Beneath The Lighthouse vs Chikuwabu!
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.
Chikuwabu!
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A retro omnidirectional scrolling 2D action game. Use items to solve the mystery of the map and find the exit. Let's collect "Chikuwabu" placed in various places. (Some items are difficult to pick up and some are hidden.) There are some stages that you can't play unless you collect a certain number of "Chikuwabu". There is no score, we measure the time to the exit. Operation is easy: Touch = beam firing Right and left lever drag = Rotation/movement of own machine Release all fingers = Restore the shield For easy operation, You can change the orientation of your smartphone while playing. Enemy planes have a front/back side, It cannot be destroyed when its backside is shown. For maps that scroll in all directions, There are "Chikuwabu", items, and tricks, Please attack well. (All 90 stages, 20 stages are free)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Chikuwabu! at none against Beneath The Lighthouse's shown. Beneath The Lighthouse's advantage is update cadence (every 4 months vs every 41 months) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.6). On price, in-app purchases 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. Beneath The Lighthouse sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Chikuwabu! sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Beneath The Lighthouse ships an update every 4 months, Chikuwabu! every 41 months. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Beneath The Lighthouse | Chikuwabu! |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (69 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 56.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 69 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 41 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 205 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nitrome | Hiroyuki Sasayama |
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
Chikuwabu!
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Beneath The Lighthouse
- Premium Unlock$3.99
Chikuwabu!
- All Stages$2.99
Questions
Is Beneath The Lighthouse free?
Is Chikuwabu! free?
Do Beneath The Lighthouse or Chikuwabu! have ads?
Which is updated more often, Beneath The Lighthouse or Chikuwabu!?
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