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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Episode vs Chapters

Episode 4.7★ · Free + IAP 65
Winner Episode
Chapters 4.4★ · Free + IAP 60

Episode and Chapters are very similar story-based games, both heavily criticized for their aggressive monetization through gems and tickets, but Episode has a slight edge due to its larger community and more diverse content, despite similar paywall complaints.

Full reviews: Episode · Chapters

Both Episode and Chapters are interactive story apps that offer engaging narratives but are widely criticized by users for their 'pay-to-play' models, requiring significant gem purchases for desirable choices and story progression. While Chapters faces similar issues with high gem costs and technical problems, Episode benefits from a larger content library and community, though it also struggles with user frustration over monetization.

Head to head

Features & Content edge: EpisodeR1R2R20R26
Episode Episode offers a vast selection of stories, including community-created content, which some users prefer over Episode Originals R1. Users appreciate the diverse range of stories and the ability to customize characters R26. Some enjoy the LGBTQ+ options and the feeling of living in a reality show R20. However, there are complaints about the difficulty of creating stories without coding knowledge R2 and a perceived decline in community stories R1.
Chapters Chapters also provides engaging stories, with some users enjoying the interactive romance novel format and customization options . The app introduced an audio option for stories, which some users were excited about, but it's behind a paywall . There are concerns about a shift towards more conservative, age-gap relationship stories in Chapters Originals and issues with unfinished stories . Some users also noted changes in character appearances in older stories .
Ease of Use & Accessibility edge: EpisodeR5R8R35R49
Episode Episode is generally considered fun and addictive R5. However, users report issues with the app not working or crashing R35R49. Some also mention problems with gem surveys not rewarding gems or crashing R8R51.
Chapters Chapters is found to be addictive by some users . However, it faces significant complaints about loading issues and the app refusing to load past 30% . There are also reports of the app not saving progress, requiring users to pay for tickets again to continue a chapter . The audio option, while a potential accessibility feature, is behind a paywall, which is a concern for low-vision users .
Reliability & Performance tieR8R35R45R49
Episode Episode users report issues with the app not working or displaying connection errors R35R49. Some users also experienced their data being deleted, losing years of progress and stories R45. There are also complaints about gem surveys not working correctly, leading to unreceived rewards R8R51.
Chapters Chapters users frequently report issues with the app not loading or taking a long time to load . Glitches where progress isn't saved, requiring re-payment of tickets for the same chapter, are also noted . Some users also mention videos to get diamonds and games for diamonds not working .
Price & Value tieR3R4R5R6
Episode Episode is heavily criticized for its 'pay-to-play' model, where desirable choices, outfits, and even story progression are locked behind gem paywalls R3R4R5R11. Users feel forced to spend money for a good experience . Earning gems for free is difficult and often involves watching many ads for minimal reward R6R12R54.
Chapters Chapters faces similar, strong criticism for its high costs and aggressive monetization R61R64. Users feel that most important choices require diamonds, which are expensive and used up quickly . Earning diamonds for free is slow and insufficient . Even VIP packages and passes are seen as not providing enough value R78.
Customer Support tieR8R51R57R78
Episode Some users report issues with not receiving gems after completing surveys R8R51. There are also complaints from creators about not being able to log into their stories and not receiving feedback from developers for a year R57.
Chapters Users report not receiving purchased gems after buying passes R78. There are also serious accusations of being charged randomly and customer service emails not being answered .
Pick Episode if

Pick Episode if you want access to a larger library of stories, including community-created content, and appreciate more diverse character customization options R26. It might also be a better choice if you prioritize a slightly more stable app experience, despite its own issues R35R49.

Pick Chapters if

Pick Chapters if you are specifically looking for interactive romance novels with detailed storylines and don't mind the potential for high gem costs .

Evidence note: Both apps receive overwhelming criticism regarding their monetization strategies, with users from both sides expressing frustration over the necessity of paying for gems to enjoy the core experience. The evidence for 'Features & Content' and 'Ease of Use & Accessibility' is more balanced, but 'Price & Value' is a dominant negative theme for both.

Frequently asked

Are Episode and Chapters truly free to play?
No, while both Episode and Chapters are free to download and offer some free content, users widely report that enjoying the full experience, making desirable choices, or progressing in stories effectively requires significant in-app purchases of gems and tickets R3R4R61R64.
What are the main complaints about Episode and Chapters?
The primary complaints for both Episode and Chapters revolve around their aggressive monetization, with users stating that most good choices, outfits, and story paths are locked behind expensive gem paywalls R11R16R18. Additionally, both apps face criticism for technical issues like crashing, loading problems, and unrewarded purchases or surveys R35R49R51.
Can you earn gems or tickets for free in these apps?
While both apps offer some ways to earn gems or tickets for free, users generally find these methods to be slow, insufficient, or unreliable, often involving watching many ads for minimal rewards or completing surveys that don't always pay out R6R12R51R54.

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. [R1] Episode 1/5 · US VIP PACKAGES ARE TERRIBLE: I hate Episode Original stories. Too much gem choices that actually take away from the storyline. What once was built through the community stories, Episode abandoned them which suck since Community Stories will ALWAYS be better than the Episode Original Stories. I don’t like the face that they got rid of just getting tickets separately and having the VIP package that’s
  2. [R2] Episode 4/5 · US Really fun: I love everything about this app, wonderful stories and amazing overall, but question, when you go to make a story how come you have to know to code to make one? Why don’t yall make it to where everyone could make a story if they wanted to without coding at all, I’ve tried to make stories and it’s super duper hard without any coding experience 💔
  3. [R20] Episode 5/5 · US More LGBTQ: Thank you
  4. [R26] Episode 5/5 · US Best game ever: This game could not be any better! It’s got so many stories to chose from, and they have a diverse range to chose from! And, best part, there is no adds!
  5. [R5] Episode 4/5 · US I love this, but not for beginners: This game is great and the story drama makes it really addicting, but I wish there weren’t so many things behind a paywall. For example, if I want to read the next few episodes, I have to have passes, which cost money. Additionally, if you are looking for more love interest in these stories, you have to pay gems. If I could change one thing about this game, it
  6. [R8] Episode 5/5 · US Love this game!! but there is a problem: this game has kept my gems away from me. i did a survey and they didnt give me what i was supposed to get the game is fun but i waited long to get my gems just to not actually get them
  7. [R35] Episode 5/5 · US Not working plz read this: This game is really fun but one thing is the gems are way too expensive but the most thing is when I re downloaded it and I was about to play it I tapped into it and it says that the app wasn’t working but it wasn’t my my Wi-Fi cause my Wi-Fi was working great I’ll show you a picture of what was happening please can you fix this this could be a major red flag if it’s no
  8. [R49] Episode 2/5 · US Isn’t working: I love episode very much, and I love playing it and it’s so fun to play even if it is a little diamond obsessed I’ve found very good story’s over the years. So, when I wanted to play pretty little liar’s of course I went to the episode app. But when I did, it said connection error please try again, and gave me a retry button. And every single time I clicked it it kept saying the sam
  9. [R45] Episode 3/5 · US Episode Deleted all of my Data: This game was okay. The only thing that really made it worth it was the creator stories because they didn’t cost a ridiculous amount of gems for good choices, except Episode took it upon themselves to delete my account at some point between today and yesterday, and now ten years of data is gone. All of my stories I’ve finished, all of the stories I was still current
  10. [R3] Episode 3/5 · US The gems: The game can be fun, but only really when you spend gems. I always stop playing because i get tired of not being able to make the stories fun. I wish they could lessen the amount of times you have to use gems, it really does ruin the experience and makes the game feel not worth playing.
  11. [R4] Episode 2/5 · US Good game but bad game: The game is good but I don't like at all that for everything good in a story it has to be with gems, if you are a new player it will be very boring to play. I also hate that the tickets run out to be able to continue the story. It really makes me want to continue playing this game. Improve the gems, at least you can get them quickly and easily, to enjoy the game. Because it
  12. [R6] Episode 3/5 · US I love this game but…: I like playing this game because it’s very fun and messy but you can’t really do much because you have no gems and the only way to get them is to buy them or watch an add every like 10 minutes and you don’t even get a lot, people wants to buy new clothes and makes new decisions but can’t really be ur they have no gems
  13. [R51] Episode 3/5 · US Needs fixing.: I love this game, but I’ve been having problems with the gem surveys for a while. I complete the survey and instead of giving me the gems, it conveniently crashes or says they’re not giving me the gems because “i’m not their target” even though it allowed me to complete the survey until the end.
  14. [R57] Episode 3/5 · US Please Fix The Bugs: I love episode even though YALL exaggerate with the gems.But there’s a lot of issues idk exactly what it is but there’s creators that can’t log into their stories and they already tried to reach to you guys and this has been going on for A YEAR but still no feedback and we are all desperate please fix those issues we are all tired of waiting please fix that ASAP ty.
  15. [R78] Chapters 3/5 · US Paid for a pass and did not receive Gems: I iPad for a pass saying 600 Gems and did not receive the gems. I am beyond disappointed. I’ve been sitting here since 9am on this app and finally said alright I’ll buy the pass and it clearly said 600Gems paid for it and got nothing. I restarted my phone and still nothing.
  16. [R61] Chapters 1/5 · US Too much $: This is a really unique concept and really fun to engage with, however the amount of money required to purchase the diamonds in order to have any “fun” is astronomical.
  17. [R64] Chapters 2/5 · US Great stories but need more diamond options: I really enjoyed the app and the stories the only thing that sucks is having to purchase the diamonds to continue the story, there is no good way to continue without purchasing and that adds up quickly. As much as I enjoyed it I gotta say goodbye
  18. [R11] Episode 5/5 · US Have to pay for everything just to have a fun story: For clothes , extra scenes and great positive choices you literally have to pay. It’s really sad and draining. Can’t enjoy a good game without using your hard earned money. I wouldn’t even consider playing this game. Every episode will cost you money. It’s even hard to earn this “gems” for free.
  19. [R16] Episode 1/5 · US Yall fell off: Episode, yall become WAY too money hungry. Like, I can’t even enjoy a single episode/story without having to pay for diamonds just for a decent choice. Like, either throw a drink in your best friend’s face for free or pay 29 diamonds to save your reputation. Like WHAT!? What kind of choice is this!? There was a time we can choose our outfits for FREE and now anything decent looking
  20. [R18] Episode 3/5 · US READ BEFORE DOWNLOAD!: So this game is a literal money making mad. Like MAD MAD. For every game tou literally need diamonds to look good, choose better options. And etc! And the ads are so time consuming! Must do better developers! I understand you have to make money, but this is too much!! Regards, the community’s wishes and me.
  21. [R12] Episode 3/5 · US The game is really fun but: This game is really fun but every time I’m doing a fun story and j want to to go really well I keep having to watch a ton of adds just to get one good thing and I have to keep doing that over and over again there should be at least one GOOD thing. For example the amazing outfits you have to use gems just to get one of the good outfits but if you don’t have any gems you
  22. [R54] Episode 3/5 · US Good stories unfair prices and ads: So I love the stories they are really entertaining and fun to play but it’s unfair that all the good options are for diamonds and diamonds cost money. And when it says here’s a few words from our sponsors it makes me watch ads and not let me leave

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