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

DomiNations

40
User verdict / 100 High confidence Divided

DomiNations is a long-standing strategy game with engaging city-building and combat, but recent updates have introduced significant issues including frequent crashes, extremely long upgrade times, and an unbalanced 'pay-to-win' economy.

4.5★ lifetime (38,696) Free + in-app purchases since 2015 by Nemesis Games, Inc updated 0.9 mo ago recent negative 42% 120 reviews across 4 regions
Progression & Pacing Stability & Bugs Pay-to-Win / Monetization Commanders / Balance Ads
5★320
4★128
3★134
2★77
1★341
recent reviews across 4 regions, vs the 4.5★ lifetime average

DomiNations offers a deep strategy experience with satisfying city building and warfare, attracting a loyal player base over many years. However, recent changes and updates have led to widespread frustration due to technical instability, slow progression, and perceived monetization issues.

What users like

  • Engaging strategy and city-building gameplayR5R10R19R24
  • Updates often add new challenges and contentR15R105
  • Has a loyal, long-term player baseR19R32R41R52

What users complain about

  • Frequent game crashes and connection issuesR2R14R18R21
  • Excessively long upgrade and research times, often weeks or monthsR1R6R13R16
  • Commanders are overpowered and unbalance gameplayR5R7R42R63
  • Perceived as 'pay-to-win' with high costs and in-app purchases pushedR4R13R17R22
  • Too many long and unskippable adsR20R34R36R56
  • Poor or unresponsive customer serviceR43R46R65R109
  • Game is becoming overcomplicated and losing its wayR115R182

Latest update · v13.1580.1581

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

Update 13.6 adds a highly requested feature to the Artifact inventory system and adds the next Strike University Study. We’ve taken time to implement minor quality-of-life changes and tackle a massive number of bug fixes to clean up the overall DomiNations Experience.

Recurring themes

Stability & Bugs negative
Many users report frequent game crashes, disconnections, and various bugs, especially after recent updates. This includes issues with logging in, starting battles, and general gameplay, contradicting the developer's claim of 'massive bug fixes'.R2R14R18R21
Progression & Pacing negative
A dominant complaint is the extremely slow pace of progression, with upgrades and research taking days, weeks, or even months, especially at higher levels. This leads to long periods of inactivity for players.R1R6R13R16
Pay-to-Win / Monetization negative
Many users feel the game has become a 'cash grab' or 'pay-to-win' experience. They report that advancing without spending real money is nearly impossible due to high costs, long wait times, and advantages given to paying players.R4R13R17R22
Commanders / Balance negative
The introduction of 'Commanders' is widely criticized for unbalancing the game. Players report that commanders are overpowered, often one-shotting entire armies, making battles less strategic and frustrating.R5R7R42R63
Ads negative
Users are annoyed by the excessive number and length of ads, with some reporting ads lasting two to three minutes and being unskippable. Some also mention ads blocking phone functionality.R20R34R36R56

Who it's for

DomiNations is for players who enjoy deep strategy and civilization-building games and are willing to invest significant time or money into progression R24. It is not for players who prefer fast-paced games, dislike frequent crashes and bugs, or are unwilling to deal with 'pay-to-win' mechanics and long upgrade timers R1R13R56.

Evidence note: The recent reviews skew heavily negative, which contrasts with the game's high lifetime rating. Many long-term players express disappointment with recent changes, suggesting a decline in quality over time. The developer's notes for the latest update claim 'massive bug fixes,' but recent reviews directly contradict this, with many users reporting new or ongoing stability issues.

Frequently asked

Are there frequent crashes or bugs in DomiNations?
Yes, many recent reviews report frequent game crashes, disconnections, and various bugs, especially after recent updates, contradicting the developer's claims of bug fixes R2R14R23R26.
How long do upgrades take in DomiNations?
Upgrades in DomiNations can take an extremely long time, with many players reporting wait times of days, weeks, or even months, particularly at higher ages R1R6R13R16.
Is DomiNations a pay-to-win game?
Many recent reviews indicate that DomiNations has become a 'pay-to-win' game, where progression is significantly hindered without spending real money on in-app purchases to speed up upgrades or gain advantages R13R17R28R56.
Are there too many ads in DomiNations?
Yes, numerous players complain about an excessive number of long, unskippable ads, some lasting two to three minutes, which negatively impacts the gameplay experience R20R34R36R64.

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. [R5] 4/5 · US Good game, fix commanders: The game used to be better and is still great, but now, it’s become less strategic due to commanders being overpowered. You could bring an entire anti-commander squad in and it would get wiped out in one hit. The only criticism I have is that commanders are to powerful. Still great in terms of city building and progression.
  2. [R10] 5/5 · US My thoughts of the game: I love this game as it help me to relax. It also helps to know how war is like in real time. Good game and thank you the game developers
  3. [R19] 5/5 · US Great mobile game.: I have been playing this game for years and it just keeps getting better. Highly recommend.
  4. [R24] 5/5 · US Fun: If you like strategy and building a civilization. This is the game for you. I feel like I’m attacking other players in the game. And the experience over all is just so different but in a good way.
  5. [R15] 5/5 · US World Domination: What I like about the game is that it updates and adds new challenges to the game, making it more interesting and entertaining.
  6. [R105] 5/5 · US DomiNation: Interesting game. Keeps improving itself.
  7. [R32] 5/5 · US Para unos de los mejores juegos llevo años jugando: Unos de los mejores juegos
  8. [R41] 5/5 · US Game: A love this game! Been playing for years.
  9. [R52] 2/5 · US Problems Before Playing Again: It’s been years since I have been playing this game and still going on to this day, because of my email and password. Now I’m sitting on the same page, scratching my head, and thinking if this game has bugs and glitches or I’m just too stupid enough to remember, because it’s “irritating” to me.
  10. [R2] 3/5 · US Crash Crash Crash: If you can get yourself through an entire attack without the game crashing and disconnecting from the servers. Count your blessings. Because a miracle just happened. It’s a good game otherwise. Just be prepared to attack with your troops and then lose them when the game crashes and you have to recook them all and select new ones from reinforcements, because they’re gone into the
  11. [R14] 5/5 · US Crashes: It crashes when loading finishes on the main screen. Restarting the phone doesn't help. 17 Pro. · translated
  12. [R18] 2/5 · US bugs: too many bugs,hard to connect, screen size adptation error
  13. [R21] 1/5 · US Why won't the game open at all 😡😡😡😡😡: 😡😡😡😡 · translated
  14. [R1] 1/5 · US Time suck: Takes too long to advance. Plan on investing A LOT of time to this game. Click bate central....why can’t it be more like the original game ? Get ready to waste time....time you will never get back! Why 14 or 16 days to wait for n upgrade? Clean up click bait and make upgrades progress faster. Do better
  15. [R6] 4/5 · US Build time: My only complaint is forever & 3 years to build everything - other than that - great game.
  16. [R13] 1/5 · US Too long: DON’T PLAY ‼️‼️‼️I could play this game for 3 years straight and still be in the early stages of development. It takes weeks to months to upgrades building and literal years to complete university studies. Only play this game if you have Endless time & unlimited money. Nothing but a cash grab and they won’t fix it. DONT PLAY
  17. [R16] 4/5 · US Too long to upgrade: When you get to the higher stages of age like atomic age, space age etc. it takes over 10 days to upgrade a lot of things. Once I upgrade three or four different things I don't play the game for a while to wait for the upgrades to finish. There should be either an incentive or faster way to upgrade.
  18. [R7] 3/5 · US Pretty good: This game is probably one of the best games in the app store (although that isn’t saying much) and it’s a pretty well rounded game. However, there are quite a few bugs and the AI is pretty bad. Also whoever added the commanders deserves life in prison, those things one-shot almost every unit at level one and completely ruin the game. I mean every time I try to attack someone, Riply so
  19. [R42] 1/5 · US Vas: Quiten los commanders no sirven para nada
  20. [R63] 3/5 · US Great early game, but Ripley needs a hard early-game nerf: I’ve been playing for about a week now and am in enlightenment age, and playing offense is damn near impossible as ripley will RIP through forces with very little counterplay unless you get lucky and your ripley path finds to him first. I’ve heard he’s able to be dealt with later on, but he’s way too powerful for this stage of the game. Ei
  21. [R4] 1/5 · US Game has been Changing for the worse: Nothing gets fixed but they add money related items every update. I will be departing from this game soon unfortunately.
  22. [R17] 1/5 · US Would not recommend: Constant Money Grab complete pay to win. No balance between offense and defense .
  23. [R22] 3/5 · US Good game at lower levels: Always loved this game. But as I got to higher levels, more and more of the players had purchased all sorts of goodies, making them impossible or harder to beat.
  24. [R20] 1/5 · US Too many adds: Can’t close adds. Will run for more than a full minute
  25. [R34] 3/5 · US Good game, too much advertising: A nice game, killed off by endless advertising. Some of the ads block you phone for 2 minutes (I.e. Microsoft)
  26. [R36] 3/5 · US Lots of bugs and long ads: Although a fun game, seems like each release results in more bugs than the last release. Also, some of the forced ads go for more than a minute. Now thinking about deleting game.
  27. [R56] 1/5 · US This game sucks bad: The game will do nothing but make you mad. It’s designed to overwhelmingly benefit pay to play. You have to watch so many ads that can be several minutes long. It literally takes 3 years to get to the top age, and like 6 to 7 years to get max level, or more. It will constantly match you against bases that are 100+ levels above you. The AI is terrible, troops are too stupid t
  28. [R43] 1/5 · US Game Constantly Freezes & You Lose Money: This game constantly freezes and crashes. You lose resources you buy and/or are forced to buy unnecessary resources because their game constantly freezes and crashes. It’s so annoying. It really ruins the fun of the game. I’ve reached out to customer service multiple times and it still keeps happening. They won’t even refund you when this happens. It’s a t
  29. [R46] 1/5 · US Customer: Customer service would not restore crowns that disappeared from my account. I have played for years. No more
  30. [R65] 1/5 · US Customer Service is a Scam !!!: I have paid them over $ 1K USD, and customer services REFUSES to help me with anything…. Do Not Pay For Anything, because they refuse to do anything for you, regardless of how much money you throw away !!!
  31. [R109] 3/5 · US Be careful. They take your money.: I have been playing this game for years. Their support is horrible and the game has bugs. In June this year my daughter bought me some credits for Father’s Day and I didn’t receive what she bought. They keep running me in circles trying to wear me down. I am done and filing formal complaints.
  32. [R115] 3/5 · US Once a great game: Played since the beginning and still play out of habit and friends made over the years. Game has lost its way and is over complicated. The calculations never work out.
  33. [R182] 3/5 · US Average at best; meh at worst: Game starts out entertaining, but gets bogged down pretty quickly. I’ve been at it a few months, and most upgrades now take 5 days - or more. And getting enough resources to do those updates can take weeks. I think the main problem is that there’s just too much going on. There are parts of the game that i completely ignore because they require a lot more learning
  34. [R23] 1/5 · US Crashes: Explain why it just crashes after the new update. I already deleted and reinstalled it, and as soon as I tap to enter, it loads and immediately crashes. · translated
  35. [R26] 3/5 · US Doesn't launch after update: Good day, the game doesn't launch after the update. I thought I just needed to wait, I entered the game, left it for 10 minutes, 0 progress. · translated
  36. [R28] 1/5 · US In app purchases: Update - May 2026 The entire robotics age is impossible. If you have to complete each level and max it, do not play this game. Don’t waste your time. 1 general upgrade takes 200 iron which 10 iron takes 40 minutes. Every wall upgrade takes 100 plastic. Ten plastic takes 20 minutes and they are all small upgrade items purposeful so it is a never ending grind. The materials don’t
  37. [R64] 4/5 · US ADS !!!: Ads are taking 2 minutes each !!!! WTH

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