Comparison

Inquisitor's Heartbeat vs Serania

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

Head to head
About

Inquisitor's Heartbeat

Navigate treacherous dungeons and escape imprisonment by relying solely on sound. Solve puzzles and avoid guards and beasts in a historical setting. Features an endless mode with procedurally generated mazes.

Highlights
  • Sound-based navigation
  • Stealth gameplay
  • Puzzle solving
  • Historical setting
  • Endless game mode
  • Labyrinthine levels
Features
Read full description

Game description Inquisitor’s Heartbeat catapults the player right into the 1300s, the height of the brutal Inquisition. Accused of heresy for being in possession of a forbidden book, Nicholas Eymerich, the game’s main character is imprisoned in the dungeon of a castle: he must escape from his cell and retrieve the precious book that has been stolen from him, before it is taken to the monastery beyond the forest, and destroyed forever. In more than 6 hours of gameplay, the player has to find his way through 35 labyrinthine levels divided into 7 different settings, without being spotted by guards and ferocious beasts, trusting only his own ears. There is also an ‘endless’ game mode, where the mazes are generated one after the other, always with a different map. Developed for PC and Mac, and soon available also for iOS, Inquisitor’s Heartbeat is the result of a joint effort by Rising Pixel and Ornitocopter, with the soundtrack by the talented Luca Rungi, and TiconBlu as publisher. Game instructions iPad/iPhone: move around by touching the 4 edges of the screen to move, and touch the central area for the actions (pulling levers, gathering objects, etc.). Your character always moves in the selected direction at the same pace, one step at a time: just like moving on a chessboard. It is essential that you count your steps, listening to the different noises from the ground, paying attention to the echo and the sound variations, or if you bang into a wall... you're probably going in the wrong direction!

About

Serania

Embark on a text-based role-playing adventure to uncover your past and escape pursuers. Make choices, explore a fantasy world, and engage in combat and skill development. The first part of the story is free to play.

Highlights
  • Engaging fantasy story with choices
  • Explore a detailed story world
  • Interact with characters
  • Complete missions and improve skills
  • Manage inventory and combat
  • Uncover ancestral truth
Features
Read full description

Escape the Blackblades and search for answers about your mysterious past in this new, fresh take on the text-based role playing genre. You can play the first 1/4 of the game for free. If the game is for you, you can buy access to the full story. FEATURES: * An engaging fantasy story, where you choose what to do * Freely explore the world of the story * Meet and interact with other characters * Go on missions, improve your skills, and fight deadly battles * Manage your inventory, use items, buy, sell or use in combat * Follow the clues and find out the truth about your ancestry! AWARDS: Best Narrative - Silver Winner NYX Game Awards 2021 Best Storytelling - Silver Winner NYX Game Awards 2021 PRESS: “... a stunningly well-written and enthralling text adventure.” - GameBookNews "Serania: Path of the Scion is a Must Play if You Like Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Books" - GameSpew "Serania – Path of the Scion excels as an engaging narrative experience that you can enjoy anytime, anywhere, with a streamlined interface that seamlessly integrates all aspects of the game naturally." - IndieHive

Screenshots

Inquisitor's Heartbeat4 screens
Serania4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Serania at 83% against Inquisitor's Heartbeat's 33%. Serania also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.0) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 39 months). Inquisitor's Heartbeat's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, ads 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

Both are free to download. Serania sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Inquisitor's Heartbeat asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Serania holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Serania has 162 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Inquisitor's Heartbeat's written reviews are positive against 83% of Serania's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Inquisitor's Heartbeat ships an update every 39 months, Serania every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Inquisitor's Heartbeat versus Serania: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInquisitor's HeartbeatSerania
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (2 ratings)4.6 (162 ratings) — better
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews83.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2162 — better
Update frequencyEvery 39 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.09.3 — better
Further details — not scored
Size169 MB110 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperRising PixelPeter Ravnholt

Customer experience

Inquisitor's Heartbeat

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

Serania

All ratings157 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral2.5%
Negative5.1%
Written reviews54 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral3.7%
Negative13.0%

Bugs and requests

Inquisitor's Heartbeat

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Serania

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Combat options disappear
  • Enemies can dodge while 'paralyzed'
  • Life doesn't fully restore upon leveling up
  • Stuck in temple ruins without a boat option
  • Final boss is impossible to hit/beat
Show 5 more
  • Choices are arbitrary, leading to death and reverting to checkpoint
  • Constant misses in combat, reliant on RNG
  • Difficulty spikes significantly at the end
  • Hint doesn't provide enough information for progression
  • Continue button sometimes delayed with voiceover

Requested features

19 requests
  • Add a dodge button
  • Add a defense button
  • Add more combat options (e.g., quick thrust, sideways cut)
  • Fix bug with disappearing combat options
  • Make the next game free
Show 14 more
  • Add more choices to the story
  • Add a boat option for crossing the lake
  • Create a Serania part two
  • Allow revival in the story
  • Add more sound effects for combat
  • Expand the story after claiming the throne
  • Add a freeplay or challenge mode after main story
  • Add hidden areas with new enemies/weapons
  • Implement New Game + with increased difficulty
  • Add a gender option other than man and woman
  • Loop music tracks and add more scene-specific music
  • Add a map for better navigation
  • Make the full story free
  • Allow watching ads to progress instead of paying

In-app purchases

None

Inquisitor's Heartbeat

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Serania

One-time1
  • Access to the full story$3.99

Questions

Is Inquisitor's Heartbeat free?
Inquisitor's Heartbeat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Serania free?
Serania is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Inquisitor's Heartbeat or Serania?
Serania is rated higher. Inquisitor's Heartbeat averages 4.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Serania averages 4.6 from 162 ratings.
Do Inquisitor's Heartbeat or Serania have ads?
Neither Inquisitor's Heartbeat nor Serania shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Inquisitor's Heartbeat or Serania?
Inquisitor's Heartbeat ships an update every 39 months, and Serania every 10 days. Most recently, Inquisitor's Heartbeat was updated on September 24, 2026 and Serania on October 24, 2026.

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