Dark Frequency vs Astonischika
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dark Frequency
Battle corrupted beasts with a celestial hammer in a dark, mythic world. This roguelite action survival game features endless waves of enemies, stackable upgrades, and permanent progression. Every run offers a unique challenge, making you stronger with each death.
- Roguelite action survival gameplay
- Intense hammer combat mechanics
- Endless waves of enemies
- Stackable upgrade system
- Permanent progression with Sigils
- Unique Boons for altered gameplay
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The Forge has shattered. The Glass-Beasts have risen. And you are the only thing standing between the world and eternal darkness. You are Crucible-Born, a being of molten glass and beast-soul, hammered into existence by The Ancient One. Armed with a celestial hammer, you must fight through endless trials of corrupted Glass-Beasts, reclaim the scattered Shards, and rekindle the Forge before the world goes cold forever. Every run is different. Every death makes you stronger. Forge your own path through a brutal roguelite system where no two runs play the same. Between waves, choose powerful upgrades that shape how you fight. Stack abilities, build synergies, and discover combinations that turn you from a lone survivor into an unstoppable force of the Forge. Fight with purpose. Strike with weight. Swing your hammer in fast, punishing arcs or charge a ground-shattering slam that sends shockwaves through entire enemy groups. Movement, timing, and positioning matter, dodge through enemy lines, dash to safety, and learn the rhythms of each beast before they overwhelm you. Grow beyond a single run. Spend your earned Shards on permanent Sigils that carry power across every future run. Unlock Boons, game-changing abilities that fundamentally alter how you play. Each session leaves you stronger, more prepared for the next. You will experience Endless waves of Glass-Beasts with scaling difficulty Upgrade system with stackable abilities and unique Boons Permanent progression through Sigils that grow with every run Intense hammer combat A dark, mythic world dripping in forge fire and shattered glass. The Forge remembers every trial.
Astonischika
Embark on a pixelated roguelite adventure where you build a party of heroes to battle monsters and bosses in turn-based combat. Each playthrough offers a unique path with strategic choices, and your progress in the city hub persists across runs.
- Turn-based pixel RPG gameplay
- Roguelite loop with persistent progression
- Branching map with diverse encounters
- Party building with multiple classes
- Minigames and city hub upgrades
- Endless scaling for long-term play
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Astonischika is a turn-based pixel role-playing game. Build your party from eight classes, climb a branching map row by row and defeat the boss at the top – turn by turn, left against right. • Eight hero classes Warrior, Mage, Cleric, Rogue, Vampire, Thief, Druid and Archer – each with its own skills and signature weapons. Build your party freely, even with several heroes of the same class. • More than 100 foes Undead, beasts, elementals and demons with poison, burns, stuns, healers and area attacks – and mighty bosses at the end of every world. • Loot and gear Weapons, shields, helmets, armor, belts, boots, rings and amulets with random stats. Plus class sets, runestones, ancient rune collections and an enchanter who re-rolls stats. • A city to call home Your heroes stay with you between adventures. Recruit new heroes at the tavern, manage them in the barracks, learn spells at the mages' guild, make offerings to the gods at the temple and take on a new challenge every day. • Minigames on the map Dice, shell game, memory, whack-a-mole, coin toss, fishing and archery – with chests full of loot as the prize. • Five difficulty levels From Easy to Insane. Every world you conquer makes the next one harder, and your heroes level up to 9999. • Playable for everyone Fully playable with VoiceOver, in 44 languages. Assemble your party, gather loot and rise!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Dark Frequency at 100% against Astonischika's 50%. Dark Frequency also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.0). Astonischika's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ratings volume (6 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Dark Frequency sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Astonischika asks for nothing beyond the download.
Dark Frequency holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Astonischika has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Dark Frequency's written reviews are positive against 50% of Astonischika's.
Dark Frequency ships an update every 6 days, Astonischika every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dark Frequency | Astonischika |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.0 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 6 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 214 MB | 43 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Unmbox Studios | Josef Sejrek |
Customer experience
Dark Frequency
Astonischika
In-app purchases
Dark Frequency
- Ember Purse$1.99
- Content Extension Pack$3.99
- Forge Reserve$4.99
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- Shards Vault$7.99
Astonischika
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Dark Frequency free?
Is Astonischika free?
Which has better reviews, Dark Frequency or Astonischika?
Do Dark Frequency or Astonischika have ads?
Which is updated more often, Dark Frequency or Astonischika?
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