Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
The verdict on

Dragons

55
User verdict / 100 High confidence Divided

Dragons by Ludia Games offers an engaging dragon-collecting and base-building experience for fans of the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, but recent updates have introduced significant issues with game balance, monetization, and technical stability.

4.8★ lifetime (90,164) Free + in-app purchases since 2014 by Ludia Games inc. updated 0.1 mo ago recent negative 25% 120 reviews across 4 regions
Brawl/Gauntlet System Monetization Technical Issues Progression & Time Walls HTTYD Fandom Appeal Feature Requests
5★492
4★164
3★98
2★70
1★176
recent reviews across 4 regions, vs the 4.8★ lifetime average

Dragons: Rise of Berk is a free-to-play game where players build their own Berk, collect and train dragons, and engage in battles. While many users praise its faithfulness to the HTTYD universe and the variety of content, recent updates have led to widespread complaints about 'pay-to-win' mechanics, broken brawl systems, and technical glitches.

What users like

  • Engaging gameplay with a rich variety of dragons and continuous content updatesR10R40R41R43
  • Strong appeal for How to Train Your Dragon fans due to lore, music, and character integrationR6R18R39R40
  • Many players have enjoyed the game for years, indicating long-term engagementR28R38R50R340

What users complain about

  • Recent updates have drastically worsened the Brawl and Gauntlet systems, making them unbalanced and difficult to winR8R23R163R185
  • Perceived as 'pay-to-win' with excessive monetization, high prices for in-game items, and frequent paywallsR4R31R34R51
  • Frequent technical issues including freezing, crashing, loading screen problems, and audio glitchesR2R3R12R35
  • Long waiting times and 'time walls' for upgrades, training, and resource collection hinder progressionR7R30R105R264
  • Loss of game progress or inability to log into accounts is a recurring issue for some usersR16R56R65R132
  • Some users report the game causes devices to overheatR328R349

Latest update · v1.110.8

What the developer says changed (the verdict above weighs this against what reviewers report):

Welcome the sunshine back to Berk, Vikings! -2 NEW Epic Dragons have landed on Berk! -3 NEW Costumes for Teenage Night Lights! -Join the Midsummer Hunts and find the hidden Flowers! -Seasonal event returns: Collect Festive Fireflies and exchange them for Dragons, Costumes, and brand new Decorations! -Join the Trial of Flame Season for exclusive rewards! -Bug fixes and optimizations for a smoother experience.

Recurring themes

Monetization negative
Many players feel the game is 'pay-to-win' or 'pay-to-progress' due to high prices for dragons, season passes ($10-$40), and resources, with some reporting accidental charges or a feeling that the developers prioritize money over player experience.R4R31R34R51
Brawl/Gauntlet System negative
A significant number of recent reviews highlight that the latest update has ruined the Brawl and Gauntlet systems, making them unbalanced, impossible to win, and less enjoyable. Players report their dragon levels being nerfed, opponents being too strong, and unfair mechanics.R8R23R62R116
Technical Issues negative
Users frequently report the game freezing, crashing, getting stuck on loading screens, and experiencing audio problems like background noise or music cutting out.R2R3R12R35
Progression & Time Walls negative
Many players express frustration with the long waiting times and 'time walls' required for almost every action in the game, such as gathering resources, building, training dragons, and unlocking packs, making progress feel slow and tedious.R7R30R37R102
HTTYD Fandom Appeal positive
The game is highly praised by fans of the How to Train Your Dragon franchise for its extensive dragon collection, adherence to lore, and overall enjoyable experience for those who love the movies and shows.R6R10R13R18
Feature Requests mixed
Players frequently suggest new features such as the ability to ride dragons and explore, multiplayer/co-op modes, custom dragon names, and more customization options like changing dragon colors.R15R20R21R26

Who it's for

This game is for dedicated fans of the How to Train Your Dragon franchise who enjoy collecting dragons and building a village, and are willing to either invest significant time or money into progression R40R50. It is suitable for players who appreciate simulator-style games and can overlook frequent monetization prompts and recent gameplay imbalances R51.

Evidence note: The recent reviews skew heavily negative, particularly concerning the latest updates to the Brawl system and monetization practices. While the lifetime rating is very high, the recent sentiment indicates a sharp downward trajectory in user satisfaction. The developer's notes mention 'bug fixes and optimizations' but many recent reviews contradict this, reporting persistent or new bugs and performance issues.

Frequently asked

What are the main issues with the latest update?
The latest update has significantly impacted the Brawl and Gauntlet systems, making them unbalanced and difficult to win, with many players reporting their dragon levels were unfairly reduced R8R163R185. Additionally, users still experience numerous technical glitches like freezing, crashing, and audio problems R2R3R47.
Is Dragons: Rise of Berk a pay-to-win game?
Many players consider Dragons: Rise of Berk to be a 'pay-to-win' or 'pay-to-progress' game due to extensive monetization, high prices for in-game items, and frequent paywalls for content like dragons and seasonal passes, which can cost up to $40 R34R51R83R96.
Can I play as my dragons in the game?
No, based on user reviews, you cannot directly play as or ride your dragons in an open-world exploration mode, which is a frequently requested feature R15R20R21R117.
Are there frequent technical problems with the game?
Yes, many users report frequent technical problems including the game freezing, crashing, getting stuck on loading screens, and experiencing audio issues R2R3R12R35. Some also note that the game causes their devices to overheat R328R349.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R10] 3/5 · US I play it every day ❤️: I accidentally deleted your app in the past and got it back, then I lost the account so I started over. You guys have made it so much better since I deleted it. I used to have low stuff, now I have it all back AND upgraded. You guys have added so many dragons, and now we have 2 new legendary dragons! This game never lets me down, and I will play this until it dies. But enou
  2. [R40] 5/5 · US Best httyd game EVER!: If you are a httyd fan this game is perfect for you! I CV love the music from httyd 2 and all of the lore in the book of dragons, you could spend days reading about every dragon ever made in the httyd universe. There is always something to do and endless fun to be had! You’ll never get bored with this game. Thank you to the creators of httyd rise of berk. This is a truly out
  3. [R41] 5/5 · US I LOVE THIS GAME: I play this game every time I am online and it is perfection recommend for any httyd fan the developers are geniuses
  4. [R43] 5/5 · US Fun: This game is so much fun! There are always things to do quests to do and is pretty easy to gather resources and train dragons but you need to be careful about space for things. Overall a great experience
  5. [R6] 5/5 · US I love your game !: Dragons rise of Berk is a great game ! It’s very peaceful but when you brawl your brain starts working and eventually you win and my personal opinion is: That it a great how to train your dragon game possibly the best in the world.
  6. [R18] 5/5 · US THANK YOU: Hey thank you so much to the developers who created this game I’m totally in love with this game I’m the biggest how to train your dragon fan ever . Like on my 16th b day we went to all the universal parks and during that time last year my dad bought passes to epic universe and we did some of the rides and it was a dream come true and I even went to the isle of berk and met toothless an
  7. [R39] 5/5 · US Best HTTYD Game: Is one of the best games I have ever played
  8. [R28] 5/5 · US 5/5 Game: Been playing this since it first came out,I’d play ever now and then but now I can play everyday,I’m just glad that this game is still cared about
  9. [R38] 5/5 · US LOVE THE GAME: i love this game been playing for years can you upgrade the runes purchase from 20.000 to maybe 50k or even 100k 20k isnt much when u have dragons that are above lvl 180 and takes too much runes would love to buy a big pack since 20k isnt much and buying multiple isnt worth as much as having one thats worth 50or more
  10. [R50] 5/5 · US LOVE THIS GAME: i’ve been playing this game for about a year and all i have to say is what a great game! every chance i get i play this game. i’ve spent so much money and a monthly subscriber! i will never stop playing this amazing game!!!
  11. [R340] 3/5 · GB my favourite game atm!!: i’ve been playing this game for roughly two years now and i love it more and more every day. i’ve probably spent upwards of £50 on in app purchases over the past couple years! this is probably the only game i’ve consistently played for multiple years. i’ve loved the HTTYD movies since i first saw the first when i was 4 or 5. i love how this game follows both the movies and
  12. [R8] 3/5 · US Good but stop changing mechanics and just add: So this is honestly a really good game, but I came back after not playing for a year roughly, and find out that Brawls are different. And different for the worst. I get put against opponents that have grades 6-8 while I have one grade 6 and then the rest are 3 or less. And then I don’t know what happened but all my grades got dropped horribly. My cham
  13. [R23] 5/5 · US PLZ fix the brawl system: I love this game a lot and i love the brawl, but the thing that makes it borderline unplayable is the leveling system. The level if your opponents goes up with how much you level up your dragons, not by the level of the dragons that are actually in your team meaning if you level up a bunch of your dragons by 1, you’ll be dealing with opponents that are way stronger and it
  14. [R163] 2/5 · US New Update Issues: The newest update for the brawl features is actually horrendous. The update completely nerfed a ton of dragons and also sets you against enemies that are perfectly stacked to defeat you. I haven’t won one brawl since the update, despite leveling up dragons, changing my team, and having played the game for years being on arena 7. Please fix the issues with the brawl. It really ma
  15. [R185] 3/5 · US Arena battles ruined: I don’t know what happened in the last update but my team used to win 80% of their battles and now they’ve lost 25 in a row so I’m done with the arena
  16. [R4] 4/5 · US Great game!!: Great game ,I like the story line and how much you can interact .my only complaints is that sometimes it feels like there is a paywall but over all I love it
  17. [R31] 1/5 · US boring: sure you do get dragons you do fight but after a few months you will get bored you have to unlock dragons some of them you have to pay like what the I wish games like that could just have every thing FREE!!!!!
  18. [R34] 3/5 · US amazing game but too pay to win: to get more rewards in lokis tribute why do I need 40 dollars to get the other 750 driftwood dragons
  19. [R51] 3/5 · US Pay to win…: Great concept, but you have to pay for SO MUCH… a lot of things will say you can unlock them at a certain level, but then you have to pay for them. Which is excitingly frustrating. Overall, it is an exception app, but I would only recommend to those who are okay with paying for lot’s of in game content.
  20. [R2] 1/5 · US Been playing since the first.: Now it’s so glitchy it won’t open!
  21. [R3] 1/5 · US loading issue: for some reason, i can’t get into the game, it freezes whenever i try and it only ever happens with rise of berk. it just stops loading on the loading screen. i cant access the game. please help
  22. [R12] 1/5 · US Stuck on loading screen: The loading screen is frozen please fix it now
  23. [R35] 5/5 · US Glitch!!!!!😡😡😡: I was feeding toothless and then my screen froze. There’s a glitch and then it started going glitchy so there’s a glitch.
  24. [R7] 1/5 · US PLEASE Help Your Players: I know this is probably a shot in the dark and the developers will probably never see this but I told myself that it’s better to speak out than to never say anything at all…I love this game but there is a huge problem when it comes to the obscene time wall behind EVERY single thing that you do in this game. Whether it’s resources, building huts, gathering iron, training d
  25. [R30] 4/5 · US W game: I love it, it has a lot of things to do all the time, the only down side is that sometimes you have to wait for your dragons to collect resources so that u can do anything.
  26. [R105] 3/5 · US Unbalanced but fun: This game is really fun. Especially if you are a HTTYD fan. All the different dragon species and classes are cool. BUT, it is super unbalanced. It’s like they wanted you to give up after 3 months. Everything is so expensive and takes so much time to do anything. I can’t spend weeks waiting to upgrade one statue to level 5 which btw is 1 statue out of 3 I need to get the nex
  27. [R264] 3/5 · GB Ehhhh: So after nearly 11 years of playing this game on and off, I’ve somewhat hit a roadblock. Lvl175 toothless, 654/803 dragons collected, and I’ve just reached a point where any progress takes days, if not months if you’re exploring for an exclusive dragon. Not to mention levelling up a single dragon (depending on the dragon) past lvl125 can take a full day of grinding for resources and then an
  28. [R16] 1/5 · US Lost all my data, even though I didn’t delete the game. How can I restore it?: Lost all my data. I had all the event dragons, all the titans, all of the costumes. I was given no information on how to restore/back up data so I have no username or restoration code. Please let me know if there is a way to fix this. Otherwise, I like the game. Thank you!
  29. [R56] 5/5 · US I lost everything: This game made me so mad I’m on a guest account because I can’t Sign in with Apple and I don’t have Facebook and I spent over 200$ in this game and I lost everything when I transferred my save data to my new tablet and now I have to restart everything.
  30. [R65] 2/5 · US Signing in: When I try to login to the game it only shows the guest option and it’s pissing me off. I have so much progress on the game and I can’t login on my google play or Facebook at the mail nor the via page. Fix it
  31. [R132] 1/5 · US Doesn’t let me log back into my account: I have a Facebook account linked and it’s a high level. I had the account on my old phone but I tried to connect so I could relog in and it tells me to log out and go to menu to sign in. Did that and there’s no Facebook link.
  32. [R328] 3/5 · GB Great but overheats!: The game is brilliant, engaging and the models within are great. However, you can’t play the game for more than 30 seconds without your phone heating up in your hand… iPhone 16 user
  33. [R349] 3/5 · GB Fun game but needs more optimisation: As the title states, it’s a great game that’s fun to play and collect dragons on, however while playing it makes my phone run extremely hot very quickly! I would understand if I was using an older device but I’m playing on a 14 pro max, not exactly old by any means.
  34. [R62] 2/5 · US This game needs a CO OP feature and needs some different things: I have been playing this game for a little over two years now and me and my friends have been wanting to work together on our villages together but we can't cause there is no CO OP feature and it would be very nice to have. other things like the brawl update is so annoying like most of my dragons used to be over level 10 now most are
  35. [R116] 3/5 · US Great game until this one update: I love the game through and through. One of the only Mobile games that I enjoy playing but just this recent update with the Brawls. My high level dragons are struggling to beat lower level dragons and are on a constant loss and now I’m at the point of just not touching Brawls anymore and I loved it before. Some dragons are too over powered. Our turns to attack so
  36. [R37] 3/5 · US Fine but it could be better: This game is filled with wonderful adventures and beautiful stories but, it takes so long before I can ever battle a character and get all characters, only people who are hard to stress out can play this game 😕
  37. [R102] 3/5 · US Like less and less: Another update and now you need a lot more resources to get iron to upgrade. Not a fan. Another way they are trying to make money as it now takes longer to upgrade. I’ve been playing this game almost since it came out and I’m enjoying it less and less with every update.
  38. [R13] 5/5 · US Great game: One of best games I have ever played
  39. [R15] 3/5 · US PLS ADD TO THE GAME!!!!: I love httyd so I got this game but the dragons aren’t smooth buuuut it’s so good but pls pls pls pls do an update so we can play as our dragons and fly on burk or anywhere and i am just begging you to add it I love the light fury but i cant get the vip basically so pls if u do add this pls add her so we can play as her like the school of dragons i just heard of this and
  40. [R20] 5/5 · US One thing I’d love…: It’s a good game I’m just. I wish there was like a simulator mode that you unlock when your like lvl 10. And you can play as toothless or storm fly and the light fury lie you know what I mean. Cus I’m more of a simulator person but it is a great game 4 stars.
  41. [R21] 4/5 · US Did the game change?: I’ve had this game downloaded for a while, I remember it being more of an rpg game? Like you could play as the dragon. Or maybe you were playing as hiccup I forget. And you could go fishing and explore and stuff. Maybe I’m remembering a different game but if I am then I’m trying to find it and this is the only one coming up.
  42. [R26] 5/5 · US I love how to train your Dragon: This game is really fun and I would love to see a way to make custom dragons and I would like to see some more things to do in this game
  43. [R47] 4/5 · US GIVE ME MY SONG!: This game is truly amazing the facts however the wings work I love the dragon so I’m the dragon lover myself. This is just super super super all I am asking of you is to please fix the sound every time I enjoy the game. All I hear is that entrance sound and then it’s silent. It is so silent.! and I’m in the dragon battle right now and then all I heard was pow pow booms and booms.
  44. [R83] 1/5 · US dragon rise of burk: the dragon rise of burk yearly subscription is way to expensive it should be 20 dollars instead of 87 dollars and the game is a pay to win game and i dont like that because i wish the company cared more about the players than the money thank you
  45. [R96] 1/5 · US Too Expensive: Most recent changes to cost of iron are over the top and not acceptable. Too costly to make progress in game. A lot better games out there with realistic and fun progress more closely aligned to cost to play.
  46. [R117] 1/5 · US I wish I could ride the dragons: You don’t get to ride the dragons there’s ads it’s so annoying like what’s the point I just want to ride the dragons. It would be so much fun to go to the ships and actually like dodge or the ships cannons.

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store