Comparison

Astra Haven vs Shadow Merge

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

Head to head
About

Astra Haven

Engage in a sci-fi match-3 strategy game where matching energy cores fuels your colony's survival. Build and upgrade your command center, deploy tactical boosters, and complete missions to defend humanity's outposts. Enjoy hundreds of levels with increasing strategic challenges.

Highlights
  • Tactical match-3 gameplay
  • Colony base building and upgrades
  • Sci-fi missions
  • Tactical boosters
  • Daily and Weekly Operations
  • Hundreds of handcrafted levels
  • Offline play
Read full description

Astra Haven: Colony Command is a sci-fi match-3 strategy game where every move powers your colony's survival. Match energy cores to unleash Plasma Burst, Gravity Trap, Mega Blast, and Star Surge abilities. Deploy powerful tactical boosters to overcome dangerous missions, rescue stranded colonists, secure valuable cargo, and defend humanity's final outposts. Build and upgrade your Colony Command Center, strengthen planetary defenses, collect Flux and resources, complete Daily and Weekly Operations, and unlock new technologies as you expand across the frontier. Features: -Tactical match-3 gameplay with explosive chain reactions -Sci-fi missions including Colony Defense, Cargo Recovery, and Derelict Expeditions -Colony Command base building and powerful upgrades -Tactical boosters including Plasma Burst, Gravity Trap, Mega Blast, and more -Daily and Weekly Operations with exclusive rewards -Collect Flux, resources, stars, and technology upgrades -Hundreds of handcrafted levels with increasing strategic challenges -Offline play with no internet required for gameplay Master every mission, protect your colony, and become humanity's last hope among the stars.

About

Shadow Merge

Features
Read full description

Match 3 stones. Summon an army. Watch the shadows burn. Shadow Merge: Tactics is a dark fantasy match 3 auto battler roguelite. Plan your moves on a 6x6 stone board, raise a swarm of warriors and archers, and send them into an endless siege against monsters, elite fiends and towering bosses. There is no castle to defend: your army is your only life. Lose it and the run is over. HOW IT WORKS - PREPARE: every round you get action points (AP) to swap stones. Match 3 or more to spawn units. Bigger matches call bigger armies. - COMBAT: the grid locks and your army fights automatically in a fast, smooth pixel battle. No pausing, no micromanaging: your planning wins the war. - SURVIVE: clear the wave, keep your survivors and prepare for something worse. Mini-bosses arrive every 5th wave, the Dark Lord every 10th. SEVEN STONES, SEVEN CHOICES - Dark Wood spawns archers for ranged damage. - Metal spawns warriors for the front line. - Water wraps your units in a defensive shield aura. - Demon's Blood sends them into a frenzy. - Berserk and Wizard Stones summon elite fighters. - Soul Crystals refund AP and fuel your permanent upgrades. ROGUELITE DEPTH - Choose a Rite after big fights: pick one blessing to shape the run, from Iron Front to Rain of Bolts and Soul Broker. - Spend Soul Crystals in the Meta-Shop on permanent upgrades: Vanguard Training, Strategic Reserve and Alchemical Insight. - No two runs feel the same. Chain combos, plan AP and decide what to buff. BUILT FOR MOBILE - Fast 2x battle speed toggle when you want the action quicker. - Play offline. No internet needed to fight. - Global leaderboards for Max Wave and Max Power with Sign in with Apple. - Haptics, atmospheric dark fantasy music and a hand-crafted gothic interface. - Available in English, Turkish, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Swedish. FAIR MONETIZATION - Free to play with 4 free runs every day. Watch a short ad for a bonus run or to revive your fallen army once per run. - Shadow Merge Pro is a one-time purchase: unlimited daily runs, a free revive every run and no banner ads. No subscription, no tricks. If you love puzzle strategy, auto battlers, roguelike runs, army builders and dark fantasy tactics, this one is for you. Match, merge and conquer the shadows. Support: https://shadowmerge.netlify.app/support Privacy Policy: https://shadowmerge.netlify.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://shadowmerge.netlify.app/terms

Screenshots

Astra Haven4 screens
Shadow Merge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Astra Haven at none against Shadow Merge's shown. Astra Haven also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 4 days). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. Astra Haven sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Shadow Merge sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Astra Haven ships an update daily, Shadow Merge every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Astra Haven versus Shadow Merge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAstra HavenShadow Merge
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 4 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.616.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size198 MB73 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperFrau LLCOzan Can OCAK

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Astra Haven

One-time6
  • Flux Cache 400$0.99
  • Flux Cache 2500$4.99
  • Premium Pass$4.99
Show 3 more
  • Flux Cache 5500$9.99
  • Premium Bundle$9.99
  • Flux Cache 12000$19.99
1 purchases

Shadow Merge

One-time1
  • Shadow Merge Pro$1.99

Questions

Is Astra Haven free?
Astra Haven is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shadow Merge free?
Shadow Merge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Astra Haven or Shadow Merge have ads?
Shadow Merge shows ads; Astra Haven does not.
Which is updated more often, Astra Haven or Shadow Merge?
Astra Haven ships an update daily, and Shadow Merge every 4 days. Most recently, Astra Haven was updated on November 5, 2026 and Shadow Merge on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons