Comparison

Ember vs The Quest

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

Head to head
About

Ember

Embark on an epic adventure in a dark world threatened by collapse. As a resurrected Lightbringer, protect magical Embers by exploring vast realms, making pivotal decisions, and engaging in tactical combat. This classic-style RPG offers a deep story, robust skill tree, and intricate crafting.

Highlights
  • Classic-style role-playing game
  • Deep branching story
  • Endless exploration
  • Robust skill tree
  • Intricate crafting system
  • Real-time combat with tactical pause
  • Over 70 quests
Features
Read full description

About Ember “Back in the earliest days, there was no sun and the world was dark. The heavens opened up and stars fell like beacons into the pitch black world, and they were known as “Embers”. Powerful and wise druids of a primordial race, “the Lightbringers," roamed the orb searching for this luminous matter. They performed a ritual of awakening to call the “Embers” out of their deep sleep. Suddenly the world became bright, and the veil of darkness was lifted. The Embers were the embodiment of magical flame, light, and life, but as word spread about the sheer power of the Embers, they came to be hunted and captured…and so the War for Ember began…” From the tome “Restoration of the Lightbringer” Gameplay overview A passion project 10 years in the making, Ember is a homage to classic role-playing games. Ember features a deep branching story, endless exploration across dynamic and living environments, a robust skill tree, and an intricate crafting system. In Ember, players are resurrected as a “Lightbringer” and summoned to protect the dying Embers as the world is on the brink of collapse. Beginning in the Deep Barrows, players traverse vast environments divided between aboveground and underground realms – ranging from lush forests to dry deserts and dark abysses – to reach the City of Light. The story unfolds through encounters with strangers, and players are forced to decide their destiny by making pivotal decisions. Key features Classic-style, role-playing game with 30+ hours of epic adventure Epic storytelling filled with fascinating characters, lore, adventure, and humor Over 70 quests with diverse gameplay enabling players to choose their path Engaging party-based real-time combat system with tactical pause Over 65 combat skills for the player to use in customized battle party strategy Encounter hundreds of NPCs with their own tales to tell In-depth crafting system, from baking bread to forging magic weapons More than 20 handcrafted environments and shadowy dungeons Meet different companions with their own backstory quests Experience dynamic weather and time of day system

About

The Quest

Embark on a hand-drawn open-world RPG adventure with grid-based movement and turn-based combat. Explore a vast kingdom, customize your character with various skills and gear, and make choices that shape your destiny. Uncover mysteries, face dangerous creatures, and complete quests in a world full of magic and intrigue.

Highlights
  • Hand-drawn open world exploration
  • Grid-based movement
  • Turn-based combat
  • Customizable characters and skills
  • Main story and side quests
  • Day/night cycle and weather system
  • In-game card game
Features
Read full description

The Quest is a beautifully hand-drawn open world role playing game with old school grid-based movement and turn based combat. In the kingdom of Monares trouble is brewing. The governor of Freymore is missing and the island is in tumult. The mages all prophesy a dark shadow looming over the safety of the kingdom. As an Agent of the king, it's your job to find out what is happening and avert any danger. Choose from five customizable races and an array of skills, weapons, armor and enchantments, and explore a huge world of four cities and a wilderness of mountains, caves, lakes and forests – full of mystery, magic and intriguing challenges. Meet the many inhabitants, each with its own agenda and attitude towards your character. Some will be helpful, some greedy or lascivious or just plain mean. You will have many choices, including some that may place you against the law, along your way to the dramatic ending of your own choosing. Key Features: - Pursue a long and dramatic main story and solve many optional side quests. - Create a highly customizable character and cast dazzling spells, enchant powerful items, concoct potent potions and persuade people to further your goals. - Discover an open world with interesting locales, day/night cycle, weather, fascinating people, dangerous creatures, readable books, pick-able locks, repairable items, houses that can be broken into, dungeons, traps and much more. - Play an absorbing card game with three different decks, accessible at the inns.

Screenshots

Ember4 screens
The Quest4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: The Quest at 4.3 against Ember's 3.4. The Quest also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 49%) and price ($7.99 vs $9.99). Ember's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.6). On ratings volume, 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

Ember costs $9.99 and The Quest $7.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Quest holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 253 and 151 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 49% of Ember's written reviews are positive against 77% of The Quest's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ember ships an update fortnightly, The Quest every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Ember versus The Quest: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEmberThe Quest
Price$9.99$7.99 — better
Rating3.4 (253 ratings)4.3 (151 ratings) — better
Positive reviews48.9% of reviews76.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings253 — better151
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size2.6 GB398 MB
Age rating9+12+
Developer505 Games (US), Inc.Redshift

Customer experience

Ember

All ratings253 ratings
Positive56.5%
Neutral5.9%
Negative37.5%
Written reviews395 reviews
Positive48.9%
Neutral8.1%
Negative43.0%

The Quest

All ratings151 ratings
Positive78.1%
Neutral7.3%
Negative14.6%
Written reviews111 reviews
Positive76.6%
Neutral6.3%
Negative17.1%

User reviews

Ember

From 253 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent graphics and animations
  • 🔒 No in-app purchases or ads
  • 👍 Immersive RPG experience
  • 👍 Engaging story and world-building
  • 👍 Streamlined combat system

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and performance issues
  • 🐛 Compatibility problems on newer devices
  • 👎 Difficulty balancing issues
  • 👎 Slow progression and leveling
  • 👎 Small UI elements on phones

The Quest

From 151 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Deep, engaging old-school RPG gameplay
  • 🗺️ Large open world with extensive exploration
  • 📖 Rich storytelling and quest variety
  • 🎨 Beautiful hand-drawn graphics and art style
  • ⏰ Massive content with hundreds of hours of playtime

Room to improve

  • 🎮 Clunky and dated movement controls
  • 🗺️ Confusing map system with limited visibility
  • 📖 Vague quest descriptions and objectives
  • 🎨 Sprite-based graphics not appealing to everyone
  • ⚔️ Monotonous turn-based combat

Bugs and requests

Ember

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes on new game creation
  • Inability to progress past certain points
  • Saved game loading issues
  • Incompatibility with latest iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Controller support
  • More side quests and content
  • Gradual health/energy regeneration
  • Improved inventory management

The Quest

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Sound not working on some devices
  • Crashes on iPhone 12 and other devices
  • Weapon bobbing animation glitch
  • Game doesn't support iPhone X+ screen resolutions
  • Black bars on newer iPhone models
Show 4 more
  • Broken quests in certain areas (Vastares)
  • Quest completion not registering properly
  • Character poisoning without cure availability
  • Sound issues after iOS updates

Requested features

13 requests
  • Controller/gamepad support (MFi controllers, Bluetooth)
  • Cloud save functionality across devices
  • Language translations (Spanish, French, German, Russian, Japanese, Korean)
  • iPhone X and newer screen resolution support
  • iCloud sync for cross-device play
Show 8 more
  • Quest markers on map
  • Updated quest journal with descriptions
  • Enemy respawning system
  • Bulk item selling feature
  • Quick save button
  • Expansion packs in HD versions
  • Split controls for iPad (movement and attack on different sides)
  • More NPC visual variety

In-app purchases

None

Ember

No in-app purchases

None

The Quest

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ember free?
Ember costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Quest free?
The Quest costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Ember or The Quest?
The Quest is rated higher. Ember averages 3.4 out of 5 from 253 ratings, while The Quest averages 4.3 from 151 ratings.
Do Ember or The Quest have ads?
Neither Ember nor The Quest shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ember or The Quest?
Ember ships an update fortnightly, and The Quest every 3 months. Most recently, Ember was updated on September 30, 2026 and The Quest on September 28, 2026.

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