Comparison

DEEMO vs A Dark Room

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

Head to head
About

DEEMO

Experience a captivating piano rhythm game with a heartwarming fairytale story. Play over 60 free songs, unlock more as you progress, and immerse yourself in a world of music and mystery. This standalone game offers intuitive gameplay and a touching narrative.

Highlights
  • 60+ free songs in story mode
  • Unlock more tracks and progress story
  • Original piano songs from famous composers
  • Simple and intuitive rhythm gameplay
  • Explore scenes and find hidden elements
  • Offline play supported
Read full description

"Never Left Without Saying Goodbye." The world acclaimed, mobile rhythm game that's touched over 10 million players. Created by the team that brought you Cytus, the original Rayark team has created a whole new texture to the piano rhythm game DEEMO. A girl who fell from the skies and lost her past; Deemo, who plays the piano all alone in the world of the treehouse; an accidental encounter between the two. The music flows as the fingers hit the piano keys. The start of a fairytale journey has begun... Game Features: -60+ free songs in story mode, including more than 220 songs -Unlock more tracks as the game progresses, experience a story that will move you -Accompany Deemo and engage with this stunning, modern fairytale -Plenty of original piano songs in various music genres, many composed by famous composers from around the world -Simple and intuitive gameplay, experience touching emotion through music -Through tapping and sliding, follow the rhythm to play along -Explore the scenes, piece together the clues, and obtain hidden in-game elements -Stand-alone game; no need to have internet connection to play -Twitter and Facebook score sharing function. Proceed to Youtube for official videos.

About

A Dark Room

Awaken in a mysterious world with a throbbing head and blurry vision. Follow the voices' instructions to survive and explore this text-based adventure. Experience a game free from ads, loot boxes, in-app purchases, and tracking, fully playable with VoiceOver.

Highlights
  • Text-based adventure
  • Survival mechanics
  • Exploration
  • Resource management
  • VoiceOver compatible
  • No ads or IAP
Features
Read full description

awake. head throbbing. vision blurry. the voices say to survive. - One of Apple's most downloaded apps of 2014. - Ranked in the top 10 games in 70 countries, #1 app overall in 7 countries. - No ads, no loot boxes, no IAP, no tracking. - 100% playable via VoiceOver. - Relive the glory days of gaming from the era of Zork.

Screenshots

DEEMO4 screens
A Dark Room4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: A Dark Room at none against DEEMO's 10. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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

DEEMO costs $1.99 and A Dark Room $1.99 up front. DEEMO sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. A Dark Room asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for DEEMO against 4.8 for A Dark Room. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5.1K and 2.7K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of DEEMO's written reviews are positive against 93% of A Dark Room's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 12, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
DEEMO versus A Dark Room: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDEEMOA Dark Room
Price$1.99$1.99
Rating4.9 (5.1K ratings) — better4.8 (2.7K ratings)
Positive reviews90.5% of reviews92.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5.1K — better2.7K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#15 — better#42
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.011.0
Further details — not scored
Size2.8 GB100 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperRayark International LimitedAmirali Rajan

Customer experience

DEEMO

All ratings5,075 ratings
Positive97.3%
Neutral0.7%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews464 reviews
Positive90.5%
Neutral2.6%
Negative6.9%

A Dark Room

All ratings2,655 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral1.4%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews1,400 reviews
Positive92.7%
Neutral1.6%
Negative5.7%

Bugs and requests

DEEMO

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crashes on cutscenes and loading screens
  • Unresponsive controls and timing issues

Requested features

3 requests
  • More free songs and content
  • Improved cloud save and data restoration
  • Optimization for newer devices

A Dark Room

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

DEEMO

One-time10
  • Rayark Selection Vol.1$3.99
  • Rayark Selection Vol.2$3.99
  • MILI Collection$3.99
Show 7 more
  • V.K Collection$3.99
  • Rayark Selection Vol.3$3.99
  • Cytus Selection Vol.1$3.99
  • Cytus Selection Vol.2$3.99
  • Knight Iris$3.99
  • M2U X NICODE Collection$3.99
  • Forgotten Hourglass$9.99
None

A Dark Room

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is DEEMO free?
DEEMO costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is A Dark Room free?
A Dark Room costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, DEEMO or A Dark Room?
DEEMO is rated higher. DEEMO averages 4.9 out of 5 from 5.1K ratings, while A Dark Room averages 4.8 from 2.7K ratings.
Do DEEMO or A Dark Room have ads?
Neither DEEMO nor A Dark Room shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DEEMO or A Dark Room?
DEEMO ships an update every 2 months, and A Dark Room every 2 months. Most recently, DEEMO was updated on October 12, 2026 and A Dark Room on October 12, 2026.
Which is more popular, DEEMO or A Dark Room?
DEEMO currently peaks at #15 in the App Store charts, and A Dark Room at #42. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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