Aetherium Hearts vs Dark Slayer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Aetherium Hearts
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Raise adventurers in Selwyn, town of the Ash Marches, and send them down into the labyrinths. The expedition runs by itself — they walk, they fight, they gather, and sometimes they fall. Those who come back bring the whole of it with them, written up by an AI as a single tale. No two are ever the same. ◆ Three labyrinths The Ashen Corridor, the Frostcrystal Archive, the Ember Crucible. Each runs to a different depth and a different danger, and at the bottom of each an Aetherium Heart lies sleeping. ◆ It runs on its own Once they are down there, they walk and fight on their own feet. The descent continues while the app is closed. ◆ Tales The record of a returning expedition is woven into prose by an AI. Send it straight to X, Threads, Bluesky or Discord. ◆ The town and your company An armoury, a general store, a forge, the guild, a temple, a shrine — Selwyn holds nine places to go. You can also go looking for an adventurer who has gone missing. ◆ Standings Set the Aetherium Hearts you have offered at the Shrine of Astel against every adventurer in every town. Japanese and English, switching with your device. Free to play, with no in-app purchases.
Dark Slayer
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The Abyss has opened its eyes. On the day darkness devoured the world — a single sword became flame. Dark Slayer is a dark-fantasy hack & slash RPG rendered in pixel art. Mow down hordes of demons with spectacular skills, farm ever-stronger gear, and forge your own hero. ■ 7 Classes, 7 Playstyles - Barbarian: a melee whirlwind that slaughters from the heart of the horde - Sorceress: master of fire, frost, and lightning - Demon Hunter: a cold-blooded marksman with arrow storms and traps - Necromancer: lord of death commanding skeleton legions - Paladin: guardian of light with iron defense and holy power - Assassin: a shadow dancer who stacks combos into lethal bursts - Druid: a wild shaman who shifts into wolf and bear and calls down storms and beast packs ■ Endless Gear Farming - Randomly rolled rarities and affixes — chase that one perfect drop - Endless enhancement, with destruction risk and protection charms - Gems, treasure chests, and set items to collect ■ Endgame Content - Infinite Abyss: climb ever-deeper floors and test your limits - Hell Keys & Sanctum battles: daily challenges, top rewards - PvP Arena: duel other heroes - Auction House: trade your loot with other players - Leaderboards: compete on power score and Abyss depth ■ Play Your Way - Offline rewards: keep growing while you rest - Auto-battle support — let it grind, take the boss fights yourself - Cloud save: continue on any device Now, hunt the Abyss. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://dark-slayer-rosy.vercel.app/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Aetherium Hearts at none against Dark Slayer's 8. Dark Slayer's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads 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
Both are free to download. Dark Slayer sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Aetherium Hearts asks for nothing beyond the download.
Aetherium Hearts ships an update fortnightly, Dark Slayer every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Aetherium Hearts | Dark Slayer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 55 MB | 95 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Hitoshi Igarashi | Hyunwoo Kim |
In-app purchases
Aetherium Hearts
No in-app purchases
Dark Slayer
- Slayer Pact$3.991 Month
- Soul Stones ×100$0.99
- Slayer Starter Pack$0.99
- Soul Stones ×550$3.99
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- Soul Stones ×1,200$7.99
- Remove Ads (Lifetime)$13.99
- Soul Stones ×3,000$17.99
- Soul Stones ×6,600$34.99
Questions
Is Aetherium Hearts free?
Is Dark Slayer free?
Do Aetherium Hearts or Dark Slayer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Aetherium Hearts or Dark Slayer?
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