Kepler Attack vs ArcEmu
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Kepler Attack
Engage in a retro arcade space shooter experience on your iPhone and Apple Watch. Destroy waves of alien invaders with power-ups and intuitive controls. Enjoy fast-paced gameplay perfect for short bursts of fun.
- Space shooter gameplay
- Alien invasion waves
- Power-ups (Shield, Triple Shot, etc.)
- Apple Watch Crown controls
- iPhone swipe controls
- Retro arcade graphics
- Short burst gameplay
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Featured in Apple's "Great on watchOS 6" and "Our Favourite Apple Watch Apps" collections! #2 Casual Game in the US! Kepler Attack is an arcade game for your iPhone and Apple Watch. Fly through space and destroy waves of alien space invaders from Kepler-452b. “I’m just amazed that this is on my Watch.” - Tom, host of The Apple WatchCast Podcast - http://www.applewatchcast.com “I think this is actually my personal favorite new game now on the Apple Watch because of its really fast pacing which is perfect for these types of games.” - HotshotTek, 10 Awesome Apple Watch Games Apps of 2019 • Inspired by Gyruss, Galaga, Galaxian and Space Invaders! • Beautiful retro arcade graphics! • Fast paced alien attack waves with a variety of enemy space invaders! • Power-ups include Shield, Triple Shot, Rapid Fire and Smart Bomb! • Intuitive and simple controls using the Crown on the Watch! • Swipe to move on the iPhone! • Short burst gameplay is perfect for the Watch and iPhone! • Retro sound effects on the iPhone! • Play anywhere, anytime! • Includes Valentine's Day and Santa Christmas Holiday theme! • Runs at 60fps on the Watch! Relive the glory days of the arcade on your Apple Watch and iPhone. Thanks for playing Johnno & Pete
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.
- Game Boy, GBC, GBA emulation
- Multiplayer support
- Cheat codes
- Customizable on-screen controls
- Save State sharing
- iCloud support
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ArcEmu brings retro game emulation to Apple Watch. It also works on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, delivering a seamless gaming experience across your Apple devices. Supported Consoles - Game Boy (.gb) - Game Boy Color (.gbc) - Game Boy Advance (.gba) - Pokémon Mini (.min) - Nintendo Entertainment System (.nes) - Super Nintendo Entertainment System (.sfc and .smc) - Atari 2600 (.a26 and .bin) Main Features - Accurate, high-performance emulation powered by the mGBA and Ares cores - Game Link Cable support with online multiplayer for up to four players* - Cheat-code support with a built-in database of popular codes** - Frame-independent emulation at 30 or 60 FPS - Multi-touch and Digital Crown support on Apple Watch - Support for all screen orientations on iPhone and iPad - Precise, thoughtfully designed on-screen controls - Customizable control position and transparency on iPhone and iPad - Fast-forward at 2×, 4×, or maximum speed - Slow motion at 0.5× speed - Touch-based light gun controls for NES and SNES - Custom color palettes for Game Boy games - Button hold/sustain feature - Accelerometer support - Gyroscope support on iPhone and iPad, with Digital Crown input on Apple Watch - Haptic feedback on iPhone - Game controller support with customizable button mappings - ZIP archive support - Automatic saving - Save-state sharing between devices - iCloud support for ROMs and save states - ROM sharing through iCloud using share codes - Support for Apple Watch devices configured with Family Setup - ROM sorting and search 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. You can import compatible ROM files from your iPhone and store them in iCloud. Your Apple Watch can then download them directly from iCloud. On an Apple Watch configured with Family Setup, ROMs can be downloaded from iCloud using share codes. Games Featured in the Screenshots - Acorn Grove: https://gibbongl.itch.io/acorn-grove - Anguna: https://gauauu.itch.io/anguna - Hauntsfield: https://alliemackie.itch.io/hauntsfield - µCity Advance: https://skylyrac.itch.io/ucity-advance * Requires a Game Center account. ** Cheat codes may cause unexpected behavior or affect game stability and save data. ArcEmu is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo. Nintendo and the names of its game systems are trademarks of Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: ArcEmu at free against Kepler Attack's paid. ArcEmu also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.5) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks). Kepler Attack's advantage is chart position (#40 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (12.1 vs 15.5). On price, ratings volume, 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
Kepler Attack costs $1.99 and ArcEmu $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ArcEmu holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 942 and 1.3K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of Kepler Attack's written reviews are positive against 95% of ArcEmu's.
Kepler Attack ships an update every 6 weeks, ArcEmu fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Kepler Attack | ArcEmu |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | $1.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (942 ratings) | 4.9 (1.3K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 81.4% of reviews | 94.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 942 | 1.3K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #40 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.1 — better | 15.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 172 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Red Sprite Studios | Raffaele D'Amato |
Customer experience
Kepler Attack
ArcEmu
User reviews
Kepler Attack
From 942 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 😁 Great for apple watches
- 🎮 An actual video game
- 🎶 What's the music called?
- 📱 I love the fact that you can play this game on an Apple Watch
- ⏱️ Old School Arcade Immediacy and Brevity
Room to improve
- 🙄 Not worth paying for
- 💰 Ain't worth the money really
- 🙄 Fun but basic
- 😒 Stupid forced reviews
- 🐛 Won't install
ArcEmu
From 1.3K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Kepler Attack
Reported bugs
5 issues- Game doesn't play complete rip off
- Just says on the watch version that it has to be installed on my iPhone for it to work. It's installed on my iPhone. Doesn't work.
- This seems like a good game but I don't see it on my watch.
- I have the first version watch Apple one, and it does not work on the watch,And has offered me a refund, I appreciate it.
- It won't download on my watch
Requested features
2 requests- Add a golden starship IF
- Please add upgrades so we can have bettr ships
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
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- Add joystick/button support for Apple Watch
In-app purchases
Kepler Attack
No in-app purchases
ArcEmu
No in-app purchases









