# Xibalba vs Spartan Runner.

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Xibalba at none against Spartan Runner.'s 6. Spartan Runner.'s advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 18 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Spartan Runner. sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Xibalba asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Xibalba against 4.8 for Spartan Runner.. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 556 and 1.3K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 88% of Xibalba's written reviews are positive against 89% of Spartan Runner.'s.

Xibalba ships an update every 18 months, Spartan Runner. every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Xibalba | Spartan Runner. |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (556 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/xibalba/id900120847/reviews) | **[4.8 (1.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spartan-runner/id1410696004/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 556 | **1.3K** |
| Positive reviews | 88.3% of reviews | **89.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 18 months | **Every 6 weeks** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 8 MB | 62 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [PhobosLab](https://appshunter.io/developer/312666931) | [William Bourdon](https://appshunter.io/developer/1410696003) |

## What reviewers say

### Xibalba

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/xibalba/id900120847)

Embark on a retro first-person shooter adventure through the Mayan Underworld. Explore diverse environments, battle dangerous creatures, and utilize powerups and weapons. Experience immersive gameplay with intuitive controls and a captivating atmosphere.

**Highlights:** Retro first-person shooter gameplay, Mayan Underworld setting, Diverse environments (jungles, catacombs, bases), Multiple enemy types, Variety of weapons and powerups, Challenging hard mode

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Smooth gameplay
- 👍 Retro/nostalgic feel
- 🎮 Great controls
- 💎 Unique atmosphere and story
- 🎨 Beautiful pixel art graphics

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional control issues
- ⏱️ Short campaign length
- 🤖 Limited enemy/weapon variety
- 🔍 Lack of crosshair/aiming assistance

**Reported bugs**

- Game not working on certain devices
- Crashes and freezes

**Requested features**

- More levels and content
- Multiplayer mode
- Level editor
- Weapon/enemy upgrades
- Checkpoint system


### Spartan Runner.

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spartan-runner/id1410696004)

Embark on an action-packed 2D adventure where you equip a Spartan with a shotgun to battle an alien invasion. Explore over 40 missions, customize your character, and upgrade weapons. Compete with friends on the global leaderboard.

**Highlights:** Old-school 2D graphics, Over 40 missions, Spartan customization, Weapon upgrades, Rewards and achievements, Weekly challenges, Global leaderboard

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Credits pack 1 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Credits pack 2 | $2.99 | one-time |
| Ads removal | $2.99 | one-time |
| Credits pack 3 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Credits pack 4 | $8.99 | one-time |
| Credits pack 5 | $49.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👌 Perfecto
- 🎮 New game idea
- 🕹️ Halo in a nutshell
- 👍 Good before bed game
- 🏃‍♂️ Spartan runner

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🙅‍♂️ Bad app support
- 🙅‍♂️ Worst game ever
- 💰 Good if you don't care about ads
- 🐛 Fix level 16
- 🙅‍♂️ Can't X out of ads

**Reported bugs**

- Level 16 the add always freezes up and I have restarted the level 3 times
- Mission 21 is impossible to get all 12 marines
- The banshee levels could be fixed and the automatic weapons should kill elites in two or three shots, not one. The automatic weapons could be given more ammo to counter this. Also brutes, hunters and elites should deal more damage than jackals and there should be energy sword elites and maybe gravity hammer brutes later in the run that can kill you in one hit
- All of the characters in the game are copyrighted so kiss money goodbye, fake halo game
- The enemy sprites need to be added instead of just blobs cause the blobs just get in the way of the experience of the game it's supposed to feel like halo yes well the enemy's you can't tell what they are you can't tell if it's forerunners or Covinet or Prometheus you can't tell

**Requested features**

- Make a RTS halo game!
- Put this spartan into super Mario bros?
- Dark mode option
- Advanced analytics dashboard
- Playable Eleates (Elites) where you can customize their armor and stuff and get like different suits with an alien weapon


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Xibalba free?

Xibalba is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Spartan Runner. free?

Spartan Runner. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Xibalba or Spartan Runner.?

Spartan Runner. is rated higher. Xibalba averages 4.7 out of 5 from 556 ratings, while Spartan Runner. averages 4.8 from 1.3K ratings.

### Do Xibalba or Spartan Runner. have ads?

Neither Xibalba nor Spartan Runner. shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Xibalba or Spartan Runner.?

Xibalba ships an update every 18 months, and Spartan Runner. every 6 weeks. Most recently, Xibalba was updated on October 14, 2026 and Spartan Runner. on October 1, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*
