A Dark Room vs Lifeline
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Text-based adventure
- Survival mechanics
- Exploration
- Resource management
- VoiceOver compatible
- No ads or IAP
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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.
Lifeline
Guide a lost adventurer through a frozen wasteland by making critical choices. Your decisions shape the narrative and determine their survival and identity. Experience a gripping story with real-time notifications and multiple branching paths.
- Interactive narrative choices
- Real-time notifications
- Branching story paths
- Character survival
- Identity discovery
- Multiple playthroughs
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Alone in a frozen wasteland with no memory of how he got there, a lost adventurer’s only hope is his last line of communication – to YOU! Guide him to safety and help him find his identity in this gripping story of survival. Your choices shape the story as you play! 3 Minute Games has partnered with Eipix Entertainment for the next installment of the critically-acclaimed Lifeline series. Lifeline: Whiteout introduces a brand new character, V. Adams! Play on the go with real-time notifications sent to your device or check in with V. Adams throughout your day – waiting for the bus, eating lunch, before bed! Decisions can have a profound effect. Finish the game and then play again to discover a whole new story when you make different choices. WATCH US: http://www.youtube.com/c/LifelineGame Praise for Lifeline: “This is the best game on the Apple Watch.” – Time.com “I’ve played many games that I find engrossing, but Lifeline may be one of the first that changed the way I thought about my daily routine, which leapt off the screen and became a part of my lived experience.” - Eli Cymet, Gamezebo “For a few brief hours I cared – really cared – about the fate of a completely fictional character. I don’t think any other game I’ve played has made me feel that way before.” - Matt Thrower, PocketGamer
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: A Dark Room at $1.99 against Lifeline's $2.99. Lifeline's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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
A Dark Room costs $1.99 and Lifeline $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for A Dark Room against 4.7 for Lifeline. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.7K and 4.5K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 93% of A Dark Room's written reviews are positive against 85% of Lifeline's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | A Dark Room | Lifeline |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (2.7K ratings) — better | 4.7 (4.5K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 92.7% of reviews — better | 84.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2.7K | 4.5K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #48 — better | #101 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 8.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 103 MB | 69 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Amirali Rajan | 3 Minute Games, Inc. |
Customer experience
A Dark Room
Lifeline
Bugs and requests
A Dark Room
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Lifeline
Reported bugs
2 issues- Game freezing or crashing on certain devices
- Notifications not working as expected
Requested features
3 requests- More branching storylines and endings
- Ability to skip or speed up waiting periods
- Improved accessibility for screen readers
In-app purchases
A Dark Room
No in-app purchases
Lifeline
No in-app purchases
