Comparison

ilu vs Matrix Balls

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

Head to head
About

ilu

This logic puzzle game challenges you to illuminate dark areas by strategically placing lights. As you terraform barren planets and spread light, watch them transform with vibrant, animated life. Discover clever solutions and enjoy a relaxing, dynamic experience.

Highlights
  • Infinite relaxing logic puzzles
  • Illuminate dark areas with light
  • Terraform barren planets
  • Discover clever solutions
  • Dynamic music
  • Animated hint system
Features
Read full description

ilu is a puzzle game. In every puzzle, all that is dark must light up. You place a light by tapping a dark area. You will discover clever ways to place the lights as you play the game. STORY: ilu is light. You are a keeper of light. In the vast void of space, countless lost worlds drift in the dark. Planets that have lost their star mothers and are too far and cold for the rays of starlight to warm their dark and frozen features. It is your mission to terraform these barren planets. As you spread light through the worlds of ilu, watch the ground light up while colorful and beautifully animated plants sprout as the entire world gently teems with life. FEATURES: • Infinite relaxing logic puzzles solved with light • Simple rules that create compelling solutions • Dynamic music that responds to your play • An animated & intelligent hint system that teaches & guides your way The puzzles of ilu can be solved with pure logic alone. We wanted to share the wonderful "aha!" moments of discovering the solutions with you. ilu is supported with ads, but you have the option to permanently remove the ads from the game with an in-app purchase.

About

Matrix Balls

A challenging puzzle game where you align 5 or more balls to clear them. Earn points through smart moves to avoid filling the board. The game offers a free version and a premium upgrade for advanced features.

Highlights
  • Align 5+ balls for combos
  • Strategic ball placement
  • Endless gameplay
  • Save and resume game (Premium)
  • Adjustable difficulty (Premium)
  • International high score leaderboard (Premium)
Features
Read full description

A board of wells. Balls keep dropping in. Line up five of one colour before the board fills up. Matrix Balls is the classic colour-lines puzzle, played against a machine that never stops. Drag a ball along the empty wells to any spot it can reach — across, down or round a corner — and line up balls of one colour in any direction, including the diagonals. Complete a line and it clears, with points for every ball in it. A CLOCK THAT DROPS BALLS Every twenty seconds the machine drops a handful of new balls onto the board. Every move you make resets the clock, so keep moving. A move that clears nothing brings the next drop straight away. Sometimes the machine completes a line by accident. You still get the points. IT GETS HARDER Your score carries you through nine stages. Each one brings more colours into play — seven at the start, eleven by the end — and bigger drops. The line you need is four balls on a small board, five on a large one. Fill the board and the game is over. Your best score stays. A BOARD THAT FITS YOUR SCREEN The grid is laid out for the display you are on: a tall narrow board on a phone, a wide one on an iPad or a Mac window. Bigger boards mean bigger drops and longer lines — it evens out. ONE GAME, EVERYWHERE iPhone, iPad and Mac, with your best score carried between them over iCloud. Compare it with other players on Game Center, or ignore the leaderboard entirely. Leave a game mid-way and it is waiting when you come back. NO CATCHES No ads. No in-app purchases. No account to create. Nothing to subscribe to. It works offline — there is no server behind it. Light and dark, and it respects Reduce Motion.

Screenshots

ilu4 screens
Matrix Balls4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Matrix Balls at none against ilu's 9. Matrix Balls also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 69%) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). ilu's advantage is ratings volume (2.1K vs 4) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 17.0). On ads, monetization model 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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Matrix Balls holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ilu has 2.1K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of ilu's written reviews are positive against 100% of Matrix Balls's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ilu ships an update every 3 weeks, Matrix Balls every 4 days. Both last shipped on September 10, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
ilu versus Matrix Balls: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriluMatrix Balls
PriceFree — better—
Rating4.7 (2.1K ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews69.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.1K — better4
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS9.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size535 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBrainium Studios LLCPhilippe GUILLAUD

Customer experience

ilu

All ratings2,122 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral4.1%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews171 reviews
Positive69.0%
Neutral8.8%
Negative22.2%

Matrix Balls

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

ilu

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes on launch for some users
  • Placement of markers and lights not always registering correctly
  • Recent update changed visuals in a way that made the game less clear

Requested features

4 requests
  • Zoom or pan functionality for larger puzzles
  • Separate marker and light placement modes
  • Progress tracking and ability to replay past puzzles
  • More variety in background music tracks

Matrix Balls

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

ilu

One-time9
  • 100 Ad-Free Puzzles$0.99
  • Terra Suit$0.99
  • Turbo Suit$1.99
Show 6 more
  • The Botanic$1.99
  • Pod$2.99
  • Spectral Suit$3.99
  • Chromus$4.99
  • Ayianna$6.99
  • Unlock Ad-Free$7.99
None

Matrix Balls

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ilu free?
ilu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Matrix Balls free?
Pricing for Matrix Balls is not currently listed on the App Store.
Which has better reviews, ilu or Matrix Balls?
Matrix Balls is rated higher. ilu averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.1K ratings, while Matrix Balls averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do ilu or Matrix Balls have ads?
Neither ilu nor Matrix Balls shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ilu or Matrix Balls?
ilu ships an update every 3 weeks, and Matrix Balls every 4 days. Most recently, ilu was updated on September 10, 2026 and Matrix Balls on September 10, 2026.

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