Paradox Factor vs Empyrean
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Paradox Factor
Explore the consequences of altering your past and future in this edgy time travel game. Make choices and navigate the ripple effects of your decisions as you play as a customizable character.
- Time travel gameplay
- Alter past and future
- Consequence-driven narrative
- Character customization
- Thought-provoking choices
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What would you change? Alter your past and future in this thought-provoking and edgy time travel game. Are you willing to live with the effects that your changes may cause? Play as a man, woman, or nonbinary individual as you travel through time in this thought-provoking and edgy time travel game. Are you willing to live with the effects that your changes may cause?
Empyrean
Engage in aerial combat in a dieselpunk world to overthrow a tyrannical regime. This text-based interactive novel lets you pilot a secret experimental fighter, making choices that shape the narrative and determine the fate of your city and the mysterious world below.
- Pilot experimental fighter plane
- Text-based interactive novel
- Choice-driven narrative
- Explore dieselpunk world
- Romance options
- Conceal identity
- Engage in aerial dogfights
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Overthrow your father's regime with his own secret experimental fighter plane! Dogfight dieselpunk aeros to save your city and the iron jungle beneath it. "Empyrean" is an interactive "flying ace" novel by Kyle Marquis where your choices control the story. It's entirely text-based—325,000 words, without graphics or sound effects—and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination. Far below the city of Actorius lies the mysterious world of the Deep Tech--creatures and plants both living and mechanical, and powered by unknown forces. Your father harvests the tech to create experimental airships, and the Revolution that fights his every move races to do the same. Your father's aero, the Empyrean, is governed by Deep Tech dynamics not even he understands. Only you can fly the Empyrean, match wits against ruthless oligarchs and devious spies, and take to the sky to fight your city’s enemies. But who is the enemy? The Revolution, or the government they say is corrupt? Foreign invaders, or the Deep Tech itself? In a world of gleaming towers and downtrodden laborers, streaking aeros and deadly rooftop duels, when you risk it all, the sky's the limit! • Fly the Empyrean, the greatest aircraft ever designed • Play as a man, a woman, or nonbinary; romance men or women. • Explore the Deep Tech, a savage mechanical ecosystem below your city. • Conceal your true identity from your family and the secret police. • Befriend Wesh, a denizen of the Deep Tech who is both human and machine • Cross swords in top secret research facilities, elegant cafés, and even atop airplanes in flight! • Use the Deep Tech and your political authority to improve and protect your city • Side with the revolution, the government, foreign powers, or the Deep Tech itself!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Empyrean at 4.5 against Paradox Factor's 3.9. Paradox Factor's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $6.99) and update cadence (every 6 months vs every 16 months). On review sentiment, 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
Paradox Factor costs $2.99 and Empyrean $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Empyrean holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 52 and 25 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of Paradox Factor's written reviews are positive against 70% of Empyrean's.
Paradox Factor ships an update every 6 months, Empyrean every 16 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Paradox Factor | Empyrean |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $6.99 |
| Rating | 3.9 (52 ratings) | 4.5 (25 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 68.3% of reviews | 69.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 52 — better | 25 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months — better | Every 16 months |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 30 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Hosted Games LLC | Choice of Games LLC |
Customer experience
Paradox Factor
Empyrean
In-app purchases
Paradox Factor
No in-app purchases
Empyrean
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Paradox Factor free?
Is Empyrean free?
Which has better reviews, Paradox Factor or Empyrean?
Do Paradox Factor or Empyrean have ads?
Which is updated more often, Paradox Factor or Empyrean?
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