Highwater vs El Paso, Elsewhere
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Highwater
Embark on a post-apocalyptic journey across a flooded Earth. Explore islands, recruit allies, and battle insurgents in a race against time to escape the planet. This story-driven adventure offers a unique blend of exploration and strategic combat.
- Story-driven 3D adventure
- Explore urban islands
- Turn-based combat with puzzle elements
- Memorable characters
- Original soundtrack
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Available exclusively for Netflix members. It's the end of the world. The ultra-rich might be headed to Mars. Explore a flooded planet, discover islands and find allies — can you escape in time? Amid a great climate catastrophe, the flooded region of Hightower has become a kind of safe zone between the two dry regions: the nearly entirely ravaged land of the War Zone, and the fortified city of Alphaville, where the obscenely wealthy live behind giant walls. Rumors that the rich are escaping to Mars abound. Travel a submerged world by boat as a humble survivor — pick up friends, battle insurgents and steal food — all while fighting to find out if the rumors are true. Can you make it onto the rocket in this atmospheric, story-driven adventure? Features: • Explore a rich, story-driven 3D adventure filled with memorable characters, including friends, foes and creatures • Discover beautiful urban islands and experience new elements of the story • Engage in turn-based combat with a puzzle-solving twist • An exclusive Highwater Pirate Radio soundtrack and original musical performances by in-game characters color an immersive experience! - Game by Demagog Studio and Rogue Games.
El Paso, Elsewhere
Engage in a supernatural neo-noir shooter featuring slow-motion gunfights against vampires, werewolves, and other creatures. Explore a reality-shifting motel beneath El Paso and uncover an emotional story of heartbreak and revenge.
- Cinematic bullet-time action
- Battle supernatural horrors
- Immersive neo-noir story
- Explosive combat with unique weapons
- Dynamic and destructible environments
- Original hip-hop soundtrack
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El Paso, Elsewhere. A supernatural neo-noir shooter filled with monsters, mystery, and slow-motion action. Fight your way through a haunted, reality-shifting motel, now mysteriously 46 floors deep beneath El Paso, Texas. Hunt vampires, werewolves, fallen angels, and other terrifying creatures in cinematic slow-motion gunfights inspired by action classics. Uncover an emotional neo-noir story of heartbreak and revenge as you face Draculae—the vampire lord you once loved. WHY YOU’LL LOVE EL PASO, ELSEWHERE: • Cinematic bullet-time action: Slow-motion dives, dodges, and gunplay. • Face supernatural horrors: Battle vampires, werewolves, and fallen angels. • Immersive neo-noir story: Fully-voiced campaign filled with drama and mystery. • Explosive combat: Use holy-fire Molotov cocktails and dual pistols. • Dynamic environments: Destroy objects and enemies with realistic physics. • Original hip-hop soundtrack: Featuring RJ Lake & Xalavier Nelson Jr. From the acclaimed creators at Strange Scaffold, makers of Life Eater and I Am Your Beast. Download now and dive into neo-noir chaos.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: El Paso, Elsewhere at every 3 days against Highwater's every 2 months. El Paso, Elsewhere also leads on review sentiment (82% vs 55%) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.0). On price, rating, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Highwater sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $19.99 per month and El Paso, Elsewhere sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Highwater against 4.7 for El Paso, Elsewhere. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 502 and 750 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 55% of Highwater's written reviews are positive against 82% of El Paso, Elsewhere's.
Highwater ships an update every 2 months, El Paso, Elsewhere every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Highwater | El Paso, Elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (502 ratings) | 4.7 (750 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 55.0% of reviews | 81.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 502 | 750 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2.1 GB | 2.7 GB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Netflix, Inc. | Frosty Pop |
Customer experience
Highwater
El Paso, Elsewhere
User reviews
Highwater
From 502 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Excellent artwork and visual design
- 🎵 Outstanding soundtrack and radio feature
- 📖 Compelling and emotional story
- ⚔️ Fun and strategic turn-based combat
- 🎮 Engaging gameplay mechanics
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezing issues
- 💾 Save/load functionality problems
- 🎵 Music on radio not customizable via settings
- ⚔️ Combat difficulty spikes and balance issues
- 🎁 Limited loot variety in exploration
El Paso, Elsewhere
From 750 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent gameplay
- 👍 Great story and characters
- 🎨 Fantastic art style and visuals
- 🎵 Awesome soundtrack
- 🕹️ Smooth controls and mechanics
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches (e.g. softlocks, invisible barriers)
- 🎮 Suboptimal touch controls, need for customization
- 💰 Paid full version after demo
- 🇨🇳 Lack of Chinese language support
Bugs and requests
Highwater
Reported bugs
12 issues- Audio issues on fresh app launch
- Game freezing at specific story points (Alphaville)
- Save file corruption and chapter loading failures
- Character stuck in train yard after loading
- Boat getting stuck/beached on non-interactive islands
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- Boat docking and undocking mechanics failing
- Character immobility after quest triggers
- Green extraction zones not working properly
- Health booster items not increasing health
- Enemy AI getting stuck on their turn
- Game not starting or loading initial screen
- App support button redirecting to Netflix app instead of support
Requested features
10 requests- Music volume control separate from radio dialogue
- Ability to pick up and equip enemy weapons
- Boat upgrade system
- Toggle for auto-play dialogue
- Better tutorial or difficulty adjustment for early game
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- Weapon/booster management during battles
- View character attack descriptions outside of combat
- More challenging combat encounters
- Better navigation/compass system
- Sequel or expanded content
El Paso, Elsewhere
Reported bugs
4 issues- Elevator not working in level 28
- Frankenstein enemy health gets stuck in level 27
- Character movement issues during chapter name display
- Crashes on iPhone 6 Plus
Requested features
4 requests- Add controller support
- Implement cloud save functionality
- Increase frame rate cap
- Introduce a free-to-play zombies mode
In-app purchases
Highwater
- Netflix Standard Plan$19.991 Month
El Paso, Elsewhere
- El Paso, Elsewhere$4.99
Questions
Is Highwater free?
Is El Paso, Elsewhere free?
Which has better reviews, Highwater or El Paso, Elsewhere?
Do Highwater or El Paso, Elsewhere have ads?
Which is updated more often, Highwater or El Paso, Elsewhere?
Other comparisons
