# Impulse One vs River Rider

The clearest difference is rating: Impulse One at 5.0 against River Rider's 4.4. Impulse One also leads on update cadence (every 11 months vs every 31 months). River Rider's advantage is ratings volume (7 vs 2). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Impulse One holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 7 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

Impulse One ships an update every 11 months, River Rider every 31 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Impulse One | River Rider |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/impulse-one/id1001814482/reviews)** | [4.4 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/river-rider/id1212181322/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **7** |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 11 months** | Every 31 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 301 MB | 81 MB |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Kurt Dekker](https://appshunter.io/developer/680019078) | [Bret Black](https://appshunter.io/developer/1082262742) |

## What reviewers say

### Impulse One

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/impulse-one/id1001814482)

Pilot a spaceship to rescue stranded employees from a chaotic company. Navigate challenging environments with high gravity, timed conditions, and combat.

**Highlights:** Rescue stranded employees, Impulse-driven spaceship piloting, High gravity challenges, Timed conditions, Combat with incoming fire

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### River Rider

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/river-rider/id1212181322)

Navigate a treacherous river, collecting eggs to grow your school of fish. Dodge obstacles, unlock new characters with coins, and survive diverse regions in this endless procedural game.

**Highlights:** Infinite side-scrolling gameplay, Procedurally generated levels, Collect eggs to grow fish school, Unlock new characters with coins, Navigate treacherous river environments, Destroy land and rock sections

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Impulse One free?

Impulse One is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is River Rider free?

River Rider is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Impulse One or River Rider?

Impulse One is rated higher. Impulse One averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while River Rider averages 4.4 from 7 ratings.

### Do Impulse One or River Rider have ads?

Neither Impulse One nor River Rider shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Impulse One or River Rider?

Impulse One ships an update every 11 months, and River Rider every 31 months. Most recently, Impulse One was updated on October 7, 2026 and River Rider on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*