Comparison

Elba vs Circulous

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

Head to head
About

Elba

Embark on a text-based narrative adventure to uncover the secrets of an abandoned island. As you and an old friend explore, more questions arise about your shared past and the island's mysteries.

Highlights
  • Text-based gameplay
  • Narrative experience
  • Mystery uncovering
  • Story-driven
  • Chapter-based progression
Features
Read full description

Elba is a text based, narrative experience. Together with an old friend you uncover the mysteries of an abandoned island. More questions then answers arise as your common past unravels throughout the story. Content: Prologue Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V

About

Circulous

Embark on an immersive first-person mystery narrative puzzle game. Solve challenging puzzles as Amanda Trouser, uncovering corporate espionage and conspiracy theories within a mysterious company. Experience a story-driven adventure with animated environments and intuitive in-game device interaction.

Highlights
  • First-person narrative gameplay
  • Mystery and conspiracy storyline
  • Challenging puzzles
  • Animated environments
  • Immersive parallax movement
  • Intuitive in-game device interaction
Features
Read full description

Pay once, play forever! Circulous is an episodic mystery narrative puzzle game. In this first-person game, you take on the persona of Amanda Trouser. You have just been let go from your job. After packing your things, you wonder what you are going to do with the rest of your life. How will you afford your apartment? On the subway ride home you see an add for a job opening at Circulous…it’s almost as if the ad was put there just for you! You apply, and you end up hired! That is only the beginning of the story. Your work at Circulous is exciting, but soon you realize there may be more to this company than you’ve ever imagined. Corporate espionage, conspiracy theories and moral dilemmas lead you through challenging puzzles that will test your wits, your allegiances, and what you think you know about…everything. Engagement This puzzle game pulls you in and makes it as immersive as possible. Scenes use parallax movement to make it feel like you are in Amanda’s world. The opening scene (in which you are fired) uses story and humor to quickly place you in Amanda’s shoes. Each scene is an animated environment that invites you to explore and notice things that may or may not be important to the story or puzzles. The use of your phone (or iPad) is an intuitive way to keep you in the game but also make it feel as if you are truly using your device alongside the game and not just a gimmick. The OS feels like a true OS and makes the immersive nature of the game much more enjoyable.

Screenshots

Elba4 screens
Circulous4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Elba at 100% against Circulous's 55%. Elba also leads on price (Free vs $1.99) and rating (5.0 vs 4.2). Circulous's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs monthly) and ratings volume (184 vs 2). On ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Elba is free to download; Circulous costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Elba holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Circulous has 184 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Elba's written reviews are positive against 55% of Circulous's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Elba ships an update monthly, Circulous every 6 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Elba versus Circulous: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterElbaCirculous
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.2 (184 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better54.9% of reviews
Number of ratings2184 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS10.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size131 MB985 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperSteffen DiesingChain Reaction Games LLC

Customer experience

Elba

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Circulous

All ratings184 ratings
Positive74.5%
Neutral9.8%
Negative15.8%
Written reviews82 reviews
Positive54.9%
Neutral18.3%
Negative26.8%

Bugs and requests

Elba

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Circulous

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • Game crashes when entering shifty.com/invisible or shifty.com/door/15
  • Ryde app shows 'no routes available' preventing progression
  • Text message reply interface fails to display responses
  • Cloud save reloads prevent continuing gameplay
  • Computer/app windows fail to open or display properly
Show 13 more
  • Screen becomes blurry or frozen when navigating between scenes
  • Magnifying glass and mailbox clickable elements unresponsive
  • Inventory locked preventing item placement
  • Game crashes when rotating device to access phone interface
  • Crashes when opening specific messages (HR rep email)
  • Decoder grid displays empty with missing elements
  • Keyboard remains on screen after typing, blocking puzzle content
  • File names overlap and display incorrectly
  • Game hangs with background music continuing after exit
  • Compatibility issues with iOS 14 memory allocation
  • Bird box combination numbers too small to read accurately
  • Puzzle solutions don't work despite correct answers
  • Game crashes on first puzzle when placing items in box

Requested features

7 requests
  • In-game hints and walkthrough system accessible without Discord or email
  • More frequent content updates and new chapters
  • Skip or difficulty adjustment options for challenging puzzles
  • Ability to disable music
  • Improved hint system with escalating difficulty levels
Show 2 more
  • Larger, more readable text and UI elements
  • Reduced real-time waiting mechanics

In-app purchases

None

Elba

No in-app purchases

None

Circulous

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Elba free?
Elba is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Circulous free?
Circulous costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Elba or Circulous?
Elba is rated higher. Elba averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Circulous averages 4.2 from 184 ratings.
Do Elba or Circulous have ads?
Neither Elba nor Circulous shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Elba or Circulous?
Elba ships an update monthly, and Circulous every 6 days. Most recently, Elba was updated on October 24, 2026 and Circulous on October 24, 2026.

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