Comparison

Build Up!! vs Tether

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

Head to head
About

Build Up!!

Construct your tower as tall as possible by strategically placing building nodes. Collect more nodes as you ascend to reach crucial checkpoints and achieve new heights.

Highlights
  • Build structures high
  • Gather building nodes
  • Reach checkpoints
  • Ascend to new heights
Features
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Build your structure as high as you can! Gather additional building nodes along the way and reach the checkpoints!

About

Tether

Control two orbs connected by a stretchy tether to solve physics-based puzzles. Use the tether's tension and leverage to navigate mazes, wrap around obstacles, and reach exits. Features local multiplayer for cooperative or competitive play.

Highlights
  • Physics-based tether mechanics
  • Solve devious mazes
  • Local multiplayer mode
  • Haptic feedback
  • 50+ handcrafted levels
  • Offline play
Features
Read full description

You control two orbs. They're connected by a stretchy, springy tether. Drag one, and the other gets pulled along for the ride — whether it likes it or not. Both orbs need to reach their exits. Sounds simple. It is not. The tether isn't just connecting them — it's your secret weapon. Wrap it around pegs. Slingshot an orb around corners. Use tension, leverage, and a little creative chaos to solve increasingly devious mazes. WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT Most puzzle games give you buttons. Tether gives you physics. The elastic connection between your orbs creates emergent solutions — there's no single "right answer." Wrap, stretch, fling, and occasionally panic. GRAB A FRIEND (OR AN ENEMY) Hand your friend a phone. In local multiplayer, each player controls ONE orb. You'll need to talk, coordinate, and try very hard not to blame each other when things go wrong. The tether transmits every tug — you can literally feel your partner's bad decisions through haptic feedback. Relationships may be tested. We accept no liability. 50+ LEVELS OF "OH, COME ON" Five handcrafted worlds that start friendly and end personal. Star ratings reward speed and efficiency for the overachievers. The rest of us just want to survive. THE FINE PRINT • Satisfying spring physics that feel great to play with • Minimalist glowing visuals — pretty enough to screenshot, clean enough to think • Haptic feedback so good you'll feel the tension in your thumbs • Works offline — puzzle in the woods, on a plane, wherever • No ads. No in-app purchases. No energy timers. Just puzzles. • Built with love by a tiny studio that thinks games should respect your time Download Tether. Stretch your brain. Try not to snap.

Screenshots

Build Up!!3 screens
Tether3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Tether at none against Build Up!!'s 1. Tether also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.5). Build Up!!'s advantage is ratings volume (16K vs 1) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Build Up!! sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Tether asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Tether holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Build Up!! has 16K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Build Up!! versus Tether: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBuild Up!!Tether
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (16K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews34.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings16K — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly—
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17
Further details — not scored
Size266 MB7 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperVoodooPixel Worship, LLC

Customer experience

Build Up!!

All ratings16,019 ratings
Positive87.6%
Neutral5.8%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews179 reviews
Positive34.1%
Neutral16.2%
Negative49.7%

Tether

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Build Up!!

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Rivet counter malfunction
  • Levels regenerating incorrectly
  • Tower physics issues

Requested features

3 requests
  • More level variety
  • Ability to create custom maps
  • Removal of perfect triangle requirement

Tether

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Build Up!!

One-time1
  • Remove Ads.$2.99
None

Tether

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Build Up!! free?
Build Up!! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tether free?
Tether is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Build Up!! or Tether?
Tether is rated higher. Build Up!! averages 4.5 out of 5 from 16K ratings, while Tether averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Build Up!! or Tether have ads?
Both Build Up!! and Tether show ads.

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