Comparison

Handy Boy 2019 vs Elderand

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

Head to head
About

Handy Boy 2019

Embark on a retro-style platform adventure to help a messy handyman collect scattered tools. Follow a specific order to place items in his toolbox and find his hard hat to complete each level. Compete with friends on leaderboards via Game Center.

Highlights
  • Retro 80s pixel art graphics
  • Tool collection and placement puzzles
  • Level completion objectives
  • Game Center leaderboard support
  • Challenging gameplay mechanics
Features
Read full description

"Handy Boy" is a platform video game that embraces a retro look and feel reminiscent of classic 80s games like Manic Miner, Odd Job Eddie, Colin the Cleaner, and others. Embark on a mission in "Handy Boy"... Joe, the messy handy boy, has scattered his tools after completing some work. Your task is to assist Joe in gathering all his tools, starting with retrieving his Toolbox, which must be collected first. Follow Joe's specific order for placing tools in the toolbox. Once all tools are found and collected, locate Joe's hard hat to successfully complete the game. Game Center support is available – log in to Apple's Game Center to enable the Leaderboard feature.

About

Elderand

Embark on a brutal, skill-based action platformer in a Lovecraftian world. Wield diverse weapons and customize your character with RPG elements to battle terrifying creatures and explore a dark, hand-drawn pixel environment. Collect loot to upgrade your arsenal and uncover the land's secrets.

Highlights
  • Skill-based combat
  • Metroidvania exploration
  • Lovecraftian horror themes
  • RPG character customization
  • Diverse weapon arsenal
  • Hand-drawn pixel art
  • Loot collection and crafting
Features
Read full description

Become the hero of an epic quest in Elderand, a metroidvania that will test your will and skill. Heads will literally roll in this gruesome, retro-inspired action platformer, where only the strong will survive in brutal, skill-based combat against terrifying creatures. Through the darkness and madness, promised glory awaits. Wield a variety of killing instruments and abilities to test your metal against towering, bone-chilling bosses. Explore a twisted Lovecraftian world shrouded in darkness and madness. RPG elements allow you to customize your battle experience to your liking, from your character’s appearance to skills, stats, and weapons. Slay or be slain as you collect glory and treasure in this nightmarish 2D world. Glory and riches await those who can spill the required blood and guts to collect it. KEY FEATURES: •Wield an arsenal of killing devices, including whips, swords, daggers, axes, bows, and more. From a magical staff that shoots bursts of energy to a giant sword, different weapons have different stats and capabilities, so find the ones that you enjoy battling beasts with the most! •Satisfying Metroidvania-style exploration meets terrifying Lovecraftian creatures in this detailed hand-drawn pixel world with glorious gothic aesthetics and handcrafted level design. •RPG elements let you customize your experience to best suit your play style, from your character’s appearance to their skills, stats, and weapons. Collect loot from exploration and fallen enemies and then use it to upgrade your weapons via crafting. •Travel to the many corners of this perilous land, such as an inviting village with merchants, a forest, a temple prison, floating islands, a cursed Cathedral, and the hellscape that is Elderand itself. •More than 60 different enemy types and around a dozen bosses for your slaying pleasure. •Collect lost letters and other correspondence from the poor souls who came before you to learn more about the darkness taking hold of this grim land.

Screenshots

Handy Boy 20194 screens
Elderand4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Handy Boy 2019 at 5.0 against Elderand's 4.2. Handy Boy 2019 also leads on price ($0.99 vs $6.99) and review sentiment (100% vs 74%). Elderand's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 5 weeks) and ratings volume (36 vs 1). On ads, in-app purchases 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

Handy Boy 2019 costs $0.99 and Elderand $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Handy Boy 2019 holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Elderand has 36 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Handy Boy 2019's written reviews are positive against 74% of Elderand's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Handy Boy 2019 ships an update every 5 weeks, Elderand weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Handy Boy 2019 versus Elderand: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHandy Boy 2019Elderand
Price$0.99 — better$6.99
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.2 (36 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better73.7% of reviews
Number of ratings136 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.411.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB818 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperRichard HughesPlug In Digital

Customer experience

Handy Boy 2019

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Elderand

All ratings36 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral11.1%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews38 reviews
Positive73.7%
Neutral7.9%
Negative18.4%

Bugs and requests

Handy Boy 2019

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Elderand

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • Permanent crashes
  • Character spawning underneath level
  • R button for subweapon not working on Steelseries Nimbus
  • Dash function not working
  • Game freezing for a moment
Show 6 more
  • Bosses getting stuck in attack animations
  • Campfire menu broken (cannot select options)
  • Lost save data after updates
  • D-pad moves on screen and becomes unusable
  • Joystick teleports to random spots
  • Virtual joystick bug with attack key

Requested features

7 requests
  • Full controller remapping for bindings
  • Multiplayer PvP 'Invasions' system
  • Cloud saves (iCloud)
  • Adjustable button layout and size
  • Ability to track materials acquired
Show 2 more
  • New game+ option
  • Boss replayability

In-app purchases

None

Handy Boy 2019

No in-app purchases

None

Elderand

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Handy Boy 2019 free?
Handy Boy 2019 costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Elderand free?
Elderand costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Handy Boy 2019 or Elderand?
Handy Boy 2019 is rated higher. Handy Boy 2019 averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Elderand averages 4.2 from 36 ratings.
Do Handy Boy 2019 or Elderand have ads?
Neither Handy Boy 2019 nor Elderand shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Handy Boy 2019 or Elderand?
Handy Boy 2019 ships an update every 5 weeks, and Elderand weekly. Most recently, Handy Boy 2019 was updated on October 7, 2026 and Elderand on October 25, 2026.

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