Comparison

Timecrest vs Glimmer

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Timecrest

Embark on an epic fantasy adventure where your choices shape the narrative. As a young mage, you'll explore a magical world, uncover plot twists, and make decisions that determine the fate of a realm threatened by destruction. Experience a rich story with an emotional soundtrack.

Highlights
  • Interactive chat story
  • Branching narrative choices
  • Fantasy adventure
  • Explore a magical world
  • Emotional custom soundtrack
  • Unlockable music tracks
Features
Read full description

*** Best Game & Developer of the Year, AppleVis Golden Apples *** *** Featured in Apple's App Store Best Of *** “An interesting story... Simple fun.” - The New York Times Timecrest is a young adult fantasy where you are the main character. A young mage named Ash contacts you frantically through a pocket watch connecting to your iPhone asking for your help. Ash’s world, Alyncia, is about to be destroyed by falling meteors, but you demonstrate the ability to save Ash’s world by turning back time. There isn’t long to celebrate as Ash is suddenly being hunted by someone who informs you that you’ve done the impossible–your use of time magic has broken the rules of magic. Whether you save the world or do something else, your journey will take you through wondrous places where you’ll meet people that will either become your friends or your enemies. The decision to experience this game is yours, but if you do adventure in Alyncia, it will be the journey of a lifetime. - MAKE YOUR CHOICE. Timecrest is a story where no path is the wrong one. Walk your own road and experience a satisfying story no matter what. - EXPLORE A MAGICAL WORLD. Timecrest pulls no punches with big emotional moments and plot twists across over 640,000 words. - EXPERIENCE FANTASY AND WONDER. Timecrest features an emotional custom soundtrack with 34 musical tracks to unlock. What people are saying about Timecrest: “The characters really do draw you in.” - Jamie Pauls “It's not just a survival, yes/no–binary choice thing. It's like you're watching actual characters, actual people, living actual lives.” - Alex Hall “Timecrest stands out.” - AFB, AccessWorld Magazine “Worth a look–even if you’re not a fan of interactive fiction–as this is the best one so far.” - RNIB Connect Radio

About

Glimmer

Engage with interactive fanfiction where you are the protagonist. Make choices to shape the narrative, explore various fandoms and original stories, and experience different genres and relationship tropes. Customize your character and discover multiple story paths and endings.

Highlights
  • Choose-Your-Own-Adventure stories
  • Character customization
  • Multiple story paths and endings
  • Customizable character responses
  • Track story playthroughs
  • Favorite stories and updates
Read full description

Glimmer is the app for Choose-Your-Own-Adventure fanfiction. Play as the main character, and shape the story through your choices. **Why choose Glimmer?** - Immersive stories where you play and make choices as the Main Character - Stories in all your favorite fandoms, plus original content - A story for every mood, from one-shots to collections to epic sagas - Live out your favorite relationship tropes, from enemies-to-lovers to school rivals, and more - Play stories in a variety of genres, from slice-of-life to action/thriller, and more - Stories published by our talented community of authors, with new stories published every day **Features** - Choose-Your-Own-Adventure stories with multiple-choice options and custom responses - Customize your character and self-insert as whoever you want to be - Unlock different story paths and endings depending on the choices you make - Character interactions, dialogue, and relationships are unique and tailored to your playthrough - Keep track of multiple story playthroughs, rewind and try making different decisions - Keep track of your favorite stories and easily receive story updates **Follow us everywhere** - Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/glimmerfics - Discord: https://discord.gg/glimmerfics - Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/glimmerfics/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/glimmer_fics Need help? Email us: info@glimmerfics.com We don't do creepy stuff with your data —> https://glimmerfics.com/privacy Terms —> https://glimmerfics.com/terms

Screenshots

Timecrest4 screens
Glimmer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Glimmer at weekly against Timecrest's monthly. Glimmer also leads on chart position (#16 vs unranked) and ratings volume (5.7K vs 857). Timecrest's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Timecrest sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and Glimmer sells 11 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Timecrest against 4.7 for Glimmer. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Glimmer has 5.7K ratings behind it against 857, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Timecrest's written reviews are positive against 91% of Glimmer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Timecrest ships an update monthly, Glimmer weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Timecrest versus Glimmer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTimecrestGlimmer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (857 ratings) — better4.7 (5.7K ratings)
Positive reviews85.3% of reviews91.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8575.7K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#16 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.215.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size308 MB63 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperSneaky Crab, Inc.Glimmer Fics

Customer experience

Timecrest

All ratings857 ratings
Positive92.5%
Neutral4.7%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews211 reviews
Positive85.3%
Neutral5.7%
Negative9.0%

Glimmer

All ratings3,892 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral3.4%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews1,433 reviews
Positive91.2%
Neutral6.6%
Negative2.2%

User reviews

Timecrest

From 857 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fantastic story and world-building
  • 👍 Engaging and immersive gameplay
  • 🎨 Beautiful music and soundtrack
  • 🎯 Meaningful choices with impact
  • 🙌 Excellent accessibility for blind/VI users

Room to improve

  • ⏱️ Lengthy wait times between actions
  • 🤑 Expensive in-app purchases for time crystals
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and syncing issues
  • 🤔 Some predictable story elements

Glimmer

From 5.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great interactive stories
  • 💡 Unique and creative writing
  • 🚀 Addictive and fun to play

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Issues with loading answers
  • 💡 Need to sort stories by completed/ongoing

Bugs and requests

Timecrest

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inconsistent save data across devices
  • Text overlapping/glitching issues
  • Relationship points not tracking properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to earn more time crystals in-game
  • More control and customization options
  • Expanded story and content updates
  • Improved save/load functionality

Glimmer

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • Issues with loading answers

Requested features

2 requests
  • Ability to earn more chances to read through watching ads
  • Sort stories by completed or not

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Timecrest

One-time12
  • 300 Time Crystals$0.99
  • 636 Time Crystals$1.99
  • Memory Oracle Starter Pack$2.99
Show 9 more
  • 1296 Time Crystals$3.99
  • One Time Welcome Pack$5.99
  • 2310 Time Crystals$6.99
  • 3330 Time Crystals$9.99
  • 6,330 Time Crystals$18.99
  • 6900 Time Crystals$19.99
  • 13,330 Time Crystals$39.99
  • 19,997 Time Crystals$59.99
  • 34479 Time Crystals$99.99
11 purchases

Glimmer

One-time11
  • 20 Turns$0.99
  • 15 Turns$0.99
  • 20 + 5 Undos$3.99
Show 8 more
  • 100 Turns$3.99
  • 75 + 15 Turns$4.99
  • 50 + 30 Undos$9.99
  • 265 Turns$9.99
  • 150 + 50 Turns$9.99
  • 300 + 125 Turns$19.99
  • 750 + 350 Turns$49.99
  • 1500 + 800 Turns$99.99

Questions

Is Timecrest free?
Timecrest is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Glimmer free?
Glimmer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Timecrest or Glimmer?
Timecrest is rated higher. Timecrest averages 4.7 out of 5 from 857 ratings, while Glimmer averages 4.7 from 5.7K ratings.
Do Timecrest or Glimmer have ads?
Neither Timecrest nor Glimmer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Timecrest or Glimmer?
Timecrest ships an update monthly, and Glimmer weekly. Most recently, Timecrest was updated on October 19, 2026 and Glimmer on October 21, 2026.

Other comparisons