Comparison

Pocket8 vs HexaRelic

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

Head to head
About

Pocket8

This app brings the PICO-8 fantasy console experience to your mobile device, offering access to thousands of community-made games. Enjoy customizable touch controls or gamepad support, and never lose progress with an instant save system.

Highlights
  • Browse and play community-made PICO-8 games
  • Customizable touch controls and gamepad support
  • Instant save states for unlimited progress saving
  • Portrait and landscape orientation support
  • Locked 60FPS gameplay
Features
Read full description

Experience PICO-8 Anywhere: Pocket8 brings the magic of the PICO-8 fantasy console to your pocket. Whether you’re on a commute or relaxing at home, thousands of indie games are a single tap away. A Massive Library in Your Pocket: Discover thousands of community-made games with integrated BBS exploration. From challenging platformers to relaxing puzzles, there’s always something new to play. Download your favorites and build a personal collection that goes offline wherever you do. Controls That Feel Right: Gaming on a touch screen can be a struggle. Pocket8 features high-precision controls that feel as good as a real handheld. Choose between a classic D-pad or virtual joystick, or swap the face buttons positioning to match your playstyle. Wanna go touch-less? Connect a controller and play with a bluetooth gamepad or keyboard. Play Without Interruption: Instant save system lets you freeze time and jump back in to the exact pixel where you left off. Manage an infinite amount of save states per cartridge. Features: Browse & Play: Explore the Lexaloffle BBS to find and download new games instantly. Pro-Style Controls: Fluid movement and adaptive controls. Gamepad and Keyboard support included. Portrait & Landscape: Play comfortably in any orientation. Save Anywhere: Never lose your progress with instant state saves. Pure Performance: Locked 60FPS gameplay for the ultimate retro experience.

About

HexaRelic

Features
Read full description

■ A Hex Territory Battle Over Ancient Relics HexaRelic is a turn-based strategy game for up to 4 players. Expand your territory across a stone-tablet hex grid, lock ancient relics, and outscore your rivals. 【How to Play】 Each turn, place one tile adjacent to your territory. Surround all 6 cells around a relic to trigger a Lock — earning points, expanding the board, and unlocking bonus placements. The game ends when any player completes 5 locks. The player with the highest total score at that moment wins. 【Scoring】 Majority Lock (4+ of 6 cells yours): +3 pts Full Domination (all 6 cells): +3 pts + Erosion item Chain Bonus: consecutive locks add extra points Territory score is calculated at game end — spreading wide pays off too. 【Items】 · Erosion — overwrite one enemy tile adjacent to yours · Boundary Booster — leap to any empty cell, ignoring adjacency · Mining Drone — converts a minority lock into +1 pt automatically Knowing when to use each item is the key to victory. 【Game Modes】 · Bot Battle (Easy / Hard, up to 3 bots) · Random Match (quick online matchmaking) · Friend Battle (invite and play together) A typical match lasts 5–8 minutes — deep enough to think, short enough to replay. 【Perfect For】 · Fans of strategic tile-placement games · Players who want quick but meaningful PvP · Friends looking for a competitive mobile game together

Screenshots

Pocket84 screens
HexaRelic4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Pocket8 at Free against HexaRelic's $1.99. Pocket8 also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 2 months) and device support (3 vs 1). On 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

Pocket8 is free to download; HexaRelic costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pocket8 ships an update daily, HexaRelic every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Pocket8 versus HexaRelic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocket8HexaRelic
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.6 (10 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings10 — better—
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB34 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperJevon Lipseyryogo shimizu

In-app purchases

None

Pocket8

No in-app purchases

None

HexaRelic

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pocket8 free?
Pocket8 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HexaRelic free?
HexaRelic costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Pocket8 or HexaRelic have ads?
Neither Pocket8 nor HexaRelic shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pocket8 or HexaRelic?
Pocket8 ships an update daily, and HexaRelic every 2 months. Most recently, Pocket8 was updated on October 17, 2026 and HexaRelic on October 13, 2026.

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