Comparison

Space Out vs Barrel Defender

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

Head to head
About

Space Out

Experience a retro arcade game that combines classic space shooter and brick-breaking mechanics. Enjoy authentic 8-bit sound effects and speech synthesis for an immersive blast from the past.

Highlights
  • Space shooter gameplay
  • Brick breaking mechanics
  • Retro arcade feel
  • 8-bit sound effects
  • Speech synthesis
  • Digital Crown control
Features
Currently charting
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"Very cool 8^) - Fun old style arcade for us old arcade fans!" - Drewx67 "Great game - Awesome." - Goodluck74 "Nice retro watch game - Still loving this app. Fun to play on the watch while waiting in line or out and about. Quick hit gaming with fun retro feel. They keep on updating app too to make sure it works on OS updates. Thanks! Great retro game for the watch. It's like space invaders & block out combined! Works really well on the Apple watch. Uses new API's from watchOS 3. Nice scrolling with the crown and even uses the watch speaker for the great retro sounds. Love it! Next gen of watch games is here!" - peteostro "Excellent-- an iOS Classic! - I bought this game when the first version came out on iOS 2. It's been nearly 10 years and I still play it! I am so glad the developer keeps it updated. My favorite thing about it is the Commodore 64 SID sound effects and the speech synthesis-- this game would not look out of place in an early 80s arcade. The watchOS version plays very well on top of that! The Digital Crown makes moving the paddle a dream. Would definitely recommend this app to any retro game fan." - cyelvington "Gamers ... will likely find Space Invaders to be overly simplistic and outdone by most of its clones in the App Store such as Space Out." - http://toucharcade.com "I took a look at about 40 [games], I decided which ones lived up to the hype and which ones didn’t. One of my favorites was the game called Space Out." - Jamin Brophy-Warren, Wall Street Journal Online "Arkanoid + Space Invaders with the gorf voice thrown in for good measure! Sold." - GreatLakesDrifta Space Out is the original mashup, a tribute to old school arcade games; it truly delivers that early arcade feel. It combines 2 classic game concepts, shooting invaders and brick breaking, into a unique and exciting retro experience. It's a blast back to the late '70s. Complete with all new 8-bit sound effects created with a MOS 6581 SID chip from the Commodore 64 and speech generated with 8kHz 8-bit allophones. (Any control issues were fixed years ago.)

About

Barrel Defender

Defend your energy barrels from alien invaders in this retro arcade space shooter. Enjoy simple, intuitive controls and blast through waves of enemies with various weapons and challenging boss fights.

Highlights
  • Two game modes: endless and wave
  • 25 alien-filled waves
  • Variety of aliens and movement patterns
  • Boss enemy battles
  • Weapon power-ups
  • Easy finger-slide controls
Features
Read full description

Barrel Defender is an old school retro Arcade Shooter. Protect your Energy Barrels, collect extra weapons and blast away waves of aliens! Barrel Defender is easy to control. Your spacecraft follows the slide of your finger and is in 'auto shoot' mode. It is the ideal game for the casual player and retro fans. Enjoy blasting aliens... Features: - two game modes ( 'endless' and 'wave' mode ) - fight your way through 25 alien filled waves - tons of different aliens and movement pattern - fight boss enemies - collect extra weapons - beautiful space sci-fi environment - easy to control - quite easy, well known game play

Screenshots

Space Out4 screens
Barrel Defender4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Space Out at every 2 months against Barrel Defender's every 39 months. Space Out also leads on rating (4.3 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (16 vs 1). Barrel Defender's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 77%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Space Out costs $0.99 and Barrel Defender $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Space Out holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Space Out has 16 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 77% of Space Out's written reviews are positive against 100% of Barrel Defender's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Space Out ships an update every 2 months, Barrel Defender every 39 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Space Out versus Barrel Defender: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpace OutBarrel Defender
Price$0.99$0.99
Rating4.3 (16 ratings) — better4.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews77.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings16 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 39 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#195 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.6 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB33 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperDanny BlissStefan Preuss

Customer experience

Space Out

All ratings16 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral18.8%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews84 reviews
Positive77.4%
Neutral10.7%
Negative11.9%

Barrel Defender

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Space Out

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Crashes on Apple Watch Series 4
  • Game plays 2x faster after pausing on iPhone X
  • Unplayable on iPhone X
  • App freezes on iPad after update
  • Stopped opening day after purchase
Show 5 more
  • Freezing paddle issue
  • Screen gets sticky, missed moves
  • Paddle gets stuck, doesn't move
  • Crash problem, also affecting email
  • Paddle sometimes freezes for seconds

Requested features

8 requests
  • High score list (not just highest)
  • Online daily/weekly/all-time high score lists
  • Separate iPhone and Watch lists
  • Settings for shooting on/off
  • Volume control
Show 3 more
  • Tilt control option
  • Pause game when not touching screen
  • Describe power-ups in-game

Barrel Defender

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Space Out

No in-app purchases

None

Barrel Defender

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Space Out free?
Space Out costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Barrel Defender free?
Barrel Defender costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Space Out or Barrel Defender?
Space Out is rated higher. Space Out averages 4.3 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while Barrel Defender averages 4.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Space Out or Barrel Defender have ads?
Neither Space Out nor Barrel Defender shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Space Out or Barrel Defender?
Space Out ships an update every 2 months, and Barrel Defender every 39 months. Most recently, Space Out was updated on October 27, 2026 and Barrel Defender on October 23, 2026.

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