# Magic River vs Once Upon a Tower

The clearest difference is rating: Once Upon a Tower at 4.7 against Magic River's 3.2. Once Upon a Tower also leads on review sentiment (75% vs 33%) and ratings volume (3.3K vs 196). Magic River's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (6.0 vs 12.0). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Magic River sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Once Upon a Tower sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Once Upon a Tower holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Once Upon a Tower has 3.3K ratings behind it against 196, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Magic River's written reviews are positive against 75% of Once Upon a Tower's.

Magic River ships an update monthly, Once Upon a Tower every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Magic River | Once Upon a Tower |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.2 (196 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/magic-river/id1003415673/reviews) | **[4.7 (3.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/once-upon-a-tower/id1209083773/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 196 | **3.3K** |
| Positive reviews | 32.9% of reviews | **75.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 182 MB | 226 MB |
| Requires iOS | **6.0** | 12.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Ketchapp](https://appshunter.io/developer/528065807) | [Pomelo Games](https://appshunter.io/developer/899606172) |

## What reviewers say

### Magic River

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/magic-river/id1003415673)

Navigate a boat down a river, avoiding obstacles and exploring various locations. Collect gems to unlock new characters and boats. Simple tap controls change the boat's direction.

**Highlights:** River navigation, Obstacle avoidance, Location exploration, Gem collection, Character unlocks, Boat customization

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove Ads | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎨 Beautiful graphics
- 🕹️ Addictive gameplay
- 💎 Fun and challenging

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🌀 Ads disrupt gameplay
- 🐛 Glitchy controls
- 🕰️ Repetitive scenery

**Reported bugs**

- Game crashes frequently
- Boat movement not responsive
- Leaderboard not updating properly

**Requested features**

- Ability to skip difficult missions
- More varied environments and obstacles
- Option to disable ads for a fee


### Once Upon a Tower

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/once-upon-a-tower/id1209083773)

Break free from your tower prison in this adventure game. Armed with a war hammer, you'll battle enemies and escape a dragon. Your rescue is up to you!

**Highlights:** Tower escape adventure, Battle enemies, Fight a dragon, Princess protagonist, Offline gameplay

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

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Oscura | $0.99 | one-time |
| Noriko | $0.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x10 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Loriel | $0.99 | one-time |
| Denise | $0.99 | one-time |
| Dragon scales x20 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x25 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x25 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x60 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x200 | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💕 Addictive gameplay
- 🎨 Beautiful graphics
- 🎮 Simple but engaging mechanics
- 🚀 Great time killer
- 👍 Empowering female characters

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🔍 Unclear instructions/tutorials
- 🔁 Repetitive levels
- 💰 Aggressive monetization with ads
- 🤖 Unresponsive controls

**Reported bugs**

- Game freezes when watching ads
- Progress resets after crashes
- Challenges not tracking properly
- Compatibility issues on older devices

**Requested features**

- More character/princess variety
- Ability to save progress
- Difficulty settings
- Multiplayer mode
- Level editor


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Magic River free?

Magic River is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Once Upon a Tower free?

Once Upon a Tower is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Magic River or Once Upon a Tower?

Once Upon a Tower is rated higher. Magic River averages 3.2 out of 5 from 196 ratings, while Once Upon a Tower averages 4.7 from 3.3K ratings.

### Do Magic River or Once Upon a Tower have ads?

Once Upon a Tower shows ads; Magic River does not.

### Which is updated more often, Magic River or Once Upon a Tower?

Magic River ships an update monthly, and Once Upon a Tower every 3 weeks. Most recently, Magic River was updated on November 1, 2026 and Once Upon a Tower on November 13, 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.*