Comparison

Star Horizon vs Sky Force Reloaded

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

Head to head
About

Star Horizon

Embark on an interstellar journey as a Federation pilot, battling through dynamic space combat. Upgrade your ship, make critical story choices, and uncover a galaxy-spanning mystery with an AI companion.

Highlights
  • Intuitive touch controls
  • Engaging storyline with choices
  • Ship and weapon upgrades
  • Variety of spaceships
  • Unlockable achievements
  • Game controller support
Features
Read full description

Please Note: Star Horizon requires an iPad2/iPhone 4s/iPod Touch 5 or above. “Star Horizon stands on its own as a title that is well worth playing. The visual splendor alone would be more than enough to justify the purchase.” - 148Apps “Star Horizon is a fiery and fitting tribute the likes of Afterburner and Starfox.” - AppSpy “Star Horizon serves as a showpiece for the iOS platform(…) the controls feel fine-tuned to near perfection.” - MacLife “Star Horizon is a slick pulse-raising arcade shooter that evokes many of the best sci-fi space battles in recent cinematic and TV history” - Pocketgamer “Best Mobile Game” nominee @Game Connection Paris 2013 / Selected Projects finals Play as John, a private in the service of the Federation. Focus on amusing story and dynamic battles. Journey through the cosmos, upgrade your ship, make important story decisions and have fun fighting those epic bosses! • Grab your phone and play instantly. Your screen is your controller (virtual sticks? Yuck!) • Rescue your friends or obey the orders – follow the storyline and make choices • Don't get shot - upgrade your ship with in-game currency (no IAP!) and weapons to finish your enemies in multiple astonishing ways • Follow the relationship between the man and the machine spiced up with amusing conversations and absurd humor. • Discover a wild variety of spaceships and fleet • Use your skills to unlock achievements • Support for game controllers John doesn't fight to rack up kills or for honor and pride. At least not anymore. He just fights to survive and get the whole thing over with. His ship is controlled by Ellie, an Artificial Intelligence which is programmed to help pilots stay mentally strong throughout the war and which cannot kill human beings. Federation is about to turn the tide of the war but then things start to go wrong. Ellie puts John into hibernation for 1000 years. Now he will have to discover what really happened and maybe, but just maybe, save the galaxy.

About

Sky Force Reloaded

Experience an intense scrolling shooter with explosive action, diverse aircraft, and challenging missions. Master beautiful stages, battle colossal bosses, and customize your plane with hundreds of upgrades. Rescue operatives and collect bonus cards for deeper gameplay.

Highlights
  • 15 beautiful and immersive stages
  • Enormous and intimidating bosses
  • Unlock new difficulty modes
  • Rescue missing operatives
  • Assemble 9 different aircrafts
  • Hunt down 30 bonus cards
  • Hundreds of weapon and equipment upgrades
Features
Read full description

The shoot ‘em up you were looking for! New entry in the series will keep you entertained with all the things you’ve came to love in scrolling shooters. Meaty explosions, incinerating lasers, collosal bosses and diverse aircrafts to pilot. “Sky Force Reloaded” is not your average scrolling shooter. It will draw you in with its beautiful environments and intense effects. It will keep you with its superb gameplay mechanics, progression system and in-game collectibles. It will leave you wishing for more, once it’s over. Fortunately, there’s a lot to do before that happens. * Master 15 beautiful and immersive stages with challenging missions to complete. * Battle enormous and intimidating bosses, laugh when they explode and cry when you explode. * Unlock new difficulty modes, all the way from Normal to Nightmare. * Put yourself in danger to rescue missing operatives from the battlefield. * Assemble and test 9 different aircrafts. Pick your favorite, with its unique features and play style. * Hunt down 30 elusive bonus cards to add even more depth to the gameplay. Some of them will grant permanent benefits, while others will boost your abilities only temporarily. * Install hundreds of upgrades to your weapons, shields and other equipment. Turn your plane into a flying tank. * Complete in-game objectives to unlock 8 assisting technicians. Choose one of them to help you with their special skill. * Spot the wrecks of your fallen friends and get rewards for picking them up. * Appreciate highly polished gameplay and well balanced difficulty curve, whether you consider yourself a casual gamer or a die-hard shmup fanatic. * Enjoy professional voiceover and incredible electronic soundtrack. Welcome to your new favorite shoot ‘em up. Welcome to Sky Force Reloaded!

Screenshots

Star Horizon4 screens
Sky Force Reloaded4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sky Force Reloaded at Free against Star Horizon's $5.99. Sky Force Reloaded also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.1) and ratings volume (11K vs 25). Star Horizon's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and ads (none vs shown). On update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Sky Force Reloaded is free to download; Star Horizon costs $5.99 up front. Sky Force Reloaded sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Star Horizon asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sky Force Reloaded holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sky Force Reloaded has 11K ratings behind it against 25, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 51% of Star Horizon's written reviews are positive against 75% of Sky Force Reloaded's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Star Horizon ships an update every 3 weeks, Sky Force Reloaded monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Star Horizon versus Sky Force Reloaded: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStar HorizonSky Force Reloaded
Price$5.99Free — better
Rating4.1 (25 ratings)4.8 (11K ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.8% of reviews74.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2511K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TViPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV
Requires iOS7.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size927 MB687 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperOrbital Knight sp. z o.o.Infinite Dreams Inc.

Customer experience

Star Horizon

All ratings25 ratings
Positive76.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative16.0%
Written reviews193 reviews
Positive50.8%
Neutral11.4%
Negative37.8%

Sky Force Reloaded

All ratings11,427 ratings
Positive95.0%
Neutral2.1%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews528 reviews
Positive74.8%
Neutral8.0%
Negative17.2%

User reviews

Star Horizon

From 25 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Stunning graphics and visual effects
  • 🎮 Smooth, responsive controls
  • 🚀 Excellent frame rate and performance
  • 📖 Engaging sci-fi storyline with branching choices
  • 💰 No in-app purchases required

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes on various iOS versions
  • ⏱️ Very short game length (1-3 hours)
  • 🎤 Poor voice acting and cheesy dialogue
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • ❌ Limited control over ship movement

Sky Force Reloaded

From 11K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 🎨 Excellent graphics
  • 💰 Fair monetization
  • 🕹️ Addictive arcade-style action
  • 🎮 Great for mobile gaming

Room to improve

  • 🕰️ Repetitive grinding required
  • 🔁 Difficulty increases too rapidly
  • 🔒 Lack of account sync across devices
  • 🔇 Unresponsive controls at times
  • 📢 Intrusive ads

Bugs and requests

Star Horizon

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • App crashes on iOS 17.2 and newer versions
  • Crashes when opening achievements button
  • Game crashes when starting missions
  • Crashes at specific checkpoints (SOS mission)
  • Frame rate drops during intense scenes
Show 6 more
  • Civilian ship disappears on level 2 checkpoint restart
  • Language defaults to unknown language (Russian)
  • Menu disappears immediately after death
  • Crashes on iPad Pro and older devices
  • Controller support broken after updates
  • Game won't load past opening credits on older devices

Requested features

10 requests
  • More levels and missions
  • Additional ships and weapons
  • Sequel or expansion pack
  • Full 3D flight control like Galaxy on Fire
  • More varied enemy types
Show 5 more
  • Online multiplayer mode
  • Open-world exploration elements
  • Accelerometer control option
  • Inverted controller support
  • More meaningful story choices with lasting impact

Sky Force Reloaded

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional crashes
  • Inconsistent performance on some devices
  • Syncing issues with saved progress

Requested features

5 requests
  • More level variety
  • Ability to customize controls
  • Landscape mode support
  • Expanded upgrade system
  • Multiplayer or co-op modes

In-app purchases

None

Star Horizon

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Sky Force Reloaded

One-time5
  • Precious Cargo$1.99
  • SX2 - Star Doubler$3.99
  • Ads Removal$3.99
Show 2 more
  • Plane Generator$3.99
  • Starter Pack$9.99

Questions

Is Star Horizon free?
Star Horizon costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sky Force Reloaded free?
Sky Force Reloaded is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Star Horizon or Sky Force Reloaded?
Sky Force Reloaded is rated higher. Star Horizon averages 4.1 out of 5 from 25 ratings, while Sky Force Reloaded averages 4.8 from 11K ratings.
Do Star Horizon or Sky Force Reloaded have ads?
Sky Force Reloaded shows ads; Star Horizon does not.
Which is updated more often, Star Horizon or Sky Force Reloaded?
Star Horizon ships an update every 3 weeks, and Sky Force Reloaded monthly. Most recently, Star Horizon was updated on November 1, 2026 and Sky Force Reloaded on November 5, 2026.

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