Whale Trail vs Puzzle Catcher
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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***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
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.
- Colorful tile sliding gameplay
- Mosaic art inspiration
- Casual and challenge modes
- Unlockable levels with diverse themes
- Color blind mode
- Screen brightness controls
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
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.
| Parameter | Whale Trail | Puzzle Catcher |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (4.3K ratings) | 4.9 (33 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 94.3% of reviews — better | 92.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4.3K — better | 33 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 11 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 52 MB | 100 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ustwo games | Blitwise Productions, LLC |
Customer experience
Whale Trail
Puzzle Catcher
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
Whale Trail
- Unlock Pack 1$1.99
- Unlock Pack 2$1.99
- Pocket Money$1.99
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Unlock Pack 3$1.99
- Bucket Full$2.99
- Serious Clams$6.99
- Swimming In It$19.99
Puzzle Catcher
- Fire Diamonds Pack$0.99
- Color Blocks Pack$0.99
- Hexagon Sky Pack$0.99
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- 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?
Is Puzzle Catcher free?
Which has better reviews, Whale Trail or Puzzle Catcher?
Do Whale Trail or Puzzle Catcher have ads?
Which is updated more often, Whale Trail or Puzzle Catcher?
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