Dawnfolk vs DEADGRID
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dawnfolk
Lead a kingdom lost to shadows, using a mythical fiery companion to push back darkness. Explore, build cities, manage resources, and survive dangers in a minimalist strategy and city-building experience. Discover new systems and shape your people's fate through interactive storytelling.
- Minimalist city building
- Exploration of medieval fantasy world
- Resource management
- Interactive story with player choices
- Skill-based minigames
- Multiple game modes
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In a world of darkness, you are the ruler of a kingdom lost to shadows. On a quest to save your people, you discover Lueur—a mythical, fiery companion who will light your way. Created by solo developer Darenn Keller, Dawnfolk blends minimalist strategy, exploration, and city-building into a relaxing yet deeply rewarding experience. Decades ago, obsidian monoliths fell from the sky, bringing a creeping darkness that consumed the land. Now, with the power of Lueur, you can push back the shadows and reclaim your realm. But what kind of ruler will you be? Explore an uncharted medieval fantasy world, manage resources, build cities, and survive against many dangers. Minigames add a unique challenge to supporting your people. The better you perform, the more resources you gain—helping your community weather the darkness. Every choice matters as you explore different strategies and play styles. Grow your settlement from a handful of tents into a thriving city in less than an hour, with no need for long tutorials or complex systems. Designed to feel familiar yet fresh, the game focuses on exploration and experimentation—where discovery is part of the journey. Your choices will shape the fate of your people. Will you succeed in bringing light back to the world? Features - A Comfy Game: A strategy experience designed for relaxed play, wherever you are. - Easy to learn: No long tutorials or complex menus—jump in and start building. - Short sessions: Grow from nothing to a thriving city in under an hour. - Mixing Macro and Micro: Blend city-building with mini-games inspired by farming sims and RPGs. Earn bonus resources through skill-based challenges that break up city management. - Game Modes: Multiple ways to play, including real-time, turn-based, and adjustable difficulty. - Incentivized Discovery: Explore, experiment, and uncover systems at your own pace—the game won’t tell you everything. - Minimalist Design: Focused mechanics that deliver depth without unnecessary complexity. - Interactive Story: Your buildings shape evolving stories. Your choices determine outcomes and directly impact your city—will you rule with kindness or pragmatism?
DEADGRID
Experience intense arcade zombie survival with endless waves and permadeath. Master an arsenal of 33 weapons, strategically deploy defenses, and choose dynamic upgrades to conquer the apocalypse. Customize your survivor and enjoy pure, optimized gameplay.
- Endless zombie waves
- Permadeath runs
- 33 unlockable weapons
- Strategic deployables and turrets
- Dynamic upgrade system
- Four zombie types with advanced AI
- Customizable survivor skins
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DEADGRID is a minimalist zombie arena shooter — pure, intense arcade action with real multiplayer. THE CLIMB A campaign ladder thousands of levels deep, and no two rungs are alike. Every level rolls its own horde, its own weather, its own rule and its own goal: one-hit-point runs, total blackouts, meteor storms, assassination contracts. Two modes break the pattern — INFECT, where you ARE the outbreak and hunt the survivors down, and FREE FOR ALL, where everyone carries the same gun and only one walks out. 1,080 WEAPON FINISHES Thirty collectable liveries — GOLD, ONYX, SYNTHWAVE, NOSFERATU, VOIDLINE, RAINBOW and more — across all 36 weapons. Every third rung of the Climb pays one out. Locked finishes stay secret until you earn them. TWELVE HANDCRAFTED ARENAS Fight through Times Square, Shibuya Crossing, the Champs-Élysées, Copacabana, Stonehenge, the Taj Mahal, Chichén Itzá and Terreiro do Paço — plus four arenas of our own: The Garden, Sporewood, Rustyard and Cindermaw. Lava rivers, container mazes, neon crossings. Every layout is placed by hand, never generated. SURVIVE THE APOCALYPSE Endless waves of the undead. Every run is permadeath — beat your best in kills, waves and time survived. RANKED 1v1 — THE ARENA Duel real opponents in last-one-standing combat. Buy rage zombies and send them hunting your rival, earn a random upgrade every round, and climb 8 divisions to the top of the global ladder. DUO CO-OP Team up with a friend or matchmake with a stranger. Shared horde, shared glory — revive each other and see how deep two survivors can go. ARSENAL OF 36 WEAPONS Pistols, SMGs, shotguns, rifles, snipers, launchers, energy weapons, flamethrowers and wilder things — each with its own 3D model. Loot weapon crates mid-run and build your loadout on the fly. NINE ZOMBIE TYPES Walkers, runners, tanks, boomers, jumpers that vault your walls, fire-spitters, bladesmen who cut bullets from the air, gaolers with hooked chains and summoners who raise the dead. Smart pathfinding routes them around cover — they hunt, they don't just shamble. TURRETS & DEPLOYABLES Three turret types, barriers, claymores, explosive barrels and the legendary clapping monkey. Build choke points, then watch the horde walk into them. PROGRESS THAT LASTS • GAME PASS: a 101-tier season track with exclusive skins, chests and emotes • MISSIONS: endless ladders that pay pass XP with bonus chests on every claim • SPECS: permanent lifetime upgrades that make every future run stronger • 42 SKINS to unlock — from the humble Rookie to floating war gods • 32 EMOTES to talk trash in style COMPETE WITH THE WORLD Global leaderboards, a top-1000 board, friends list with live presence, duo invites and player profiles. Daily streaks keep your fire burning. PURE PERFORMANCE Optimized for smooth 60fps. All game audio is synthesized in real time — zero audio files, tiny download. No ads. No pay-to-win. No timers. Just pure arcade zombie survival. Download DEADGRID and see how long you survive.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: DEADGRID at 4.9 against Dawnfolk's 4.1. DEADGRID also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (91% vs 73%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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
Both are free to download. Dawnfolk sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. DEADGRID asks for nothing beyond the download.
DEADGRID holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 36 and 41 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Dawnfolk's written reviews are positive against 91% of DEADGRID's.
Dawnfolk ships an update every 3 days, DEADGRID every 2 days. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.
| Parameter | Dawnfolk | DEADGRID |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (36 ratings) | 4.9 (41 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 73.2% of reviews | 91.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 36 | 41 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 323 MB | 41 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Short Circuit Studio | Afonso Quinaz |
Customer experience
Dawnfolk
DEADGRID
In-app purchases
Dawnfolk
- Dawnfolk$7.99
DEADGRID
No in-app purchases





