Comparison

DANMAKU vs DAFO

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

Head to head
About

DANMAKU

Engage in intense bullet-hell combat across 8 stages with 16 unique bosses. Choose from 8 different ships, each with distinct flight patterns and abilities. Strategically select weapons, armors, and companions to overcome escalating challenges and improve your pilot level with every run.

Highlights
  • 8 stages with 3 difficulty levels
  • 16 unique bosses and mid-bosses
  • 5 distinct weapon types
  • 4 armor types with trade-offs
  • 3 companion options
  • Pilot level progression
  • Graze and bomb mechanics
Features
Read full description

DANMAKU Shooting - STELLAR FORCE 8 stages, 16 bosses. Every run you fly a different ship. ◆ 8 Stages, 3 Difficulties Route → mid-boss → route → boss. About 13 minutes a run. Clear NORMAL to open HARD, clear HARD to open LUNATIC. Higher difficulties give bosses more bullet patterns — and pay more coins. ◆ 16 Bosses One boss and one mid-boss per stage. You never fight the same one twice. ◆ 5 Weapons — not better and worse, but good at different things Vulcan / Spread / Laser / Homing / Reflect. Laser struggles on the route; Spread struggles on bosses. "Next run I'll take this one" is the reason to go again. ◆ 4 Armors — every one costs you something Heavy gives +3 HP and slows you down. Phase takes 2 HP away and pays you more the closer you fly to bullets. ◆ 3 Companions Gunner, shield, medic. Buy them, take up to two along. ◆ Pilot Level It always goes up when you play. A run you lose is not a run wasted. ◆ Graze and Bombs Skim a bullet and the coins climb. When there's no way through, bomb it. ◆ 8 Ships A small hitbox, more firepower, an extra bomb. They differ in how they fly, not just how they look.

About

DAFO

An arcade-style digging game with intuitive mechanics. Players can explore endlessly, manage upgrades, and aim for high scores in this solo-developed tribute. The experience is open to player interpretation with no set story.

Highlights
  • Arcade-style digging gameplay
  • Intuitive, easy-to-learn mechanics
  • Endless replayability
  • High-score chasing
  • Player-driven interpretation
  • Upgrade management
Features
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DIG AROUND & FIND OUT is a solo-developed arcade-style digging game built as a personal tribute to my grandparents, with characters inspired by them. The game has no defined story—players are free to interpret the experience in their own way. Its design focuses purely on gameplay: simple, intuitive mechanics that make it easy to pick up and play immediately. Each run can be as short or as long as the player wants. You can jump in for a quick attempt or spend time refining your strategy and pushing for a higher score. The challenge comes from going deeper, managing your upgrades, and improving with each run. At its core, it’s an endlessly replayable high-score game that rewards both casual play and dedicated grinding, all built from the ground up by a single developer.

Screenshots

DANMAKU4 screens
DAFO4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: DAFO at none against DANMAKU's shown. DAFO also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks) and ratings volume (14 vs 1). DANMAKU's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.2). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. DANMAKU sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and DAFO sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for DANMAKU against 5.0 for DAFO. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DAFO has 14 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DANMAKU ships an update every 2 weeks, DAFO every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
DANMAKU versus DAFO: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDANMAKUDAFO
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (14 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings114 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB9 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperMIZOU, CO., LTD.Thomas Rich

Customer experience

DANMAKU

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

DAFO

All ratings11 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

DANMAKU

One-time1
  • Supporter Pack$4.99
6 purchases

DAFO

One-time6
  • 1 DAFO Heart ($0.99)$0.99
  • 6 Hearts ($4.99)$4.99
  • 15 Hearts ($9.99)$9.99
Show 3 more
  • 32 Hearts ($19.99)$19.99
  • 82 Hearts ($49.99)$49.99
  • 175 Hearts ($99.99)$99.99

Questions

Is DANMAKU free?
DANMAKU is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DAFO free?
DAFO is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, DANMAKU or DAFO?
DANMAKU and DAFO are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 14 ratings respectively.
Do DANMAKU or DAFO have ads?
DANMAKU shows ads; DAFO does not.
Which is updated more often, DANMAKU or DAFO?
DANMAKU ships an update every 2 weeks, and DAFO every 2 days. Most recently, DANMAKU was updated on October 25, 2026 and DAFO on October 24, 2026.

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