Comparison

Devil Shard vs Vampire Survivors

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

Head to head
About

Devil Shard

Embark on a retro-style match-3 RPG adventure to stop a war and face a great evil. Plan strategic combos, unlock powerful allies, and collect diverse equipment. Conquer numerous enemies and stages to uncover the truth and achieve a true ending.

Highlights
  • Match-3 puzzle with RPG elements
  • Strategic tile swapping for combos
  • Unlock and summon 9 incarnations
  • Collect and upgrade 32 equipment
  • Battle 37 different enemies
  • Complete 8 story stages and a hidden stage
Features
Read full description

Pocketgamer.uk 8/10 - "A brilliant and seamless combination of match-three, RPG, and turn-based combat that belies the simplicity of its excellent design" ----------------------------------------------------------- Devil Shard is a retro style match-3 RPG. You play as a hero who needs to stop a war caused by the emperor. During the journey you will discover more than the truth and face a great evil. Features - Combines RPG elements with match-3 rules puzzle game - Easily plan your combos by swapping adjacent tiles even if they don't create a match 3 - Unlock and summon 9 powerful incarnations to fight for you - 37 different enemies hoping to end your journey - 32 equipment with different abilities to collect and upgrade - 9 incarnations with unique abilities to unlock, upgrade and fight for you - 8 stages to complete with stories to experience - Unlock a hidden stage after finishing the story - 36 achievements to conquer - The hidden stage features: high scores, new loots, new bosses, a true ending, and 2 powerful incarnations ----------------------------------------------------------- Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TowerofFortune Gameplay Movie http://youtu.be/ccXuEksHkC8

About

Vampire Survivors

Survive endless waves of monsters in this roguelike survival RPG. Mow down thousands of enemies, gather gold for upgrades, and become a powerful warrior. Explore diverse stages and choose your weapons to become the last survivor.

Highlights
  • Minimalistic gameplay
  • Bullet hell survival
  • Gold collection for upgrades
  • Hundreds of monsters
  • Weapon and skill upgrades
  • Couch co-op mode
Currently charting
Read full description

Vampire Survivors is a roguelite time survival RPG game with minimalistic gameplay. The supernatural indie phenomenon that lets you be the bullet hell has arrived on mobile! The whole game is also playable in 1-4 player couch co-op in landscape. Hell is empty, the devils are here, and there's no place to run or hide. Survive as long as you can until death inevitably puts an end to your struggles. Gather gold in each run to buy upgrades and help the next survivor. Mow down thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn! Vampire Survivors is a gothic horror casual game with roguelite and roguelike elements. Your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you. Test your mettle against the legions of hell using your touchscreen. This wave survival will bring you the edge! Stand against hordes of enemies, exterminate monsters and finish the game as a lone survivor! There is no way to defeat an enemy army without a collection of great weapons. This roguelike game has it all. Cross, garlic, king bible or magic wand? The choice is yours. Upgrade your skills and become a warrior with unlimited potential. Take the most out of this hero survival - battle evil and dangerous hell creatures without mercy! Starting Tips for the best attack survival: - Take your time to grab gems and items, they won't disappear. - Get two or three offensive weapons at first, but focus on leveling them up one at a time. - Armour and Luck are good starting power-ups to spend money on. - Refund power-ups often, it's free, and try new upgrade paths. Waves of undead legions are all around, have you thought it’s going to be easy? The challenge is what makes this one of the best horde survival games. It’s time to enjoy an exciting rouge survival adventure. Explore different stages and learn how to slay enemies anywhere, whether that is library, dairy plant, or old capella. Roguelite skill experience will help you collect bonuses and find treasure. You don’t want to be the last survivor with an empty pocket, do you? Select your favorite character and begin the best adventure roguelike game of your life. Join the fans of this roguelike RPG game on Twitter and TikTok: https://twitter.com/poncle_vampire https://www.tiktok.com/@poncle_games We’re only just getting started. Expect improvements and enhancements as we continue to refine the mobile experience in Vampire Survivors roguelite role playing game.

Screenshots

Devil Shard4 screens
Vampire Survivors4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Vampire Survivors at Free against Devil Shard's $1.99. Vampire Survivors also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 7 months) and ratings volume (5.1K vs 45). Devil Shard's advantage is review sentiment (84% vs 70%). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Vampire Survivors is free to download; Devil Shard costs $1.99 up front. Devil Shard sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Vampire Survivors sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Vampire Survivors holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Vampire Survivors has 5.1K ratings behind it against 45, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 84% of Devil Shard's written reviews are positive against 70% of Vampire Survivors's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Devil Shard ships an update every 7 months, Vampire Survivors every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Devil Shard versus Vampire Survivors: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDevil ShardVampire Survivors
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.4 (45 ratings)4.6 (5.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews83.7% of reviews — better70.5% of reviews
Number of ratings455.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#208 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB996 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperGUAN LING WUPoncle

Customer experience

Devil Shard

All ratings45 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral6.7%
Negative4.4%
Written reviews203 reviews
Positive83.7%
Neutral7.9%
Negative8.4%

Vampire Survivors

All ratings5,082 ratings
Positive89.7%
Neutral3.1%
Negative7.2%
Written reviews671 reviews
Positive70.5%
Neutral8.5%
Negative21.0%

User reviews

Devil Shard

From 45 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Addictive and engaging gameplay mechanics
  • 🎨 Beautiful retro pixel art style
  • 🎵 Great music and audio design
  • ⚡ Simple yet challenging match-3 combat system
  • 📱 Perfect for quick gaming sessions

Room to improve

  • ⚙️ Excessive grinding required for progression
  • 💀 Harsh death penalty resets all character progress
  • 💰 Pay-to-win mechanics and aggressive monetization
  • 🎲 Heavy reliance on RNG and luck
  • 😤 Unfair difficulty spikes in later dungeons

Vampire Survivors

From 5.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Faithful port of PC version
  • 👍 No intrusive ads, only optional ones
  • 👍 Great value, tons of content for free
  • 🚀 Smooth performance, handles late-game well
  • 👍 Retro pixel art style with charm

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and progress loss when switching apps
  • 🐛 Occasional freezing and performance issues
  • 🔋 No suspend/resume feature, runs reset when app is closed

Bugs and requests

Devil Shard

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Item selection scroll problem on iPhone 6s Plus (items display in middle of screen)
  • Unable to equip, melt, or forge items on certain devices
  • In-app purchase functionality broken
  • Character equipment not persisting correctly
  • No undo option for melted items
Show 1 more
  • Difficulty balancing issues causing unfair difficulty spikes

Requested features

9 requests
  • Swipeable match-3 controls (standard for genre)
  • More customization options for character progression
  • Persistent progress or checkpoints upon death
  • Better equipment distribution and tile spawning
  • Reduced grinding requirements
Show 4 more
  • More narrative depth and story elements
  • Undo function for accidental item melting
  • Improved menu systems and UI clarity
  • Additional game modes or difficulty settings

Vampire Survivors

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Merchant UI not working properly
  • Certain level mechanics (Infernas) causing soft-locks
  • Movement and controls sometimes unresponsive

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add suspend/resume functionality to save progress
  • Implement cross-save between devices
  • Add controller support for better controls

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Devil Shard

One-time6
  • 1000G$0.99
  • 2500G$1.99
  • 7500G$4.99
Show 3 more
  • 17500G$9.99
  • 40000G$19.99
  • 75000G$29.99
7 purchases

Vampire Survivors

One-time7
  • Emerald DioramaFree
  • Legacy of the Bloodmoon$0.99
  • Legacy of the Moonspell$0.99
Show 4 more
  • Tides of the Foscari$1.79
  • Emergency Meeting$2.49
  • Operation Guns$2.49
  • Ode to Castlevania$3.99

Questions

Is Devil Shard free?
Devil Shard costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Vampire Survivors free?
Vampire Survivors is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Devil Shard or Vampire Survivors?
Vampire Survivors is rated higher. Devil Shard averages 4.4 out of 5 from 45 ratings, while Vampire Survivors averages 4.6 from 5.1K ratings.
Do Devil Shard or Vampire Survivors have ads?
Neither Devil Shard nor Vampire Survivors shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Devil Shard or Vampire Survivors?
Devil Shard ships an update every 7 months, and Vampire Survivors every 3 weeks. Most recently, Devil Shard was updated on September 25, 2026 and Vampire Survivors on September 28, 2026.

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