Comparison

Kalimba™ vs Aricade

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

Head to head
About

Kalimba™

Navigate a vibrant, challenging world by controlling two colored totem pieces simultaneously. Solve mind-bending puzzles and overcome obstacles to restore light to the island. Enjoy both a single-player adventure and a local co-op mode.

Highlights
  • Dual totem control
  • Puzzle-platforming gameplay
  • Single-player campaign
  • Local co-op mode
  • Collectible challenges
  • Leaderboard competition
Features
Read full description

** BAFTA-nominated ‘Best New Property’ 2015 ** Jump, slide and fly your way through a beautiful, mind-bending world in this award-winning, puzzle-platforming adventure. The island of Kalimba has been cast into darkness by an evil shaman. Your totems must journey from the underworld to the heavens in order to restore light to the land. Thankfully, Hoebear the vaguely bear-shaped Metabear will be your spirit guide in this quest. Rebuild the totem pole to bring back the positive vibes to Kalimba. In Kalimba, you play two coloured totem pole pieces simultaneously – one on the top half, and one on the bottom half of the screen. Avoid dark pits, deadly spikes and roaming enemies, but remember the totems move together. One totem jumps over a hole, the other jumps into spikes; one soars into the sky while the other tumbles into the abyss. ========== “Beautiful, wonderfully designed, thoughtful and thought-provoking…” 10/10 – Official Xbox Magazine “With its smart design and mind-melting puzzles [...] Kalimba is the new golden child of PC platformers.” 5/5 - Expert Reviews “One of the biggest treats I have had all year…” 9/10 – God is a Geek “Precise, taxing and faintly adorable, it's the [Xbox]One's secret platforming weapon. Got a sneering Nintendo fan coming over? Show them this thing and their happy, colourful brains will be blown into rainbow chunks." Games Radar “Kalimba is a beautiful, cheerful platformer that finds a neat middle ground between reflex-oriented running and taxing puzzle solving.” 81/100 - PC Gamer “Kalimba not only has one of the best cooperative experiences around, but it also has a strong single-player element.” 8/10 Destructoid “Kalimba is a delightful game. Bright colours, tight controls, platforming, animals with accessories…” Rock Paper Shotgun ========== CAMPAIGN Play through an exciting single-player adventure where every new level will test your platforming and puzzle-solving skills. CO-OP Share a local co-op challenge on one device - a fiendishly challenging experience that will make or break any friendship. Co-op is only available on iPad. CHALLENGES Collect all the gold totems, find and beat the secret challenge rooms, and compete on the leaderboards. If you enjoy Kalimba, please leave a rating, check out our other titles, or simply follow @FlashbulbGames on Twitter and Facebook.

About

Aricade

Enjoy a diverse collection of casual minigames, from retro throwbacks to unique mobile titles. Designed with simple, intuitive controls for players of all ages, it offers over 30 engaging games for endless fun.

Highlights
  • 30+ casual minigames
  • Retro and original titles
  • Intuitive gameplay
  • Suitable for all ages
  • Archery, Pool, Chess, and more
Features
Read full description

A delightful collection of casual minigames ranging from retro classics to mobile favorites and originals. Features intuitive gameplay and controls suitable for all ages. Just simple, fun, casual games. 30+ Games to choose from including: Archery Pool Brick breaker Match3 Memory Fishing Chess Cars Golf Artillery Lunar Lander Growth Bubbles Tower Stacker and many more!

Screenshots

Kalimba™4 screens
Aricade4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Aricade at Free against Kalimba™'s $3.99. Kalimba™'s advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (49 vs 11). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence and in-app purchases 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

Aricade is free to download; Kalimba™ costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Kalimba™ against 4.8 for Aricade. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 49 and 11 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 76% and 75% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly daily. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Kalimba™ versus Aricade: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKalimba™Aricade
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (49 ratings)4.8 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.5% of reviews — better75.0% of reviews
Number of ratings49 — better11
Update frequencyDailyDaily
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS10.0 — better12
Further details — not scored
Size785 MB33 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperFlashbulb ApSKingly Software Inc

Customer experience

Kalimba™

All ratings49 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral2.0%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews49 reviews
Positive75.5%
Neutral8.2%
Negative16.3%

Aricade

All ratings11 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral9.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Kalimba™

No in-app purchases

None

Aricade

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Kalimba™ free?
Kalimba™ costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Aricade free?
Aricade is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Kalimba™ or Aricade?
Aricade is rated higher. Kalimba™ averages 4.8 out of 5 from 49 ratings, while Aricade averages 4.8 from 11 ratings.
Do Kalimba™ or Aricade have ads?
Aricade shows ads; Kalimba™ does not.
Which is updated more often, Kalimba™ or Aricade?
Kalimba™ ships an update daily, and Aricade daily. Most recently, Kalimba™ was updated on November 6, 2026 and Aricade on November 3, 2026.

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