Comparison

Kepler Attack vs ArcEmu

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

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

Kepler Attack4 screens
ArcEmu4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ArcEmu at Free against Kepler Attack's $1.99. ArcEmu also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.5) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). Kepler Attack's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and chart position (#62 vs unranked). On ratings volume, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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; Kepler Attack costs $1.99 up front. ArcEmu sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Kepler Attack asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ArcEmu holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 942 and 1.4K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of Kepler Attack's written reviews are positive against 95% of ArcEmu's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kepler Attack ships an update every 2 months, ArcEmu every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Kepler Attack versus ArcEmu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKepler AttackArcEmu
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (942 ratings)4.9 (1.4K ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.4% of reviews94.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9421.4K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#62 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB234 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRed Sprite StudiosRaffaele D'Amato

Customer experience

Kepler Attack

All ratings942 ratings
Positive87.6%
Neutral5.5%
Negative6.9%
Written reviews43 reviews
Positive81.4%
Neutral7.0%
Negative11.6%

ArcEmu

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

User reviews

Kepler Attack

From 942 App Store ratings

What 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 1.4K 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

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
Show 1 more
  • Add joystick/button support for Apple Watch

In-app purchases

None

Kepler Attack

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 Kepler Attack free?
Kepler Attack costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ArcEmu free?
ArcEmu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Kepler Attack or ArcEmu?
ArcEmu is rated higher. Kepler Attack averages 4.5 out of 5 from 942 ratings, while ArcEmu averages 4.9 from 1.4K ratings.
Do Kepler Attack or ArcEmu have ads?
Neither Kepler Attack nor ArcEmu shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Kepler Attack or ArcEmu?
Kepler Attack ships an update every 2 months, and ArcEmu every 2 weeks. Most recently, Kepler Attack was updated on November 11, 2026 and ArcEmu on November 12, 2026.

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