Comparison

Golf Peaks vs ArcEmu

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

Head to head
About

Golf Peaks

A relaxing puzzle game where you play golf to climb mountains. Use cards to guide your ball through over 120 handcrafted levels, navigating various hazards. No prior golf knowledge is needed to enjoy this unique challenge.

Highlights
  • Card-based golf puzzles
  • Over 120 handcrafted levels
  • Textless tutorial
  • Golf-inspired hazards
  • Bonus short courses
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Golf Peaks is a chill puzzle game about climbing misty mountains by playing golf. Choose cards to move the ball around, avoid hazards or use them to your advantage, solve over 120 handcrafted levels and become the master of Golf Peaks! UNIQUE GOLF PUZZLES You start each stage with a selection of cards (strokes) - pick the right one, choose a direction and launch your ball towards the hole! ZERO UNDERSTANDING OF GOLF REQUIRED Golf Peaks offers a fun experience even if you don’t know your eagles from bogeys - the game’s textless tutorial introduces everything you need at a relaxed pace. 120+ HOLES TO CONQUER Each location offers a half-course with 9 holes to solve, along with a bonus short course (3 holes) for players seeking an additional challenge! BUNKERS, PITS & MORE Over the course of the game you’ll encounter familiar golf-inspired mechanics like fairways, sand traps and water... as well as some more exotic hazards!

About

ArcEmu

Experience retro gaming on your Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad. This emulator supports Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges. Enjoy features like multiplayer, cheats, and customizable controls.

Highlights
  • Game Boy, GBC, GBA emulation
  • Multiplayer support
  • Cheat codes
  • Customizable on-screen controls
  • Save State sharing
  • iCloud support
Features
Read full description

Turn your Apple Watch into a retro game console. Play Game Boy, NES, SNES, Genesis, and more on your wrist, with multi-touch controls and the Digital Crown. ArcEmu also runs on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. ▸ SUPPORTED CONSOLES Included for free: - Game Boy - Game Boy Color - Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Available through in-app purchases: - Game Boy Advance - Pokémon Mini - Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) - Atari 2600 - Sega Mega Drive / Genesis - Sega Master System - Sega Game Gear - Sega SG-1000 ▸ MULTIPLAYER AND LINK CABLE Play home-console games online and locally with friends, or link Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games over the internet. Game Link Cable supports up to four players in compatible games. Online play requires a Game Center account. ▸ SHARE ROMs WITH A CODE Import your ROMs on iPhone, keep them in iCloud, and download them directly to Apple Watch or Apple TV. Share them through iCloud using a code, including with an Apple Watch configured with Family Setup. ▸ SCREEN AND CONTROLS Move and resize the game screen, choose an LCD or CRT filter, and set up the controls the way you like them. On Apple Watch, use multi-touch controls, customize the control layout, and assign actions to the Digital Crown. On iPhone and iPad, adjust button positions and transparency, and play in any orientation. Connect a controller and customize its button mappings, or use a second controller on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. ArcEmu also supports iPhone Duo. ▸ MORE FEATURES - Accurate, high-performance emulation - Fast-forward at 2×, 4×, or maximum speed - Slow motion at 0.5× speed - Cheat codes with a built-in database of popular codes - Touch-based light gun controls for NES and SNES - Custom Game Boy color palettes - Button hold/sustain - Accelerometer support - Gyroscope support on iPhone and iPad, with Digital Crown input on Apple Watch - Haptic feedback on iPhone ▸ YOUR ROMs AND SAVES Keep your collection organized with per-console folders, sorting, and search. Import ROMs from ZIP and 7-Zip archives, use automatic saving, and share save states between devices. Both ROMs and save states can be stored in iCloud. ▸ APPLE WATCH COMPATIBILITY - Apple Watch Series 4 or later - Apple Watch SE or later - Apple Watch Ultra or later ArcEmu does not include any games or ROMs. ▸ GAMES FEATURED IN THE SCREENSHOTS - Acorn Grove: https://gibbongl.itch.io/acorn-grove - Big2Small: https://mdsteele.itch.io/big2small - Hauntsfield: https://alliemackie.itch.io/hauntsfield - µCity Advance: https://skylyrac.itch.io/ucity-advance Cheat codes may cause unexpected behavior or affect game stability and save data. ArcEmu is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo, Sega, or Atari. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Screenshots

Golf Peaks4 screens
ArcEmu4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ArcEmu at Free against Golf Peaks's $2.99. ArcEmu also leads on review sentiment (95% vs 84%). Golf Peaks's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and chart position (#106 vs unranked). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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

ArcEmu is free to download; Golf Peaks costs $2.99 up front. ArcEmu sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Golf Peaks asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ArcEmu holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 562 and 1.3K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Golf Peaks's written reviews are positive against 95% of ArcEmu's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Golf Peaks ships an update every 3 weeks, ArcEmu every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Golf Peaks versus ArcEmu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGolf PeaksArcEmu
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (562 ratings)4.9 (1.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.1% of reviews94.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5621.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#106 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size141 MB234 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAfterburn Lukasz SpierewkaRaffaele D'Amato

Customer experience

Golf Peaks

All ratings562 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral3.6%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews107 reviews
Positive84.1%
Neutral8.4%
Negative7.5%

ArcEmu

All ratings1,333 ratings
Positive98.3%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews533 reviews
Positive94.6%
Neutral2.8%
Negative2.6%

User reviews

Golf Peaks

From 562 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Incredibly tight puzzle game
  • 👍 Great game mechanics
  • 👍 Beautiful and perfectly crafted art style
  • 👍 Engaging difficulty curve
  • 👍 Smooth gameplay

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Battery drain issues
  • 🐛 Occasional overheating on devices
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🕰️ Game is too short
  • 🕰️ Not enough levels for the price

ArcEmu

From 1.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fully functional
  • 🚀 Impressive emulation on Apple Watch
  • 👍 Great emulator for both phone and watch
  • 👍 Seamless save state transfer between devices
  • 👍 Customizable controls and layout

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Compatibility issues with some games
  • 🐛 Audio quality problems on certain games
  • 👎 Limited functionality on Apple Watch
  • 👎 Difficult controls for action-heavy games on watch

Bugs and requests

Golf Peaks

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Jump pads not working as expected on certain levels
  • Missing flag pole to finish on some levels
  • Syncing issues between devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • More levels and worlds
  • Difficulty options or level packs
  • Level editor or user-generated content
  • Scoring system or par system
  • Icloud/cloud sync support
Show 1 more
  • Ability to go back a step automatically

ArcEmu

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional crashes
  • Graphical glitches with certain ROMs
  • Save data not transferring properly between devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add cheat/GameShark support
  • Improve volume controls
  • Implement fast forward/slow motion options
  • Allow multiple save slots per game
  • Improve Game Boy Color support
Show 1 more
  • Add joystick/button support for Apple Watch

In-app purchases

None

Golf Peaks

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

ArcEmu

One-time10
  • Unlock All (Upgrade 4)$0.99
  • Game Boy Advance$0.99
  • SNES$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Pokémon Mini$0.99
  • Atari 2600$0.99
  • Mega Drive / Genesis$0.99
  • Game Gear$0.99
  • Master System$0.99
  • SG-1000$0.99
  • Unlock All (Upgrade 3)$1.99

Questions

Is Golf Peaks free?
Golf Peaks costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ArcEmu free?
ArcEmu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Golf Peaks or ArcEmu?
ArcEmu is rated higher. Golf Peaks averages 4.7 out of 5 from 562 ratings, while ArcEmu averages 4.9 from 1.3K ratings.
Do Golf Peaks or ArcEmu have ads?
Neither Golf Peaks nor ArcEmu shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Golf Peaks or ArcEmu?
Golf Peaks ships an update every 3 weeks, and ArcEmu every 2 weeks. Most recently, Golf Peaks was updated on October 29, 2026 and ArcEmu on October 27, 2026.

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