Red 1 vs Strayward
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Red 1
Test your knife-throwing accuracy against waves of approaching enemies. Aim precisely and throw with skill to eliminate threats before they reach you and survive each level.
- Knife throwing mechanics
- Precise aiming
- Wave-based enemy survival
- Accuracy-focused gameplay
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Enemies are everywhere and they're coming for you. Use your knife-throwing skills to stop them before they reach you. Aim well, throw with precision, and survive every wave of enemies.
Strayward
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Strayward is an endless vertical-descent arcade. One thumb. Endless floors. A different face of abandonment every run. In the Forgotten City, every stray has heard the same legend — at the very bottom there is a Door, and beyond it, a place where every stray belongs. So they descend. Through Neon Ruins, Flooded Metro, Forgotten Foundations. Floor after floor. Faster than the chase that follows. Each run picks one danger — the Flood, the Cold, Traffic, the Dark, Hunger, Illness, Loneliness, or the Rogue Animal — and that danger drives both the rising chase behind you and the obstacles on the floors. Floor types bias with the threat: ice on cold nights, conveyor belts under traffic, crumbling ledges when the ground itself is unwell. Pick a stray: Ash the orange cat — a Slink that makes the chase lose ground. Patch the Shiba Inu — a Guard invulnerability for the moments that matter. Nix the raccoon — Scavenge pulls coins out of the bins (magnet included). Pip the pigeon — Preen shakes off sickness, vertigo, and frostbite. One more run. Modes for every night: Normal descent, Daily with a pinned threat, Living (survive on the clock), Boss (race the Door Boss for your fastest kill), and Creative (author a challenge, share a code, or browse what others published). Personal-best toasts mid-descent. A leaderboard of strays who got further than you last night. Spend a Boss ticket in Boss mode (earn via Normal or buy for 100 coins in the shop) and you drop straight into the Door Boss fight — bank shards on the way down, then Strike to win. Your fastest kill tops the Boss board. Free to play. Soft currency only — every character is unlockable through play. Optional Remove Ads purchase. Downward. Homeward.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Strayward at none against Red 1's shown. Strayward also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). Red 1's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Red 1 ships an update every 3 weeks, Strayward every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Red 1 | Strayward |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 248 MB | 83 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Zain UI Abideen | Yiu Tung LAM |
In-app purchases
Red 1
No in-app purchases
Strayward
No in-app purchases









