Comparison

Pulse Citadel vs DEADGRID

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

Head to head
About

Pulse Citadel

Engage in a compact sci-fi defense experience where you bring a dormant machine to life. Launch combat simulations, convert defeated enemies into energy, and strategically expand your defense system through a research grid. Unlock powerful weapons and abilities to overcome waves of adversaries.

Highlights
  • Hand-authored research grid
  • Automated Citadel combat
  • Unlockable weapons
  • Active abilities
  • Prestige rebuild perks
  • Local progression tracking
Features
Read full description

Pulse Citadel is a compact sci-fi defense game about bringing a dormant machine fully online. Choose one visible research node, launch a combat simulation, and turn destroyed enemies into Charge for the grid. Completed nodes reveal new signals, open new branches, and push the Citadel from a bare core into a layered defense system. Plan routes through a circuit-like research grid, unlock weapons and active abilities, and build toward the final simulation. Combat power comes from your research decisions, prestige rebuilds, ability timing, and simulation speed choices rather than temporary in-run shopping. Features: - Hand-authored research grid with weapon, ability, utility, hybrid, core, and prestige routes - Automated Citadel combat against waves of incoming enemies - Unlockable weapons including Bolt, Arc Lattice, Rail Spike, and Drone Ring - Active abilities including Shockwave, Stasis Pulse, and Overcharge - Prestige rebuild perks and a deliberate final-threat path - Local progression, settings, and achievement tracking

About

DEADGRID

Experience intense arcade zombie survival with a minimalist aesthetic. Battle through thousands of procedurally generated levels, collect unique weapon finishes, and compete globally in various multiplayer modes. Features permadeath, diverse enemy types, and strategic deployables for ultimate replayability.

Highlights
  • Thousands of procedurally generated levels
  • Collectable weapon finishes
  • Twelve handcrafted arenas
  • Permadeath survival mode
  • Ranked 1v1 duels
  • Duo co-op mode
  • 36 unique weapons
Features
Read full description

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. Endless waves, thousands of levels. Just pure arcade zombie survival. Any coin pack removes ad breaks forever. Download DEADGRID and see how long you survive.

Screenshots

Pulse Citadel4 screens
DEADGRID4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: DEADGRID at 94% against Pulse Citadel's 50%. DEADGRID also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (77 vs 6). Pulse Citadel's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 4 days). On price, ads, 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. Pulse Citadel sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and DEADGRID sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DEADGRID holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DEADGRID has 77 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Pulse Citadel's written reviews are positive against 94% of DEADGRID's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pulse Citadel ships an update daily, DEADGRID every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Pulse Citadel versus DEADGRID: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPulse CitadelDEADGRID
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (6 ratings)4.7 (77 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews93.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings677 — better
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB402 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperBlindsided GamesAfonso Quinaz

Customer experience

Pulse Citadel

All ratings6 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

DEADGRID

All ratings77 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews77 reviews
Positive93.5%
Neutral3.9%
Negative2.6%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Pulse Citadel

One-time1
  • Full Game Unlock$2.99
7 purchases

DEADGRID

One-time7
  • Scrap + No Ads$0.99
  • Cache + No Ads$4.99
  • Premium Pass$4.99
Show 4 more
  • Crate + No Ads$9.99
  • Pallet + No Ads$19.99
  • Container + No Ads$49.99
  • Motherlode + No Ads$99.99

Questions

Is Pulse Citadel free?
Pulse Citadel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DEADGRID free?
DEADGRID is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pulse Citadel or DEADGRID?
DEADGRID is rated higher. Pulse Citadel averages 4.3 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while DEADGRID averages 4.7 from 77 ratings.
Do Pulse Citadel or DEADGRID have ads?
Neither Pulse Citadel nor DEADGRID shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pulse Citadel or DEADGRID?
Pulse Citadel ships an update daily, and DEADGRID every 4 days. Most recently, Pulse Citadel was updated on October 31, 2026 and DEADGRID on November 7, 2026.

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