Beneath The Lighthouse vs Early Worm
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Beneath The Lighthouse
Embark on a serene puzzle adventure as a boy searching for his lost Grandpa. Explore mysterious mechanical contraptions beneath a darkened lighthouse and uncover the truth behind its silence. This game offers a free-to-play experience with ads and a lives system, or a premium unlock to remove ads and the lives system.
- Serene puzzle action gameplay
- Explore mysterious mechanical wheels
- Search for a lost Grandpa
- Free-to-play with ads
- Premium unlock option
- Lives system (free version)
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"I stare at the horizon every night before I sleep hoping to catch a glimpse of the lighthouse.The light reminds me of Grandpa and my summer visits playing on the cliffs. That warm life saving beacon not only saves ships, it keeps me safe too. Grandpa’s there just across the water watching over me. But the lighthouse hasn't shone now for days and the fog is thick! What's happened? It's time to visit Grandpa!" Beneath the lighthouse is a serene puzzle action game about a boy in search of his lost Grandpa. Your journey will take you through mysterious mechanical wheels that lay beneath the lighthouse! **Beneath The Lighthouse is optimized for iPhone5, iPad3, iPad mini2 and iPod Touch 5G or Newer. You can try it on older devices, but we can’t guarantee a smooth rolling experience! -This game is free to play or can be unlocked to a premium experience- Free to Play: We use advertising to monetise the experience. There are no coins/gems/booster to pay for or timers. The free version of the game contains a lives system which is carefully balanced to be fair but that makes the game slightly harder than premium. Premium unlock: We offer a single iAP to unlock the game to a premium experience. The premium version contains no 3rd party ads and we remove the lives system. This game contains cross promotion for other Nitrome games and this is not removed with the IAP for removal of ads.
Early Worm
A family-friendly physics-based platformer where you guide a worm to collect apples across 98 challenging levels. Utilize unique mechanics like honey-sticking, diving bells, and antigravity to solve puzzles and navigate obstacles.
- Physics-based gameplay
- 98 challenging levels
- Wall and ceiling sticking
- Diving bell mechanics
- Mechanical puzzles
- Antigravity zones
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Are you the Early Worm that catches the apple? Early worm is family friendly physics based platformer about a worm that wants to collect all the apples. Sling your worm around 98 levels full of surprises: - Stick to walls and ceilings with honey, bounce on the mushroom beds! - Dive into the deep waters with diving bell! - Jump around and solve mechanical puzzles! - Thumble up and down in a rotating cube! - Fling into the mysterious blackstuff and float around in the antigravity! - These and many more crazy things await you in Early Worm. Wake up early and start jumping now! Can you make it to the end? FEATURES: • Colourful graphics • Family friendly gameplay • 98 levels • Physics! Game has advertisements and a No Ads purchase.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Early Worm at 4.8 against Beneath The Lighthouse's 4.2. Early Worm also leads on review sentiment (92% vs 57%) and update cadence (weekly vs every 4 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Beneath The Lighthouse sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Early Worm sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Early Worm holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Early Worm has 3.3K ratings behind it against 69, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of Beneath The Lighthouse's written reviews are positive against 92% of Early Worm's.
Beneath The Lighthouse ships an update every 4 months, Early Worm weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Beneath The Lighthouse | Early Worm |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (69 ratings) | 4.8 (3.3K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 56.8% of reviews | 91.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 69 | 3.3K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 205 MB | 136 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nitrome | Oddrok Oy |
Customer experience
Beneath The Lighthouse
Early Worm
User reviews
Beneath The Lighthouse
From 69 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Smooth gameplay
- 👍 Beautiful graphics
- 🎨 Unique and creative concept
- ⏱️ Satisfying to complete levels
- 🎵 Great soundtrack
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes on some devices
- 💸 Intrusive ads
- 🕹️ Challenging controls
- 🔁 Repetitive gameplay
- 🕰️ Levels can be frustratingly difficult
Early Worm
From 3.3K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Cute and charming design
- 👍 Simple and intuitive gameplay
- 🧠 Challenging yet rewarding puzzles
- 🕹️ Satisfying physics-based mechanics
Room to improve
- 🔍 Lack of level variety
- ⏱️ Short overall playtime
- 💰 Frequent ads
- 🐛 Occasional bugs or glitches
Bugs and requests
Beneath The Lighthouse
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inability to skip intro
- Screen rotation issues
- Crashes after completing levels
- Glitches with character model
Requested features
5 requests- More levels
- Ability to listen to own music
- Difficulty settings
- Checkpoint system
- Improved performance on older devices
Early Worm
Reported bugs
2 issues- Restart button not working as expected
- Issues with 50th and 56th levels
Requested features
4 requests- More levels and content updates
- Level editor or community features
- Customization options for the worm
- Difficulty options or challenge modes
In-app purchases
Beneath The Lighthouse
- Premium Unlock$3.99
Early Worm
- No Ads$0.39
Questions
Is Beneath The Lighthouse free?
Is Early Worm free?
Which has better reviews, Beneath The Lighthouse or Early Worm?
Do Beneath The Lighthouse or Early Worm have ads?
Which is updated more often, Beneath The Lighthouse or Early Worm?
Other comparisons
