Comparison

Madness at Hobbsgate vs BBirthday

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

Head to head
About

Madness at Hobbsgate

Explore a bleak asylum in this text-based adventure game inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. Uncover a dark story, navigate a large open world, and question your sanity in this mobile adaptation of classic interactive fiction.

Highlights
  • Text-based adventure gameplay
  • Lovecraftian horror theme
  • Open world exploration
  • Engaging story progression
  • Moments of dark comedy
Features
Read full description

Madness at Hobbsgate is an exploration adventure game inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, where players explore and investigate a large open world map, progressing though an engaging and exciting story. It is a mobile phone adaption of the classic text-based adventure genre, similar to the point-and-click classics. The game combines a bleak environment, an sense of underlying dread, and several moments of comedy to keep you entertained. As the fourth game in the "Horror in the Darkness" series, the protagonist finds himself trapped within the walls of Hobbsgate Asylum for the Criminally Insane. Unsure of how he came to be there he finds out quickly enough that the line between sane and insane can often be blurry. Website: http://www.karmicshift.co.nz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karmicshiftstudios/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/karmic_shift

About

BBirthday

Experience a dreamcore visual novel where you guide Bianca through 15 years of her life from a new viewpoint. Solve escape room puzzles with horror undertones and discover multiple endings.

Highlights
  • Visual novel gameplay
  • Dreamcore aesthetic
  • Escape room puzzles
  • Horror elements
  • Multiple endings
  • Relive life events
Features
Read full description

Help Bianca to relive the 15 years of her life, but from another perspective. Enjoy this dreamcore style visual novel with escape room elements and hints of horror. Unlock different endings.

Screenshots

Madness at Hobbsgate4 screens
BBirthday4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: BBirthday at monthly against Madness at Hobbsgate's every 10 months. BBirthday also leads on ratings volume (1.6K vs 38) and review sentiment (91% vs 80%). Madness at Hobbsgate's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, ads 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

Both are free to download. Madness at Hobbsgate sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and BBirthday sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 — 4.6 for Madness at Hobbsgate against 4.7 for BBirthday. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BBirthday has 1.6K ratings behind it against 38, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Madness at Hobbsgate's written reviews are positive against 91% of BBirthday's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Madness at Hobbsgate ships an update every 10 months, BBirthday monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Madness at Hobbsgate versus BBirthday: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMadness at HobbsgateBBirthday
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (38 ratings)4.7 (1.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews91.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings381.6K — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS10.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB182 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperCraig KadziolkaJuan Amaro

Customer experience

Madness at Hobbsgate

All ratings36 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral2.8%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative13.3%

BBirthday

All ratings1,598 ratings
Positive92.6%
Neutral3.4%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews921 reviews
Positive91.0%
Neutral5.3%
Negative3.7%

Bugs and requests

Madness at Hobbsgate

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

BBirthday

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Game crashes during boss battles
  • Dialogue/text gets stuck or freezes
  • Inability to progress past certain levels
  • Saved progress not loading correctly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add Russian language support
  • Provide more free content/endings
  • Improve stability and reduce crashes
  • Add a skip/fast-forward option for dialogue
  • Adjust age rating to better fit content

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Madness at Hobbsgate

One-time1
  • Premium Upgrade$3.99
1 purchases

BBirthday

One-time1
  • BBirthday Premium Version$7.99

Questions

Is Madness at Hobbsgate free?
Madness at Hobbsgate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BBirthday free?
BBirthday is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Madness at Hobbsgate or BBirthday?
BBirthday is rated higher. Madness at Hobbsgate averages 4.6 out of 5 from 38 ratings, while BBirthday averages 4.7 from 1.6K ratings.
Do Madness at Hobbsgate or BBirthday have ads?
Neither Madness at Hobbsgate nor BBirthday shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Madness at Hobbsgate or BBirthday?
Madness at Hobbsgate ships an update every 10 months, and BBirthday monthly. Most recently, Madness at Hobbsgate was updated on October 24, 2026 and BBirthday on October 25, 2026.

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