# EndeavorOTC®: Outplay ADHD — user reviews > 150 indexed App Store user reviews of EndeavorOTC® by Akili Interactive Labs, Inc., rated 3.90/5 from 1,614 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/endeavorotc-outplay-adhd/id6447322997/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/endeavorotc-outplay-adhd/id6447322997.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 1,016 · 4★ 151 · 3★ 81 · 2★ 67 · 1★ 299 ## What do users think of EndeavorOTC®? Overall sentiment: mixed **Pros** - 🚀 Helpful for ADHD treatment - 🎮 Fun and engaging gameplay - 👍 Noticed improvements in focus - 💡 Innovative approach to ADHD therapy **Cons** - 💰 Expensive subscription model - 🤕 Causes wrist/neck pain - 🤯 Frustrating and overwhelming - 🕹️ Poor controls and sensitivity **Commonly reported bugs** - Frequent log-outs and account issues - Inconsistent scoring and progress tracking **Most requested features** - More customization options - Adjustable difficulty levels - Longer daily playtime - Free trial for monthly subscription ## Newest reviews (14 of 150) ### 3/5 — No sound and no improvement *2026-07-15, version 4.0.1* This game has no sound ### 2/5 — Boring *2026-05-24, version 4.0.1* I do not like the way the items make what looks like a blood smear when you miss them, the noise it makes is also distasteful, the game itself bores me, I lost interest quickly ### 4/5 — ADHD Mind-Training Game *2026-05-15, version 4.0.1* I'm an adult, over 40. I've struggled hard with ADHD, mixed with some obsessive compulsive tendencies. I've been using the game regularly, but not daily, for a couple of weeks. I believe it is helping. I've been trying to incorporate playing it into my day, like ... 5-20 minute of mind therapy (comparable to physical therapy for the body) or high speed meditation? Your experience may vary. The concept is fairly simple, guiding an avatar, surfing along in the water. Click when you see the target object swoosh by, while either aiming for, or avoiding items in your path. Now, there are some places I feel it should improve. My overall feeling about the effect of the app is good. My comments are to praise what works, and suggest tweaks. Graphics are cute, but geared toward kids. The scenes are pretty, though you can't stop to look. The concept of cruising along an endless water surface is a pleasant one. Surfing in the sunshine. I like the default avatar, but you can change their appearance. When it comes to the bird guides, the graphic style is different. I think they are trying for a Monument Valley look (great puzzle game BTW), but it's not quite there. For me they are a little creepy, but that may be sour grapes, because the guides sometimes speed up the journey and make it even harder for a few seconds. I wish the game would give you a little time to get good at it just for a couple of sessions. Naturally, it gets harder as you go, to train your mind to focus on a goal, while still handling "moving along in life." But, just a couple sessions of having mastered it would make it less irritating as it gets more difficult. It's painful to feel you're bad and will always fail. I already constantly fail, that's why I'm trying this app to improve my focus and avoid distraction. Slightly less painful with the sound effects off, I find. I've had to take the attitude of "who cares, it's just a game. I'm doing it for my long-term benefit." But if I do it at the end of a day where I've failed to get much done... you can see where it would be discouraging. Also, if you miss a target object, the avatar turns around to watch it go past, which makes it harder to focus on the next target. The avatar getting distracted is really annoying. Overall, would recommend. It's still early days. Will try to post new thoughts, if any. ### 2/5 — Sounds great but.. *2026-05-06, version 4.0.1* Doesn’t seem to work.. I’m using the app via an iPhone 12 with a glass screen protector and I keep hitting the sidewalls in the first 2 games or levels almost nonstop.. my player doesn’t go anywhere near the sidewalls and they still count as a hit.. I’d highly recommend to reconfigure that feature because I can’t continue playing because that’s so frustrating ### 2/5 — Mostly great *2026-02-07, version 2.8.0* Doesn’t sync progress to my ipad and it lags. ### 2/5 — Not for that cost *2026-01-17, version 4.0.0* I played for 30 days - I had to play each level 3 or 4 times. I don’t need a game to tell me my concentration “needs work” every single round. And losing is boring. ### 3/5 — Glitchy at worlds 4+ *2025-12-09, version 4.0.0* This app could be awesome, the idea is great, the controls are jerky, at world 4+ it gets glitchy on my iphone 16, and the main character lady who talks to you looks more like a cat goblin fusion then an actual person. The animation for the people looks disgusting also. I don’t know who would sit down and ask for the crappiest looking design but apparently they did. However the actual technology and Idea as genius , sad to see them drop the ball so hard. ### 2/5 — Hate this game! *2025-08-03, version 3.0.2* This game is the same every time, over and over. I also hate having to hold my phone flat because there’s no comfortable position I can get in to do well at the game. It’s a NO for me. ### 4/5 — FDA approved, non Rx ADHD treatment for cheap?! *2025-07-08, version 3.0.2* Spectacular. This is engaging, effective, based on good science, actually accessible. Wish more neuroscientists were doing this - super impressed by the UCSF lab that originally developed it and the game company that produced this. Telling everyone about it. Bravo! ### 3/5 — Controls and Positioning make playing incomfortable *2025-06-27, version 3.0.1* I am the art lead at a game design studio, and I heard about this app through an article. I was very excited to try it out, since I have ADHD. I really like the idea, and it did force me to focus a lot. But there are some problems with how the game functions. First off, you have to hold your device flat, which means that you're uncomfortably craning over- that in itself is quite distracting, and doesn't seem necessary since there are so many racing games where the device can be held vertically. If there is a specific reason that it needs to be held flat, then that should be mentioned (neurological, focus?). If not, it's a pretty big design flaw and should probably be adjusted. Secondly, the experience is surprisingly OK on an iPad, but not on an iPhone. The touch areas on the left and right get obscured by your thumbs, so sometimes you can't see the target spheres flying at you and miss them. Finally, I found the actual tilt control to be overly sensitive, and the interaction boundary that you crash into extends past the actual edge mesh. Many times, I was punished for hitting the side of the path, when I very clearly didn't. There might be a consistent boundary set along there instead of a mesh-based collider, that would be my guess. I also have worked on edutainment games, so something like this is extremely exciting. It's only in early access, but these are the big three gameplay things I would try to improve. (As well as not forcing somebody to spend $25 to try a month for EA- there is no free trial available that I could find. I know game development is expensive, but that's too much.) ### 3/5 — Needs better controls *2025-06-01, version 3.0.1* I like the idea of this but I really dislike the fact that you have to hold your phone flat and tilt it to make the character move side to side. First it’s terrible for posture as you’re literally hunching over your phone, second if your phone is not flat the functionality isn’t as good which then defeats the purpose of the game. It’s also annoying that you have to hit the targets exactly in the middle for them to count. Hit them only part way and they won’t register. The targeting is a little finicky too, if you don’t tap in the exact area on the sides of your screen (you’re tapping too far into the screen) it doesn’t work. Great concept but I’m not going to pay over $100 for something that clearly needs more work. ### 2/5 — Not worth the high price *2025-05-28, version 3.0.1* I had an annual subscription. Game was helpful and interesting in the beginning, but echoing what others have said, as you advance the game quickly got very boring and repetitive. I'm not quite convinced of their marketing claims and feel they are overhyped based on extant research and understanding, but I can see how it *might* have some small initial positive effects in the beginning. Interesting concept and I laud the developers and founders for their initial efforts. I just feel that currently, the tech, execution, business strategy, sustainability, and the efficacy of such games just aren't there yet to warrant the high price and extreme time commitment. ### 4/5 — ok app. *2025-05-19, version 3.0.1* The experience was good overall, and the performance feedback initially felt informative. Using this app has helped improve my concentration during meditation and other tasks. However, I do have some issues—catching up to the guide feels more like a punishment than something I want to accomplish. The brief flash of distracting light limits my vision by at least 60%, and response timing relies too heavily on thumb placement and impulsive clicking, which makes it an unreliable measure of concentration. Additionally, the moving targets often create visual gaps that are nearly impossible to navigate without disrupting focus ### 2/5 — Pay for Just 1 Month at First *2025-04-05, version 3.0.0* My therapist recommended this game after I commented about how much time I waste playing with my phone. I paid for a 6-month subscription. The problem is I pretty much hate it. I don’t enjoy this style of game, so playing it is a chore. The game tells me I’m improving, but all that indicates is that my reflexes are quicker or I’ve learned how to succeed at this game. I’m underwhelmed. I like the sound effects but they get increasingly louder. It quickly gets to be too much for my brain to tolerate. I wish they’d tone that down so I don’t have to shut it off completely. Maybe it’ll help you. Maybe it’d help me but I dislike it too much to play it frequently & long enough. I wish I’d only paid for a month. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — I would not recommend *2026-05-27, version 4.0.1* I got to the moving targets world and the tilt is so bad on my iPad. I have tried holding the iPad how the tutorial told me to but it’s still bad. also there are too many different targets to have to keep track of and only hit the one i need to. I wish it was better and I also wish you could control the difficulty. I shouldn’t be getting supper frustrated every time I play. I am not having any fun at all. I would not recommend this unless you want to get frustrated when you play. ### 1/5 — Overpriced *2026-05-10, version 4.0.1* Not allowing people to see their score before paying $25 is absurd. I am cancelling for that reason - congrats you got $25 for nothing. ### 1/5 — NO. *2026-04-02, version 4.0.1* this app made me CRY don't recommend didn't help me AT ALL and in what real life example are you going to have to catch missles being shot at you while you surf across a frozen lake at 40 mph. this game sucks and it is straight up rage bait. not to mention it also told me EVERY SINGLE TIME that i was terrible at the game and "needs work" and "ok" were the phrases they used to describe how good i was and every time i thought i did better it just said the same thing if not worse. so i guess only get this app if you hate yourself and enjoy suffering. #ineedtherapy #depressed ### 1/5 — Expensive, No Trial and Out of Touch with ADHD users *2026-02-10, version 4.0.0* I’m honestly disappointed with EndeavorOTC. This is an app marketed to people with ADHD and priced at a premium, yet there’s no meaningful trial period. That makes very little sense for this audience. Many people with ADHD struggle with consistency and often start tools with the best intentions, only to find after a short time that they don’t stick. Asking for a high upfront commitment without the chance to properly test whether it actually works for you feels out of touch with the realities of ADHD. Being FDA-cleared is not a justification for pharmaceutical-level pricing, especially for a digital product with minimal marginal cost. FDA clearance speaks to safety and evidence, not to whether the product should be priced in a way that limits access. The combination of high cost and no trial makes me question the priorities behind this app. It’s hard not to wonder whether the focus is truly on helping people with ADHD, or on maximizing revenue from a vulnerable group. Supporting users and running a business are not mutually exclusive, but the current approach feels like a clear choice about which comes first. ### 1/5 — Automatically approves purchase *2025-09-27, version 3.0.2* I did not double click on the button to purchase and it went ahead with the purchase anyway. I want my money back I did not want to purchase this! ### 1/5 — Questionable *2025-08-11, version 3.0.2* I am a therapist that helps people with adhd. Whatever this is is stressful and annoying. And expensive. I’m deeply dubious. Would never recommend to a client. ### 1/5 — Hate it with a passion *2025-08-01, version 3.0.2* I hate it so much. I want my money back. The character has jerky movements, so even when I hold the device like they tell you the character either 1. Doesn’t move 2. Doesn’t move as much as I’m tilting 3. Moves much more than I’m tilting. Basically the movement is unpredictable and I’ve missed plenty of power zones simply because the character “glitches”. Additionally, I’ve noticed that when I tap the screen the game says I’ve missed the ball even though it’s still on screen. I’ve missed several to the point where I believe the game I’m unable to register quick taps, and you must long press with a thick part of your finger not just the tip. This makes fast tapping nearly impossible. Further more when you miss an object your character stumbles, but this for whatever reason will also cause the character to stop responding to your taps or movements causing you to further miss objects. The graphics are terrible. It’s SO boring I can barely do a 10 minute lesson. There is no way to return to previous levels-like if you’re stuck on a challenge level but want to do a normal run-you can’t. ### 1/5 — Asks for money *2025-07-31, version 3.0.2* Didnt see any benefit from this app. All it wants is you to give it money. ### 1/5 — Lost all my data after update! *2025-07-10, version 3.0.2* The game is really, really, REALLY repetitive. I’m sure there’s a methodological point to that, so, okay. But the only thing that really gets you through is that the scenery eventually changes as you gain levels, and you “earn” things for your character. Except the last time I updated, the app lost all my data and thinks I’m a completely new player so I have to start all the way at the beginning. Ugh, I just don’t know if I can do it. Probably I’ll continue to play off and on until my subscription runs out. ### 1/5 — After using it, clinical results seem questionable *2025-03-28, version 2.8.0* ***Immediately cancel your trial subscription*** The trial will still continue and you won’t have to worry about the confusing cancellation deadline. Overall review: not worth trying, and definitely do not pay for a subscription. It’s a game that at first seems like a great example of “just challenging enough to keep you in a flow state”. Until you create a subscription and play the second time. Each and every time after that, the speed increases more and more — until you are consistently failing. At least you can turn off the very negative sound effects, but the negative screen reactions still happen. And it’s an awful experience emotionally and mentally, since each time the majority of the gameplay is failure! ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Helps me sleep *2026-04-16, version 4.0.1* My psych recommended this game. I am not normally a gamer. She is involved in that world so thought it could be helpful. I always found it interesting my brother never had issues with attention while I did, and he was an avid gamer. So I thought I would give it a try. I am not sure if my attention is any better because of the game but I have found it helpful to gauge what things do improve my attention. For example my score is always so much better when I exercise. I also find it helps me calm my brain down after an insanely busy day. You would think the bright colors would cause issues, but I always use it to tire my brain out before bed now. I have tried all kinds of things like breathing exercises, meditations etc. meditations work better after using endeavor. So interesting. When my sleep is better my adhd is better! I see reviews mention some glitchiness. Its worth it for me to be able to sleep well. I would love more worlds though, or just things to buy. Update: i actually stopped my subscription for a bit because I was trying to see if something else would work since I had gotten a bit bored of playing endeavor, but I found it very helpful when I went back. The dysregulated ADHD brain has a hard time sleeping. This helps me to stop thinking of EVERYTHING. ### 5/5 — Fun challenge *2026-02-16, version 4.0.0* Fun game that really challenges me to pay attention. ### 5/5 — Love the game, suggestions for other activites *2026-02-15, version 4.0.0* I’m really enjoying this game and I’m hoping for some good results. Need to play longer to see how that part goes, but for now I am loving how challenging the game stays as it evolves into different levels and tasks. It keeps it fun and new (I get bored easily). I’m a little confused as to how I level up with the different birds but I’m guessing I will find out in time. I am glad that there are time limits set for the game because it limits how much time I spend on it, otherwise I would probably be playing it way too much!!!! I would like to suggest that adding a journal with stickers would be helpful and fun. I used to play Void Pets and they included these items. There were also different activities such as deep breathing exercises, meditation, a mood tracker, energy levels, sleep tracking, a grounding exercise, a comfort box listing things you can do when you are having a bad day and a panic relief which area with positive affirmations. These activities would be beneficial in assisting with focus and concentration. And if the character could have pets riding along or change the character to some kind of animal that would be neat. Some days I just want to be a unicorn. Lol…or maybe a phoenix? Bees are great too 🙃 ### 5/5 — Helps me sleep *2026-01-09, version 4.0.0* My psych recommended this game. I am not normally a gamer. She is involved in that world so thought it could be helpful. I always found it interesting my brother never had issues with attention while I did, and he was an avid gamer. So I thought I would give it a try. I am not sure if my attention is any better because of the game but I have found it helpful to gauge what things do improve my attention. For example my score is always so much better when I exercise. I also find it helps me calm my brain down after an insanely busy day. You would think the bright colors would cause issues, but I always use it to tire my brain out before bed now. I have tried all kinds of things like breathing exercises, meditations etc. meditations work better after using endeavor. So interesting. When my sleep is better my adhd is better! I see reviews mention some glitchiness. Its worth it for me to be able to sleep well. I would love more worlds though, or just things to buy. ### 5/5 — Great adjunct treatment tool *2025-11-01, version 4.0.0* I’ve used EndeavorOTC for about three months now. It noticeably helps me stay focused and more even-keeled. Some notes on the game: - the basic gameplay is to tilt your phone to maneuver through power boosts or around obstacles while also tapping when target objects appear. The speed adjusts over the course of level based on your performance. Most levels have a guide that leads the way (usually a bird) and the more you succeed in your task, the closer you get to your guide. The levels ends when you “capture” the guide with improved game play or run out of time. - It’s not an overnight treatment. For me, it took about a month before I noticed effects, and about six weeks before I hit a long plateau and really started working. Still, at 10-15 minutes a day, it hasn’t been hard to keep up with - The game play is different from non-therapeutic video games. You can’t choose the difficulty of the level (although you can choose the type of level once you reach expert mode) and the selected targets change with every round. The game also seems to detect if a player is taking shortcuts, I.e. if I try to get two power boosts by skipping a different more difficult one in between, the level tends to slow down pretty dramatically. -Traditional video games also come with a lot of prizes, consequences, and media effects to build a sense of urgency. (E.g. getting a lot of boosts in a row will give you a combo with flashing color changes and an increasing multiplier.) This game has far more subtle cues when you have successes or misses, and there’s no score or health bar visible while you’re playing. Players can’t rely on the same kinds of adrenaline or dopamine rushes to pull them through. - the support team was very responsive when I had minor issues with lag, which resolved after apple released a new iPhone update. - I’ve found this app works well in combo with meditation apps. Practicing the process of recognizing thoughts that arise and releasing them is useful for recognizing targets on screen and then quickly reorienting to steering through boosts and obstacle. ### 5/5 — give it a chance! ymmv *2025-06-22, version 3.0.1* i’m about 2 weeks into my first 6-week session, and i have had noticeable progress since i started. for anyone interested in this app, i recommend getting a 1 month trial and just give it a try. i’m in my 20s, on a stimulant med, and i was diagnosed less than 5 yrs ago. the 1 month trial costs the same as one month’s supply of stimulant medication (w/ US insurance) the noticeable progress: able to pick up books more frequently AND finish ones i started and abandoned, less impatient with everything and less of a need to be on my phone when i need to feel “busy”, less likely to quit at the first sign of frustration, and more things i am discovering! i feel like it’s a great mental exercise to know that i will fail but that i’m still making progress. this treatment isn’t for everyone, but not everyone is treated the same way for ADHD—it’s a unique, customizable journey. so endeavor is another tool in my belt. this game mentally feels different from other phone games. i feel fatigued by the end of the 10-25 min because i am using my brain. it’s a nice contrast to doomscrolling dopamine hunting, and i’ve been showing it to my friends! ### 5/5 — New Update Broke Controls *2025-05-08, version 3.0.1* I found this app to be a very useful tool that gave me real world improvements in my life and at my job. That said, the recent update caused the character to jerk and stutter when tilting the screen instead of gliding smoothly from side to side. This made the fast and precise movements required to navigate the course extremely difficult to achieve predictably and has made daily usage far less enjoyable and more frustrating. ### 5/5 — My treatment *2025-01-03, version 2.8.0* This game is helping me so much at first it’s hard but soon you will get the hang of it if you have ADHD like me get this app this is the best treatment for me thank you endeavor. ### 5/5 — Great experience so far *2024-12-15, version 2.8.0* Has helped me engaged more so far ### 5/5 — This actually works. *2024-10-11, version 2.8.0* Produces very similar effects to being on Adderall for me. I highly recommend this be given a try. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-26.*