Comparison

Whale Trail vs Puzzle Catcher

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

Head to head
About

Whale Trail

Embark on a vibrant journey as a whale, collecting items, performing aerial maneuvers, and battling enemies. Unlock new characters, enhance abilities, and explore numerous challenge levels. Enjoy a visually stunning and engaging arcade experience.

Highlights
  • Fly as Willow the Whale
  • Collect Blubbles and earn Krill
  • Unlock playable friends
  • Upgrade Willow's skills
  • Smash enemies
  • 96 Challenge levels
  • Classic and Challenge game modes
Features
Read full description

***Previously Apple Game of the Week*** 26,000+ 5 Star Ratings! (and counting) Fly as Willow the Whale, collect Blubbles, loop the loop, unlock playable friends, upgrade Willow's skills, smash enemies and meet bonkers characters along the way. ================================= > ‘The next smash hit in iOS gaming.’ - TNW > ‘The game is GORGEOUSLY cute. Try it out for a buck.’ - Gizmodo > ‘Whale Trail is an absolute joy.’ - TouchArcade > ‘The kind of winningly simple concept from which App Store phenomena are made.’ - Edge > ‘Impossible not to like, stellar production values and solid gameplay.’ - Pocket Gamer > ‘Ditch your jetpack, it’s time to ride the psychedelic Whale Trail.’ - Kotaku > ‘It’s simple and gorgeous. There’s rarely been a better gaming value for money.’ - T3 ================================= • Soundtrack by Gruff Rhys of ‘The Super Furry Animals’ • Simple and intuitive one touch gameplay • 2 game modes, Classic and Challenge • Earn Krill and use it in Willow's store • Upgrade Willow's skills • Unlock playable friends • Use 'Treats' while flying for instant bonuses! • 96 Challenge levels, can you 3 STAR them all? • Smash the Thunder Bros in 'Frenzy' mode • Launch into space at speed-boosts • Compete against friends with Game Center • Heaps of challenging missions to unlock

About

Puzzle Catcher

This vibrant tile-sliding game offers a relaxing yet engaging experience inspired by mosaic art. Spin colorful glass tiles into place to create beautiful designs across a variety of lighthearted levels. Choose between casual play for relaxation or challenge mode for a timed experience.

Highlights
  • Colorful tile sliding gameplay
  • Mosaic art inspiration
  • Casual and challenge modes
  • Unlockable levels with diverse themes
  • Color blind mode
  • Screen brightness controls
Features
Read full description

Inspired by suncatchers, tangrams, and quilting, Puzzle Catcher is a bright and vibrant tile game that celebrates the simple beauty of mosaic art. Enjoy the view as colorful glass tiles are spun into place, revealing the fun of creativity and the joy of getting it just right. Unlock and explore the many lighthearted levels. From whimsical characters and geometric designs to geeky science stuff and monster trucks, there is something for everyone! Play casual to relax after a hard day, or spark some excitement with challenge mode. It's your choice: make the levels look good, beat the clock, or really show off and do both at the same time! It's a simple game with surprising depth that's easy to learn but hard to master. With its classic design and focus on the future, Puzzle Catcher is handcrafted for everyone to enjoy for generations to come. Features: -Tile Shapes: triangles, blocks, interlocking and more! -High Replay Value: countless tile combinations -Zap tiles to blow them up -Casual Play and Challenge modes -Includes Brilliance Pack (15 free levels) -Playable demos for all premium board packs -Color Blind Mode: built right in & toggle in real-time -Screen Brightness Controls: play outside in the sunlight -iPhoneX resolution support About BlitWise: Michael P. Welch runs his indie game studio in Upstate New York, USA, and has written well-known games such as Scorched Tanks, DX-Ball, and Pocket Tanks. BlitWise takes the long view on what it means to be a game developer and is keenly focused on writing games from scratch that are built to stand the test of time.

Screenshots

Whale Trail4 screens
Puzzle Catcher4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Puzzle Catcher at none against Whale Trail's shown. Puzzle Catcher also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 12.0). Whale Trail's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 11 months) and ratings volume (4.3K vs 33). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases 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. Whale Trail sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and Puzzle Catcher sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Whale Trail against 4.9 for Puzzle Catcher. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Whale Trail has 4.3K ratings behind it against 33, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 94% of Whale Trail's written reviews are positive against 93% of Puzzle Catcher's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Whale Trail ships an update every 2 months, Puzzle Catcher every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Whale Trail versus Puzzle Catcher: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWhale TrailPuzzle Catcher
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (4.3K ratings)4.9 (33 ratings) — better
Positive reviews94.3% of reviews — better92.9% of reviews
Number of ratings4.3K — better33
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 11 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB100 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerustwo gamesBlitwise Productions, LLC

Customer experience

Whale Trail

All ratings4,251 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral2.0%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews1,408 reviews
Positive94.3%
Neutral2.5%
Negative3.2%

Puzzle Catcher

All ratings33 ratings
Positive97.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive92.9%
Neutral7.1%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Whale Trail

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Krill not properly credited after completing levels
  • Game freezing on certain device models
  • Whale controls not responsive on larger screens

Requested features

4 requests
  • Multiplayer mode
  • More customization options for whales
  • Wider screen support for newer devices
  • Additional levels and worlds to explore

Puzzle Catcher

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Whale Trail

One-time7
  • Unlock Pack 1$1.99
  • Unlock Pack 2$1.99
  • Pocket Money$1.99
Show 4 more
  • Unlock Pack 3$1.99
  • Bucket Full$2.99
  • Serious Clams$6.99
  • Swimming In It$19.99
9 purchases

Puzzle Catcher

One-time9
  • Fire Diamonds Pack$0.99
  • Color Blocks Pack$0.99
  • Hexagon Sky Pack$0.99
Show 6 more
  • Interlock Pack$0.99
  • Tromino Pack$0.99
  • Rolling Stars Pack$0.99
  • Super Brilliance Pack - Deluxe$0.99
  • Super Brilliance Pack$1.99
  • Puzzle Catcher Deluxe$4.99

Questions

Is Whale Trail free?
Whale Trail is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Puzzle Catcher free?
Puzzle Catcher is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Whale Trail or Puzzle Catcher?
Puzzle Catcher is rated higher. Whale Trail averages 4.8 out of 5 from 4.3K ratings, while Puzzle Catcher averages 4.9 from 33 ratings.
Do Whale Trail or Puzzle Catcher have ads?
Whale Trail shows ads; Puzzle Catcher does not.
Which is updated more often, Whale Trail or Puzzle Catcher?
Whale Trail ships an update every 2 months, and Puzzle Catcher every 11 months. Most recently, Whale Trail was updated on November 5, 2026 and Puzzle Catcher on November 2, 2026.

Other comparisons