Comparison

Cut the Rope vs Hit Shadow !

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

Head to head
About

Cut the Rope

Guide a cute monster to eat candy by solving physics-based puzzles. Utilize new gadgets and superpowers to overcome challenges and collect stars. Explore a secret lab with a new scientist character.

Highlights
  • Innovative physics gameplay
  • New gadgets and superpowers
  • Collect gold stars
  • Unlock new levels
  • Adorable character
  • Outstanding graphics
Features
Read full description

NOTE: EXPERIMENTS MAY CAUSE CRAVINGS! A mysterious cardboard box lands on the Professor’s desk… and inside is Om Nom, a tiny monster with an enormous sweet tooth! Naturally, the Professor can’t resist turning this discovery into a series of candy-fueled experiments — and now you get to join the fun. Step into a bustling lab packed with physics-based puzzles. Use rockets, magnets, electricity, ropes, tension, suction cups, water mechanics, robotic arms, ant colonies, and more ingenious contraptions. Your mission sounds simple — get the candy to Om Nom — but each puzzle will test your wits in surprising ways! WHY PLAYERS CAN’T STOP PLAYING: • 200 cleverly designed physics puzzles across 8 inventive level packs • A playful toolbox of gadgets and superpowers to crack tricky challenges • Collect shiny stars, uncover hidden treasures, and unlock bonus levels • Charming animations and cutscenes that bring the Professor’s lab to life • Perfect for fans of logic puzzles, single-player challenges, and clever physics fun Think smart, experiment boldly, and keep Om Nom well-fed in this addictive puzzle adventure. Every level offers a fresh opportunity to test your logic, timing, and creativity in a lab full of delightful surprises! Cut the Rope: Experiments is free to download and play, however, some in-game items can be purchased for real money, including randomised items. For more information, please see our Terms of Use (https://www.zeptolab.com/terms) and Privacy Policy (https://www.zeptolab.com/privacy).

About

Hit Shadow !

Create fun shadow puppets with your hands to mimic animals and objects. Explore numerous hand shapes and combinations to bring your shadow creations to life and earn rewards.

Highlights
  • Create shadow animals and objects
  • Dozens of hand shapes
  • Discover combinations
  • Perfect finger positioning
  • Earn animated rewards
Features
Read full description

Discover many animals and objects in this new-style "Chinese shadow" game, and watch them come alive! - Use dozen of different hand shapes. - Discover a lot of combinations to give life to shadows of exotic animals! - Try to perfect match your fingers position - Earn more points and get an animated reward!

Screenshots

Cut the Rope4 screens
Hit Shadow !4 screens

Verdict

The call

Cut the Rope and Hit Shadow ! both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 76% of Cut the Rope's written reviews are positive against 21% of Hit Shadow !'s. Hit Shadow !'s advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). On price, rating, 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

Both are free to download. Cut the Rope sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Hit Shadow ! sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 — 4.4 for Cut the Rope against 4.4 for Hit Shadow !. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 834 and 3.6K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of Cut the Rope's written reviews are positive against 21% of Hit Shadow !'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cut the Rope ships an update every 4 months, Hit Shadow ! every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Cut the Rope versus Hit Shadow !: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCut the RopeHit Shadow !
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (834 ratings)4.4 (3.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.5% of reviews — better20.7% of reviews
Number of ratings8343.6K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size133 MB354 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperZeptoLab UK LimitedKetchapp

Customer experience

Cut the Rope

All ratings834 ratings
Positive82.0%
Neutral6.2%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews441 reviews
Positive75.5%
Neutral5.7%
Negative18.8%

Hit Shadow !

All ratings3,593 ratings
Positive85.4%
Neutral4.8%
Negative9.8%
Written reviews111 reviews
Positive20.7%
Neutral24.3%
Negative55.0%

User reviews

Cut the Rope

From 834 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤩 Amazing game
  • 😊 Cute and fun
  • 🧠 Challenging and engaging
  • 💕 Love Om Nom

Room to improve

  • 😩 Too many ads
  • 💰 Candy/energy system is frustrating
  • 🤬 Subscription model is too expensive

Hit Shadow !

From 3.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤩 Fun and relaxing game
  • 👍 Interesting hand shadow concept
  • 🎨 Variety of hand shapes and gloves

Room to improve

  • 🤬 Excessive ads after every level
  • 🐛 Glitches and bugs (level 97 issues)
  • 🤯 Repetitive and limited hand shapes

Bugs and requests

Cut the Rope

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Levels not saving progress
  • Restore purchases not working
  • Crashes and freezes on some devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • More levels and content
  • Option to remove ads permanently
  • Ability to earn more candies/energy without ads

Hit Shadow !

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Level 97 not functioning properly
  • App crashes or freezes on some devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • More challenging levels
  • Ability to create custom hand shapes
  • Reduce frequency of ads

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Cut the Rope

One-time10
  • Superpower 20$1.99
  • Candies 25$1.99
  • Big candies sack$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Big superpowers sack$1.99
  • Unlock all level packs + 100 FREE Candies$3.99
  • Huge candies sack$3.99
  • Huge superpowers sack$3.99
  • Jumbo candies sack$7.99
  • Candies Unlimited$14.99
  • Superpower Unlimited$24.99
1 purchases

Hit Shadow !

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$2.99

Questions

Is Cut the Rope free?
Cut the Rope is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hit Shadow ! free?
Hit Shadow ! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cut the Rope or Hit Shadow !?
Hit Shadow ! is rated higher. Cut the Rope averages 4.4 out of 5 from 834 ratings, while Hit Shadow ! averages 4.4 from 3.6K ratings.
Do Cut the Rope or Hit Shadow ! have ads?
Cut the Rope shows ads; Hit Shadow ! does not.
Which is updated more often, Cut the Rope or Hit Shadow !?
Cut the Rope ships an update every 4 months, and Hit Shadow ! every 3 weeks. Most recently, Cut the Rope was updated on October 14, 2026 and Hit Shadow ! on October 8, 2026.

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