Helix vs Santa Fighter
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Helix
Experience a frantic arcade challenge with precise touchscreen controls. This "anti-shmup" game focuses on avoiding and encircling enemies with unique twists. It's a critically acclaimed title recognized for its innovative design.
- Frantic arcade gameplay
- Precise touchscreen controls
- Avoid and encircle enemies
- Unique gameplay twists
- Critically acclaimed design
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A frantic arcade game from the creator of 868-HACK, Corrypt and Glitch Tank. An "anti-shmup". Precise touchscreen controls to avoid and encircle enemies. Some twists. Honourable mention for IGF Design award 2013/2015.
Santa Fighter
Engage in festive combat with Santas battling at the North Pole. Experience a chaotic and epic Christmas showdown.
- Santa battles
- Christmas chaos
- North Pole showdown
- Festive combat
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Get ready for some Christmas Chaos! Santas battle it out in an epic showdown at the North Pole. Brace yourself for a festive face-off like never before!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Santa Fighter at Free against Helix's $3.99. Santa Fighter also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 40 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 80%). Helix's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On rating, ratings volume, 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
Santa Fighter is free to download; Helix costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Helix against 4.7 for Santa Fighter. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 36 and 70 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Helix's written reviews are positive against 100% of Santa Fighter's.
Helix ships an update every 40 months, Santa Fighter every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Helix | Santa Fighter |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (36 ratings) — better | 4.7 (70 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.4% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 36 | 70 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 40 months | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Michael Brough | Andrew Baxter |
Customer experience
Helix
Santa Fighter
Bugs and requests
Helix
Reported bugs
4 issues- 🐛 Skewed off iPad screen
- 🐛 Black bars on sides (iOS 9.3)
- 🐛 Floaty and inaccurate controls
- 🐛 Ugly app design and UI
Requested features
2 requests- Optimization for larger screens (iPad, iPhone 6/6+)
- More variety and content
Santa Fighter
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Helix
No in-app purchases
Santa Fighter
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Helix free?
Is Santa Fighter free?
Which has better reviews, Helix or Santa Fighter?
Do Helix or Santa Fighter have ads?
Which is updated more often, Helix or Santa Fighter?
Other comparisons
