.99
  • 10 Ad-Skips$10.99
  • 200 Tokens$13.99
  • 3,400 Buckets$19.99

Questions

Is Valor Keep free?
Valor Keep is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is buckets free?
buckets is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Valor Keep or buckets?
buckets is rated higher. Valor Keep averages 2.6 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while buckets averages 4.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Valor Keep or buckets have ads?
Neither Valor Keep nor buckets shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Valor Keep or buckets?
Valor Keep ships an update fortnightly, and buckets every 2 days. Most recently, Valor Keep was updated on October 24, 2026 and buckets on October 23, 2026.

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