Comparison

PewPew vs Cytoid

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

Head to head
About

PewPew

Experience intense, retro-style multidirectional shooting with massive enemy counts and a high frame rate. Choose from five distinct game modes, including Pandemonium, Dodge This, Assault, Chromatic Conflict, and Asteroids. Compete on online leaderboards and unlock new ships.

Highlights
  • Multidirectional shooting
  • Retro graphics
  • High frame rate
  • Five game modes
  • Online leaderboards
  • Unlockable ships
  • Game controller support
Features
Read full description

PewPew is a multidirectional shoot them up akin to Geometry Wars. Expect retro graphics, megatons of enemies, and a frame rate rarely achieved by other games. On the other hand, don't expect a story: this game is for serious gamers. There are FIVE different game modes: • Pandemonium: Some enemies explode when they die, and the other spin maniacally everywhere. Hide from the explosions or deftly go through them. • Dodge this: As you collect boxes, there are more and more enemies moving around. Naturally, you have to dodge them all. • Assault: You fight against waves of enemies. Spoiler: at the end, they win and you die. • Chromatic Conflict (NSF color blinds): Enemies of different color appear. You can only destroy the ones that are the same color as your ship. • Asteroids: Need I say more? Features: ⁂ High frame-rate (honestly, this is what defines this game) ⁂ Finely tuned game-play (oh, and this too) ⁂ Online leader boards ⁂ Online replays ⁂ Some sweet music ⁂ Unlockable ships ⁂ Support Game Controller ⁂ No ads, no analytics. nada.

About

Cytoid

This is an open-source rhythm game where players can create, share, and play custom levels. It features a redesigned UI, a built-in community for downloading levels, and various gameplay enhancements for a smoother experience.

Highlights
  • Create and share custom rhythm game levels
  • Browse and download over 4000 user-created levels
  • Reworked rating system for competitive play
  • Seasonal and collaboration events with exclusive rewards
  • Unlockable characters
  • New storyboarding features for creators
  • Improved music/note synchronization
Features
Read full description

"Let's shape the rhythm world... together!" Welcome to Cytoid, an open-source rhythm game where you can create, share and play your own levels! Based on the classic scanner-style gameplay and powered by the community, Cytoid provides a huge variety of musical genres to enjoy and a diverse range of gameplay design. In Cytoid 2.0, we overhauled EVERYTHING to provide you with better gameplay & graphics, diverse gamemodes, and a much smoother community-driven experience. ◆ NEW EXPERIENCE: The completely redesigned UI is more stylish than ever, and also much simpler to navigate ◆ BUILT-IN COMMUNITY: Browse and download 4000+ user levels without leaving the game ◆ RATING SYSTEM: A reworked rating system to test your sense of rhythm and compete against the best of the best ◆ EVENTS: Join seasonal and collaboration events and earn exclusive rewards ◆ TIERS: Get officially certified for your Cytoid skills by passing courses of various difficulties ◆ CHARACTERS: Introducing unlockable characters who will accompany you on your Cytoid journey ◆ MORE CREATOR FREEDOM: New storyboarding features open up exciting possibilities for transforming Cytoid's gameplay ◆ BETTER MUSIC/NOTE SYNC: Reduced audio latency, a calibration mode, and a one-time device setup to solve synchronization issues ◆ LOCALIZATION: Cytoid is now in 14 languages ...and much, much more! Development of Cytoid would not be possible without a group of talented artists, our community members, and of course, our Patreon/Afdian supporters. View our special thank-you page at https://cytoid.io/credits. ◾ Links Follow our Twitter for latest news: https://twitter.com/cytoidio Need help? Want to get started on charting (i.e. making your own level)? Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/cytoid If you speak C#, star our repo on GitHub: https://github.com/TigerHix/Cytoid ◾ Copyright (DMCA) Policy We respect the intellectual property rights of others just as we expect others to respect our rights. If you believe that content residing on or accessible through Cytoid's services infringes your copyright, pursuant to Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(c), a copyright owner or their agent may submit a takedown notice to us via our DMCA Agent. For more info, please visit https://cytoid.io/pages/dmca. ◾ Disclaimer Cytoid is not affiliated with Cytus, Cytus II or Rayark Inc. ◾ iOS Version Compatibility If you are using iOS 10, 11 or 12, you should either update to iOS 13 or 14, or update to the latest subversion of iOS (i.e. 10.3.4, 11.4.1 or 12.4.8) before running Cytoid. We are sorry for any inconvenience!

Screenshots

PewPew4 screens
Cytoid4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Cytoid at free against PewPew's paid. Cytoid also leads on ratings volume (1.5K vs 67). PewPew's advantage is review sentiment (91% vs 65%) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 14.0). On price, rating, update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cytoid holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cytoid has 1.5K ratings behind it against 67, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 91% of PewPew's written reviews are positive against 65% of Cytoid's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PewPew ships an update every 5 months, Cytoid every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
PewPew versus Cytoid: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPewPewCytoid
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (67 ratings)4.7 (1.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews91.3% of reviews — better64.9% of reviews
Number of ratings671.5K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB513 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJean-Francois GeyelinMan To Tang

Customer experience

PewPew

All ratings67 ratings
Positive86.6%
Neutral7.5%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews289 reviews
Positive91.3%
Neutral5.5%
Negative3.1%

Cytoid

All ratings1,493 ratings
Positive92.8%
Neutral2.7%
Negative4.4%
Written reviews518 reviews
Positive64.9%
Neutral11.4%
Negative23.7%

User reviews

PewPew

From 67 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 👍 Challenging and addictive
  • 🎮 Great retro-style controls
  • 💯 Excellent value (free app)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or performance issues
  • 🔊 Limited sound effects
  • 📱 Screen size/orientation issues on some devices

Cytoid

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Customizable, lots of charts to play
  • 🚀 Beginner friendly
  • 🚀 Community-driven
  • 🚀 Interesting gameplay mechanics
  • 🚀 High quality music and visuals

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezing issues
  • 🐛 Timing issues and strict note accuracy
  • 🐛 Login and account problems
  • 🐛 Compatibility issues on older devices
  • 🐛 Lack of in-game features (pause button, hit feedback, etc.)

Bugs and requests

PewPew

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • High score data loss after updates
  • Unresponsive controls on certain devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • More game modes and enemy types
  • Multiplayer support
  • Ability to disable background music
  • Offline/campaign mode

Cytoid

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on startup
  • Login/account issues
  • Timing and note registration problems

Requested features

4 requests
  • In-game level/chart editor
  • More customization options (skins, hitsounds, etc.)
  • Improved search and organization for community charts
  • Multiplayer or social features

In-app purchases

None

PewPew

No in-app purchases

None

Cytoid

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PewPew free?
PewPew is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cytoid free?
Cytoid is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PewPew or Cytoid?
Cytoid is rated higher. PewPew averages 4.5 out of 5 from 67 ratings, while Cytoid averages 4.7 from 1.5K ratings.
Do PewPew or Cytoid have ads?
Neither PewPew nor Cytoid shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PewPew or Cytoid?
PewPew ships an update every 5 months, and Cytoid every 3 months. Most recently, PewPew was updated on October 21, 2026 and Cytoid on October 26, 2026.

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