Comparison

Hit the Zombies vs Joel

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

Head to head
About

Hit the Zombies

Features
Read full description

An invasion is coming to your house! It's a mob of hilarious zombies, and it is up to you to destroy them and protect your home. Hit the Zombies is whack-a-mole turned up to eleven — an incredible cast of zombies, fantastic landscapes to explore, and stacks of explosive power-ups. STORY On a beautiful sunny day, the sleeping dead suddenly wake up and decide to invade your home. Watch out! These are very challenging zombies with massive super powers. SIMPLE TO PLAY, CHALLENGING TO MASTER Simply tap to destroy the zombies. But they do not go quietly — as you climb through the levels they turn spiny, go invisible, teleport away from your finger, split in two, and find new ways to survive your thumb. FEATURES - Eye-popping graphics and animations - Simple tap-to-destroy control - 5 unique worlds across 25 hand-built levels - 17 kinds of super-powered zombie, each with its own trick - 5 helpful props and weapons, from a health pack to a screen-clearing missile - An endless mode that unlocks once you have finished the main game - An intuitive and funny melody combo system — keep tapping to keep the tune going NO STRINGS - Free, and free of in-app purchases - No ads - No accounts, no sign-in, no tracking - Plays entirely offline Hit the Zombies first arrived on the App Store in 2011. This is the original game, rebuilt to run on modern iPhone and iPad.

About

Joel

Experience a technical preview of advanced vector rendering technology by battling hundreds of zombies. This game showcases unprecedented vector rendering, ensuring crisp graphics that scale flawlessly across any resolution or device.

Highlights
  • Zombie battles
  • Advanced vector rendering
  • Scalable graphics
  • High-quality animation
  • Technical preview
Features
Read full description

Battle hundreds of zombies in this technical preview of Rive’s new vector rendering technology. The Rive Renderer draws an unprecedented amount of vectors on screen. Everything animates and deforms without losing quality. Graphics remain crisp and clear regardless of scale, resolution, or device.

Screenshots

Hit the Zombies4 screens
Joel4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Joel at every 2 weeks against Hit the Zombies's monthly. Joel also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hit the Zombies ships an update monthly, Joel every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Hit the Zombies versus Joel: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHit the ZombiesJoel
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.9 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—7 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size136 MB30 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperGracify CompanyRive, Inc

In-app purchases

None

Hit the Zombies

No in-app purchases

None

Joel

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hit the Zombies free?
Hit the Zombies is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Joel free?
Joel is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Hit the Zombies or Joel have ads?
Neither Hit the Zombies nor Joel shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hit the Zombies or Joel?
Hit the Zombies ships an update monthly, and Joel every 2 weeks. Most recently, Hit the Zombies was updated on October 29, 2026 and Joel on November 3, 2026.

Other comparisons