Helix vs Nitelore
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.
Nitelore
Experience extreme anti-gravity racing with explosive combat across diverse and spectacular tracks. Conquer Grand Prix seasons, master time trials, survive brutal eliminations, and destroy opponents in high-speed death races. Build and upgrade your fleet of ships to dominate the leaderboards.
- Anti-gravity racing
- Explosive combat
- Multiple game modes (Grand Prix, Time Attack, Elimination, Death Race)
- Spectacular and diverse tracks
- Ship customization and upgrades
- Daily challenges
- Online leaderboards and challenges
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Race at impossible speeds across cities, volcanoes, alien worlds and the depths of space. Nitelore is extreme anti-gravity racing with explosive combat, rival pilots and constantly escalating challenges. Conquer Grand Prix seasons, chase the perfect lap, survive brutal eliminations and destroy your opponents in all-out death races. ENDLESS RACING - Compete across multiple cups, zones and full Grand Prix seasons. - Rise through the leagues and race for the championship. - Master every track, upgrade your ships and keep pushing for faster times. MULTIPLE GAME MODES - Grand Prix - Battle through complete seasons and claim the title. - Time Attack - Race against your personal-best ghost and shave every possible second from your time. - Elimination - Every 20 seconds, the last vehicle explodes. Stay ahead or be destroyed. - Death Race - Anything goes. Attack your rivals and be the last ship standing. ONLINE MULTIPLAYER - Race against friends or strangers online across all your tracks and game modes - Quick race to jump right in to the action - Invite your friends and have a group race - New Time Duel mode to compete for the record - Build your online rating and compete with others for medals & achievements SPECTACULAR TRACKS - Race through futuristic cities, volcanic plains, lunar landscapes, raging oceans and even a colossal star. - Discover alternate routes, dangerous obstacles and unique surprises on every track. - More tracks being added all the time! BUILD YOUR FLEET - Unlock a range of ships, each with its own handling and performance characteristics. - Upgrade and customise your ships to match your racing style or fury DAILY CHALLENGES - Take on a new challenge every day, from precision time trials to explosive combat. - Every attempt earns progress and coins toward new ships and upgrades, even if you don’t win. CHALLENGE OTHER PLAYERS - Compete with friends and rivals through Game Center. - Take part in a different weekly challenge and fight for the top position. - Climb worldwide, weekly and daily leaderboards. PLAY YOUR WAY - Choose tilt, touch or game controller input (+ keyboard on Mac & iPad if you wish). - Chase, tight or cockpit view (plus furry dice if you like) - Unlock achievements and prove yourself across every racing mode. - Pacifist mode for Grand Prix if you just want to race and avoid being blowed up! MORE - Play mini races on your Apple Watch - Cross-play and race on your Apple TV - It's a whole menagerie out there! There is fast and there is ultraspeed. How far are you willing to go?!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Nitelore at Free against Helix's $3.99. Nitelore also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 40 months) and chart position (#164 vs unranked). Helix's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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
Nitelore is free to download; Helix costs $3.99 up front. Nitelore sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Helix asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Helix against 4.6 for Nitelore. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 36 and 55 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Helix's written reviews are positive against 78% of Nitelore's.
Helix ships an update every 40 months, Nitelore every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Helix | Nitelore |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (36 ratings) — better | 4.6 (55 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.4% of reviews — better | 77.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 36 | 55 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 40 months | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #164 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Michael Brough | Crabware |
Customer experience
Helix
Nitelore
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
Nitelore
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Helix
No in-app purchases
Nitelore
- Offworld$1.99
- World Tour$1.99
- Coin Cache - 6,000 Coins$1.99
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Unlock Nitelore$2.99
- Coin Vault - 18,000 Coins$4.99
- Coin Hoard - 40,000 Coins$9.99
- Motherlode - 90,000 Coins$19.99









