Comparison

Spirits vs Light Ahead

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

Head to head
About

Spirits

Guide spirits home by manipulating the environment. Sacrifice spirits to build bridges, create wind clouds, dig tunnels, or block wind. Solve each level creatively to reach the goal.

Highlights
  • Guide spirits without direct control
  • Manipulate wind and ground
  • Sacrifice spirits for actions
  • Build leaf bridges
  • Create wind clouds
  • Dig tunnels
  • Block wind currents
Features
Read full description

"Art so beautiful it could have been lifted from a Miyazaki movie." –WIRED Autumn is coming. Leaves fall, and spirits rise from the fallen leaves to begin their journey home. You must guide them, without direct control, by changing how the wind blows or by rebuilding the ground. Each spirit can be sacrificed to perform one of four actions - build a bridge of leaves, create a blowing cloud, dig tunnels, or block wind currents in an area. Use your actions wisely or you will run out of spirits. In each level it's up to you to find your own creative solution on how to get the spirits to the goal. ◆◆◆◆◆ REVIEWS ◆◆◆◆◆ "Striking art and innovative gameplay" –The Escapist "Spirits is clever, challenging, and beautiful" –Gamasutra "Spirits is an outstanding blend of puzzle and strategy" –DIYgamer "The overall design -- graphics, animation, audio tracks -- as well as the whimsical element of soaring on the wind, really make this an enjoyable title to experience" –TouchArcade "Gorgeous visuals; ambient music; solid level design" –Slide To Play "Where Spirits really innovates is in its look and feel. When the wind physics start to do their thing, the experience is pretty magical" –TUAW, Mike Schramm "Spirits is more than just a pretty face, as you'll utilize little creatures to build ladders, dig tunnels, or blow gusts of wind to get their counterparts to an exit. It's similar to what we've seen in Lemmings or Downstream Panic, but the use of wind and the diverse puzzles keep things fresh and interesting" –GamesRadar "Relaxing, stunning, and simple will keep players coming back for more" –148Apps "Visually, the game is gorgeous. Everything has a soft, ethereal vibe to it, particularly the soothing ambient music and the challenging (but not frustrating) level design" –The Mac Gamer "There is so much attention to detail in this game that once you have finished it you will want to play it all over again" –CreativeApplications.net ◆◆◆◆◆ AWARDS ◆◆◆◆◆ Winner of the IndieCade "Best Aesthetics" Award, Culver City, California, USA – 2010 IGF 2011: Best Mobile Game - Honorable mention Sense of Wonder Night Selection at Tokyo Game Show, Japan – 2010 Gamasutra's Best Of 2010: Top 5 iOS Games - Honorable mention ◆◆◆◆◆ VIDEO & SUPPORT ◆◆◆◆◆ Visit www.spacesofplay.com/spirits to watch a gameplay video. Search on YouTube for walkthroughs of all levels in Spirits. For questions and support send emails to support@spacesofplay.com. Supports Retina Display with high resolution graphics. If you experience technical problems, please try to reboot your device.

About

Light Ahead

Read full description

You have no weapon. You have a candle, a poor sense of direction, and forty dungeons between you and the way out. Light Ahead is a stealth maze puzzle. Study each monster's patrol, slip past it or lure it onto a trap, and light every torch in the room. The ladder out stays locked until the last flame catches. Meet your hero: a perfectly ordinary person who wandered into the wrong dungeon and absolutely cannot stand the dark. No sword. No plan. Just an irrational need to light every single torch before leaving. The monsters? Terrifying. The darkness? Somehow worse. So here you are, dodging creatures, diving behind corners, and avoiding ancient dungeon traps, all because you refuse to take the ladder until every candle is lit. Lure monsters into traps, slip through the chaos, and methodically illuminate 40 handcrafted pixel dungeons one torch at a time. FOUR THINGS DOWN THERE ARE NOT AFRAID OF THE DARK Skeletonus. Phantomus. Vlad the Undying. And waiting at the bottom, sealed in with you, Groll. While a boss still stands, the ladder stays shut. — 40 levels of cowardly, torch-lit brilliance — Four boss fights, each one guarding the way out — Monsters with patrol patterns to study and exploit — Environmental traps that do the fighting you refuse to do — Charming pixel art dungeons — No ads. No in-app purchases. Pay once, lights forever. Light Ahead: because someone has to do it, and that someone is apparently you. Music by xDeviruchi (Marllon Silva), from the Minifantasy series by Leohpaz.

Screenshots

Spirits4 screens
Light Ahead4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Light Ahead at every 6 days against Spirits's every 3 months. Light Ahead also leads on price ($1.99 vs $2.99). Spirits's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 18.6). 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

Spirits costs $2.99 and Light Ahead $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Spirits ships an update every 3 months, Light Ahead every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Spirits versus Light Ahead: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpiritsLight Ahead
Price$2.99$1.99 — better
Rating3.6 (65 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews88.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings65 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS10.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size86 MB57 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperSpaces of Play UGBE PLUS S.R.L.

Bugs and requests

Spirits

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game freezes on loading screen
  • Spirits get stuck or behave unpredictably
  • Compatibility issues with certain devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • More levels and content updates
  • Ability to skip or speed up levels
  • Optimization for newer devices and screen sizes
  • Customizable music or sound options

Light Ahead

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Spirits

No in-app purchases

None

Light Ahead

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Spirits free?
Spirits costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Light Ahead free?
Light Ahead costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Spirits or Light Ahead have ads?
Neither Spirits nor Light Ahead shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Spirits or Light Ahead?
Spirits ships an update every 3 months, and Light Ahead every 6 days. Most recently, Spirits was updated on October 16, 2026 and Light Ahead on October 7, 2026.

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