Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Shadow Fight 3 vs Shadow Fight 2

Shadow Fight 3 4.7★ · Free + IAP 65
Winner Shadow Fight 2
Shadow Fight 2 4.8★ · Free + IAP 70

Shadow Fight 2 is generally preferred for its nostalgic gameplay and slightly less aggressive monetization, despite both games suffering from excessive ads and pay-to-win mechanics.

Full reviews: Shadow Fight 3 · Shadow Fight 2

Shadow Fight 2 and Shadow Fight 3 are both free-to-play fighting games with in-app purchases. While Shadow Fight 3 offers more detailed graphics and a different combat style, it is heavily criticized for being pay-to-win and having numerous bugs. Shadow Fight 2, a classic for many, is praised for its nostalgic value and engaging gameplay, though it also faces significant complaints about an overwhelming number of ads and pay-to-win elements.

Head to head

Graphics and Detail edge: Shadow Fight 3R5R26R32R113
Shadow Fight 3 Shadow Fight 3 is praised for its highly detailed graphics and animations, with users calling it one of the most detailed mobile games they've played R5R26R32.
Shadow Fight 2 Shadow Fight 2 is appreciated for its aesthetic and runs well on low-end devices, but specific comments on graphical detail are less frequent, with focus more on nostalgic value R113.
Combat and Gameplay tieR9R12R13R16
Shadow Fight 3 Shadow Fight 3 offers a combat system that many find good for a mobile title, emphasizing timing, precision, and move variety R36. However, some find it repetitive, with inescapable combos and unfair bot difficulty R9R13. Controls can also stick or feel unresponsive R12R16.
Shadow Fight 2 Shadow Fight 2's combat is widely enjoyed and considered a core strength, with good controls and a decent amount of moves R78R113. However, some users report terrible hitboxes and a rigged combat system R79. The difficulty can also be inconsistent, with some 'insane' fights being easier than 'normal' ones .
Pay-to-Win / Monetization tieR1R27R28R37
Shadow Fight 3 Shadow Fight 3 is heavily criticized as a 'pay-to-win' game, with many users stating that progression, especially against bosses and in events, requires spending money or an extreme grind R1R27R28R37.
Shadow Fight 2 Shadow Fight 2 also faces significant accusations of being pay-to-win, particularly at higher levels, with an energy system that can be removed for $20 and a general push to pay for upgrades R63R79R81.
Ads tieR1R11R12R30
Shadow Fight 3 Shadow Fight 3 is plagued by an excessive number of ads, with users reporting them after every mission or backing out of something, often being long and unskippable R1R11R12R30.
Shadow Fight 2 Shadow Fight 2 is also severely criticized for an overwhelming number of ads, often appearing after every single fight, even offline, forcing restarts R63. Some users report that purchasing in-game items did not remove ads .
Bugs and Reliability edge: Shadow Fight 3R4R6R10R12
Shadow Fight 3 Shadow Fight 3 users report frequent lagging, bugs, freezes, and crashes R4R10R12. Connectivity issues, particularly with Wi-Fi, are common R6. There are also reports of quest chests not opening R19.
Shadow Fight 2 Shadow Fight 2 users experience issues with game loading, sometimes repeatedly . Bugs are also reported in raids, preventing entry or exit . Some users mention ads bugging out and crashing the game .
Content and Longevity edge: Shadow Fight 2R15R36R41R65
Shadow Fight 3 Shadow Fight 3 offers a good storyline and various game modes R36R41. However, some long-time players feel the game has become 'mid' and lacks content after completing the story, with online PvP being dead R15.
Shadow Fight 2 Shadow Fight 2 is praised for its nostalgic value and has been a childhood favorite for many, with some playing for years without finishing the story R65. It offers lots of content, but some users report losing progress upon returning to the game .
Pick Shadow Fight 3 if

You prioritize modern graphics and detailed character models in a mobile fighting game R5R26. You are looking for a game with a different combat style and a good storyline R36R41.

Pick Shadow Fight 2 if

You are seeking a nostalgic experience from a classic mobile fighting game R65. You prefer gameplay that runs well on a wider range of devices . You are willing to tolerate frequent ads for a game with a strong legacy and engaging core combat R78R113.

Evidence note: Both apps receive overwhelming criticism regarding excessive ads and pay-to-win mechanics, making it difficult to find clear advantages in these areas. Recent reviews for both games are heavily skewed negative due to these issues, contrasting with their high lifetime ratings which likely reflect earlier, less monetized versions.

Frequently asked

Is Shadow Fight 3 pay-to-win?
Yes, many users describe Shadow Fight 3 as heavily pay-to-win, stating that defeating bosses and progressing in events often requires spending money or an extensive grind for gear R1R27R39R49.
Does Shadow Fight 2 have too many ads?
Yes, Shadow Fight 2 is widely criticized for having an excessive number of ads, with many users reporting ads after every single fight, even when offline, which can force game restarts R63R78R84R87.
Are there bugs in Shadow Fight 3?
Yes, Shadow Fight 3 users frequently report issues such as constant lagging, bugs, freezes, crashes, and problems with internet connection, particularly Wi-Fi R4R6R12. Some also mention specific bugs like quest chests not opening R19.
Can you play Shadow Fight 2 without an energy system?
Shadow Fight 2 has an energy system that limits gameplay, but users can pay $20 to remove it R67R79R81.

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] Shadow Fight 3 5/5 · US THE BEST: THIS IS LIKE THE MOST DETAILED MOBILE GAME IVE EVER PLAYED SO I RECOMMEND THIS
  2. [R26] Shadow Fight 3 5/5 · US Crazy: This game is actually like a real game
  3. [R32] Shadow Fight 3 5/5 · US ADD MORE ANIMATIONS: Great game, I've been playing it for a while, but my favorite set, buried centurion, doesn't have an intro or outro animation! I'd also like an easier way to get those blank spheres to purchase ones of your choice.
  4. [R113] Shadow Fight 2 5/5 · US Love this: This game is so good! I enjoy the combat so much, and I like the aesthetic. Love how it’s free too
  5. [R9] Shadow Fight 3 3/5 · US An absolute (NOT) classic.: This game is repetitive, just the same fight over an over spamming the same combo and missing one move and getting pulled into an inescapable combo for the rest of eternity and that makes me want to GENUINELY eat bugs but otherwise it's mid, people who call this classic and say bring back 2017 should realize they were 3 days old in 2017😂
  6. [R12] Shadow Fight 3 3/5 · US Bugs/button sticks: The “control” button to move around sticks in certain spots. I know for a fact thats been there since 2020…and the fact the game continues to crash. What’re we doing besides adding 60 ads popping up every time you back out of something? Holy smoly jimbo. Worse than youtube and twitch ads brother.
  7. [R13] Shadow Fight 3 1/5 · US Bots are insanely difficult in adventure mode, developers are jerks: developers are jerks · translated
  8. [R16] Shadow Fight 3 1/5 · US DONT DO IT: Would not recommend to anybody. Like a game that constantly cheats. And I mean cheats. You be winning then all the sudden your controls won’t work or they do the opposite of what you did. DONT recommend it at all.
  9. [R1] Shadow Fight 3 2/5 · US P2W: Cool game, events seem a bit rigged. Equipment is HELLA important. You could beat a better geared person but that might mean hitting then 5 times as many times before they land a very few good blows. Commercials are like 5 times longer and don’t give the option to exit even when complete.
  10. [R27] Shadow Fight 3 3/5 · US Event and new duel: So I love the game it’s great really fun but the only issue is that is not free to play friendly most the stuff you have to spend days grinding for just to have a small chance to get it and most the good stuff are locked behind pay walls and most the hard challenges in events are hard if you don’t have the sets you pay for
  11. [R28] Shadow Fight 3 1/5 · US Worse game in existence: First of all the game experience is so bad everything is pay to win and if I come back to play this game I have to pay to complete any event since my gear isn’t good enough and I am not paying shi for this game that I won’t play in future this game is ruined and this game developer never listened to their community so it would be better if this game shuts down
  12. [R37] Shadow Fight 3 1/5 · US Donation dump: A donation dump · translated
  13. [R11] Shadow Fight 3 4/5 · US Very good GSME: Very fun game with lots of different things to do but has way to many adds.It seams like the more you play the game the more often you get ad at first there were practically never adds but now I get them after every mission.
  14. [R30] Shadow Fight 3 3/5 · US Remove the ads: The ads shows up after a match which I don’t like,you have to fixed that.
  15. [R4] Shadow Fight 3 2/5 · US Lag bugs freezes: This game constantly lags and has tons of bugs. It’s almost impossible to play at times really annoying and the developers really don’t care you tell them that the game has a problem and they don’t help.
  16. [R6] Shadow Fight 3 3/5 · US Internet Connection Error: I cannot play when connected to Wi-Fi. I am forced to use mobile data, but even then, it's very unstable and only works sometimes. This issue needs to be fixed urgently.
  17. [R10] Shadow Fight 3 1/5 · US Không hài lòng: Lúc nào cũng mang yếu dù wifi rất mạnh chả chơi dc
  18. [R15] Shadow Fight 3 3/5 · US Good game but…: I got this game around when it came out and it was absolutely amazing. But now it just so mid. The online pvp is pretty much dead and useless and as someone that complete the story there is quite literally nothing to do. The void battles aren’t worth it cause you have to GRIND to even get good rewards. It’s not worth it. You used to be able to quickly get up to higher ranks in rank
  19. [R36] Shadow Fight 3 3/5 · US Good Game but Greedy Decisions: The combat in this game is pretty good for a mobile title. Timing, precision, and varying up your moves are at its core. There a plethora of game modes to keep you entertained. Each weapon style is unique and there are enough weapons, armor sets, and abilities to make this game feel like an RPG. Your character and their equipment truly feel like your own. With th
  20. [R41] Shadow Fight 3 5/5 · US Very good game: I grew up playing Nikki's games and out of all the games I think shadow fight 3 is the best one because not only do you get a better storyline you also get to fight people based off of your experience in the game.
  21. [R65] Shadow Fight 2 5/5 · US I like it (:: Best game of all time it carried a lot of memories and history
  22. [R39] Shadow Fight 3 3/5 · GB Pay to win: The game is good but u can’t defeat the bosses without spending money this game is pay to win.
  23. [R49] Shadow Fight 3 1/5 · US TRASH: Pure pay to win trash of a game. If you don't pay of grind your soul out, you won't do a thing in this stupid game. Like you can't even win events without paying. Winning events give you gears but what's the point if you have to pay first? And skill? There is nothing called skills in this stupid game. Pay to be good or be trash that's the Motto of this game. Wannabe pioneer of a game compan
  24. [R63] Shadow Fight 2 3/5 · US Too many adds now: The game is very fun, but as you get WAY to many ads now compared too a few years ago, and the game is starting to force you to pay to win as you get to higher levels. I’ve completed the game twice already, but as I’m trying to beat it again, it gets absolutely frustrating having to watch an add after every fight, and you have to rather grind survival and watch a ton of ads, or
  25. [R78] Shadow Fight 2 3/5 · US Good game but some things hold it back from being better: The game itself is great, good controls, decent amount of moves, and numerous weapons. However, the ads are absolutely awful, they give you ads as soon as your done with a fight, and they want you to pay them money to disable them, even offline the game tries to give you an ad but it won’t load, forcing you to close out the game and reopen
  26. [R84] Shadow Fight 2 3/5 · US Greedy: I redownloaded the game prior to an international trip since I remembered this was single player heavy. Instead, after every single match the game would insist on attempting to load an ad, even when I had zero connection and the only way to resolve this was to simply restart the entire game after every match. When there is WiFi, the amount of ads is still overwhelming as win or lose, you H
  27. [R87] Shadow Fight 2 3/5 · US They got money hungry: What they say about ads being optional is a complete and utter lie after every single battle a 30 second ad pops up and even if u turn off the wifi the game just lags and you have to restart it every time u log in theres like 10 offers that you have to manually skip energy is still a problem unless you spend 20$ which is like whatever the uid is compact and weird theres 2 e
  28. [R19] Shadow Fight 3 1/5 · US Chest and rewards: I am unable to open any of my 3 chest after earning countless keys through duels or throughout the game I tried uninstalling and refreshing it also reached out to support but I am still unable to open my chest
  29. [R67] Shadow Fight 2 2/5 · US Energy: i hate the energy needed to play this game. It’s a solid game 10/10 and it’s very nostalgic but every time i play i need to wait and it get progressively more and more annoying
  30. [R79] Shadow Fight 2 1/5 · US Terrible hit boxes: The hit boxes are so terrible and u don’t even care to make the combat good, u rig the combat system so that people think that they need to buy buy buy to get better things because you’re just money hungry like why is there an ads?? Not to mention unlimited energy is 20$??? Like are you out of ur mind??
  31. [R81] Shadow Fight 2 3/5 · US P2W game: Before the game had no energy system and ridicilous ads showing up after each match you play,but now there is an energy system that you can only get rid of it with FREAKING 20 DOLLARS and you also need to pay real to get rid of the ads,but i cant say anything to the gameplay and the weapons of the game,what i want is the game to not be p2w.

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