A Short Tale vs Iced In
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
A Short Tale
Embark on a first-person point-and-click adventure where you shrink to toy size and explore a brother's room. Solve puzzles, collect items, and uncover clues in a charming, nostalgia-inducing environment with trademark humor.
- First-person point and click adventure
- Toy-sized room exploration
- Charming and nostalgic environment
- Humorous puzzles
- Glitch Camera for clues
- Item collection and usage
- Auto-save feature
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"For anyone who just wants to play a game chock-full of fun and unusual puzzles while exploring a charming and nostalgia-inducing environment, A Short Tale provides plenty of entertainment for a few hours." – AdventureGamers Shrink down and experience a childhood bedroom like never before in this heartwarming first-person point-and-click puzzle adventure. Years after losing his younger brother Ben, Jason returns to the place where everything changed forever. Drawn back by a mysterious presence, he makes one impossible wish—to be small again. Suddenly, an ordinary bedroom becomes a vast world filled with towering furniture, hidden secrets, clever puzzles, and unforgettable memories. Explore every corner, collect useful items, uncover hidden clues, and solve challenging escape room-style puzzles as you unravel an emotional story about family, loss, and growing up. If you enjoy point-and-click adventures, escape room games, hidden object puzzles, and story-rich mystery games, A Short Tale is for you. Features • Immersive first-person point-and-click adventure. • Explore a giant bedroom from a tiny perspective. • Solve clever puzzles and escape room-inspired challenges. • Collect items, discover hidden clues, and unlock new areas. • Use the unique Glitch Camera to reveal secrets and keep track of clues. • Emotional story filled with nostalgia, mystery, and discovery. • Beautiful atmospheric soundtrack. • Signature Glitch Games humour. • Auto-save ensures you never lose your progress. • No ads or in-app purchases. Can you uncover the memories hidden within a room that once felt like home? – Glitch Games is a small independent game studio from the UK, creating premium mystery, escape room, and puzzle adventure games that players around the world love. Follow us for updates, news, and behind-the-scenes content: Discord: discord.gg/glitchgames Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlitchGames/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/glitch.games Newsletter: https://glitch.games/newsletter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theglitchgames/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GlitchGames
Iced In
Navigate frozen landscapes by strategically sliding ice blocks to solve puzzles and rescue stranded penguins. This adventure game features clever mechanics where every move counts, with 50 handcrafted challenges that increase in difficulty.
- Slide ice blocks to solve puzzles
- Rescue trapped penguins
- 50 handcrafted levels
- Clever movement mechanics
- Intuitive controls
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Guide a determined explorer across frozen lakes and snowy terrain in a puzzle adventure built around clever movement and careful planning. Slide blocks of ice to activate switches, solve layered challenges, and rescue penguins trapped behind frozen cages. Every move matters. Ice blocks slide until they hit an obstacle, fragile tiles crack after repeated use, and one careless push can turn a solution into a frozen dead end. With 50 handcrafted puzzles and intuitive controls, the challenge steadily grows while staying accessible and satisfying. Cute penguins set the stakes, but smart thinking is the key to saving them all. • 50 handcrafted puzzles • Simple, intuitive controls • Clever ice-sliding mechanics • Adorable penguins to rescue
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Iced In at Free against A Short Tale's $3.99. Iced In also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 5 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 74%). A Short Tale's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and rating (4.6 vs 4.2). On ads 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
Iced In is free to download; A Short Tale costs $3.99 up front. Iced In sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. A Short Tale asks for nothing beyond the download.
A Short Tale holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: A Short Tale has 246 ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 74% of A Short Tale's written reviews are positive against 100% of Iced In's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
A Short Tale ships an update every 5 months, Iced In every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | A Short Tale | Iced In |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (246 ratings) — better | 4.2 (13 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 74.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 246 — better | 13 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 290 MB | 214 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Glitch Games | Dennis Mengelt |
Customer experience
A Short Tale
Iced In
Bugs and requests
A Short Tale
Reported bugs
3 issues- Camera/photo album icon overlap issue
- Crossword puzzle glitch causing game to freeze
- Missing puzzle elements preventing completion
Requested features
3 requests- Hint system or built-in walkthrough
- Improved navigation and screen loading times
- More logical and intuitive puzzle design
Iced In
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
A Short Tale
No in-app purchases
Iced In
- Episode 2$0.99
Questions
Is A Short Tale free?
Is Iced In free?
Which has better reviews, A Short Tale or Iced In?
Do A Short Tale or Iced In have ads?
Which is updated more often, A Short Tale or Iced In?
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