Comparison

Arcane Trigger vs BARDA

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

Head to head
About

Arcane Trigger

Defend your cottage from shadow creatures pouring from a dimensional rift. Utilize an arcane rifle, craft unique ammunition, and strategically combine buffs to survive increasingly difficult waves and challenging bosses in this roguelike shooter.

Highlights
  • Arcane rifle combat
  • Bullet crafting with varied attributes
  • Mix and match trajectory buffs
  • Roguelike progression
  • 7 distinct bosses
  • 240 unique bullet types
Features
Read full description

After years of diligent work, the young mage finally saved up enough to build a beautiful cottage in the woods—only to find it sits right at the convergence point between the Shadow Plane and the Material Plane. Every time night falls, entropic shadow creatures pour forth from the rift, laying waste to everything nearby. 200 sealing artifacts, 40 events, 15 difficulty tiers, and 7 wildly distinct bosses await you! Take up your arcane rifle! Squeeze the trigger and rain down fury on these ill-mannered pests! Mix and match to craft devastating high-damage trajectories. Some buffs rely on proper positioning, so think carefully before you pull the trigger. Don't forget to forge new bullets! Click the winged hammer in the bottom-left corner to craft new ammunition with varied attributes — choose from 240 unique bullet types! When the smoke clears, the roguelike spirit remains. At the end of each run, select the optimal build buffs based on your current setup.

About

BARDA

Features
Read full description

In our innovative inventory system, every problem directly affects your backpack. Hunger, fatigue, madness. These are just some of the things that can happen during a run. How can you keep your bag tidy in those conditions? Simply drag and drop the best object you have on a challenge to complete it and move on to the next zone. If you don't have anything suitable, you can always use your own two hands and a dash of courage! Will you be able to scatter your grandfather’s ashes at the summit of the Mountain? Complete missions to unlock options in the Explorer's Tree and keep trying to reach the summit of the Mountain until you manage to scatter your deceased grandfather's ashes there.

Screenshots

Arcane Trigger4 screens
BARDA4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Arcane Trigger at Free against BARDA's $4.99. On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Arcane Trigger is free to download; BARDA costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Arcane Trigger versus BARDA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArcane TriggerBARDA
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating2.7 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews25.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size909 MB515 MB
Age rating17+9+
DeveloperMiniWhaleJerome Bodin

In-app purchases

None

Arcane Trigger

No in-app purchases

None

BARDA

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Arcane Trigger free?
Arcane Trigger is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BARDA free?
BARDA costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Arcane Trigger or BARDA have ads?
Neither Arcane Trigger nor BARDA shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Arcane Trigger or BARDA?
Arcane Trigger ships an update every 3 weeks, and BARDA every 3 weeks. Most recently, Arcane Trigger was updated on September 16, 2026 and BARDA on September 9, 2026.

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