The Beautiful Dream vs Dark Notes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Beautiful Dream
Embark on an enchanting puzzle adventure inspired by a classic Chinese poem. Navigate a dreamlike world of shifting seasons and traditional art to reunite with a lost love. Solve intricate color and shape-based puzzles in a visually stunning experience.
- Emotional characters and story
- Intricate color and shape puzzles
- Traditional Chinese painting art style
- Mini-games for replayability
- Intuitive tap-and-drag controls
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A Unique Puzzle Game that Leads You on an Enchanting Journey Guide your hero on a puzzle-filled journey across the bounds of life and death to rejoin his lost love. Based on “Peony Pavilion,” the classic Chinese poem, The Beautiful Dream immerses players in the soothing beauty of traditional Chinese painting, shifting dreams, and the changing of seasons. Interact with brilliant colors and elaborate shapes to navigate an enchanted environment and solve mysteries unlike any you have seen before. Key Features * Unique, emotional characters and an unforgettable story * Dozens of intricate puzzles, based on colors and shapes * Classic, flowing brushwork, simple lines and bold color * Various mini-games increase depth and replayability * Pick-up-and-play — Intuitive, tap-and-drag controls
Dark Notes
Explore a dark mystery and puzzle adventure across time and space. Unravel secrets from dual perspectives, solve challenging puzzles, and experience a gripping narrative in a realistic, immersive environment.
- Dual-protagonist perspective
- Time and space exploration
- Multiple versions of truth
- Challenging puzzles
- Realistic graphic style
- Immersive atmosphere
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A notebook that transcends the space and time. An adventure full of thrills. A meticulously arranged mystery. A flawless lie. The truth serves as the riddle, and the motive is the answer. You fall into the trap the moment you believe it. A fairytale is written based on the secrets and evils of darkness, while the truth buried in the sands of time by the "demon" remains hidden forever. Dark Notes is a dark mystery and puzzle game by HeartBeat Plus. It represents the company's endeavor to venture into a new genre. You will play as the two protagonists, traveling through time and space to explore the secrets hidden in Happiness Mall! As the truth slowly unravels, a secret concerning both protagonists surfaces... ...Anything can be a perfect fairytale as long as you believe it. [Game features] -The dual-protagonist perspective offers a unique gaming experience. You will play as the two protagonists and travel through space and time to piece together the truth of the darkness from different perspectives. -Multiple versions of truth, full of twists and turns The truth and lies are hardly distinguishable, much like a Möbius strip. -Challenging puzzles Well-crafted puzzles provide clues that are closely related to the plot. While helping the story progress, the puzzles also offer a mind-twisting experience for players. -More realistic graphic style The bleak and deserted mall, dim and flickering lights, and quiet and depressed restaurant contribute to a more realistic and immersive experience.
Screenshots
Verdict
The Beautiful Dream and Dark Notes both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 87% of The Beautiful Dream's written reviews are positive against 43% of Dark Notes's. The Beautiful Dream also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 5) and ads (none vs shown). On price, rating and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Dark Notes sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. The Beautiful Dream asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for The Beautiful Dream against 4.7 for Dark Notes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Beautiful Dream has 177 ratings behind it against 30, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 87% of The Beautiful Dream's written reviews are positive against 43% of Dark Notes's.
The Beautiful Dream ships an update every 6 days, Dark Notes every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Beautiful Dream | Dark Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (177 ratings) — better | 4.7 (30 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 86.6% of reviews — better | 42.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 177 — better | 30 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 6.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 115 MB | 216 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | NetEase Games | FUNNY GAME CO.,LTD |
Customer experience
The Beautiful Dream
Dark Notes
Bugs and requests
The Beautiful Dream
Reported bugs
6 issues- Chapter VI - Moonlight: Colors not applying to portrait in dress painting section
- Black background rendering preventing interaction on older iOS devices
- Scenes missing on older devices (iOS 7)
- Graphics downgrade to 8-bit on older devices
- Imprecise tap detection requiring very specific spot clicking
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- Color picking inconsistency (arbitrary rules about which objects yield colors)
Requested features
8 requests- More levels and chapters
- Longer storyline and extended gameplay
- Better tutorial or on-screen instructions
- Sequel or continuation of the story
- Chinese language version
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- Soundtrack availability
- Additional mini-games
- More colors and puzzle variety
Dark Notes
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
The Beautiful Dream
No in-app purchases
Dark Notes
- 14 gold coins$0.99
- 30 gold coins$1.99
- 80 gold coins$4.99
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- 190 gold coins$9.99
- 380 gold coins$19.99
Questions
Is The Beautiful Dream free?
Is Dark Notes free?
Which has better reviews, The Beautiful Dream or Dark Notes?
Do The Beautiful Dream or Dark Notes have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Beautiful Dream or Dark Notes?
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