Comparison

Hungry Oni vs SHI

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

Head to head
About

Hungry Oni

Embark on a quirky adventure collecting and consuming bizarre objects in a magical world. This visually dazzling game offers simple one-thumb controls and multiple challenging modes. Decorate your home and compete for high scores with friends.

Highlights
  • Collect 60 bizarre objects
  • 5 challenging game modes
  • One-thumb gameplay
  • Explore a world of humor
  • Outfit your character
  • Decorate your house with achievements
  • Compete for high scores
Features
Read full description

Kotaku - "As far as sharp looking iOS games go, Hungry Oni must be one of the most dazzling I've seen all year." PocketGamer - "Hungry Oni is a fine-looking game, packed with bold and detailed visuals. From a presentation perspective, the game simply cannot be faulted." 148Apps - "the visual assets along with the soundtrack create a really fun atmosphere ... gameplay and controls are just about flawless" * iPhoneQualityIndex's #1 game of Jan 2013! * * Corona Labs' App of the Month June 2013! * /// Come experience the quirky, magical world of Hungry Oni, where collecting and consuming strange objects is the aim of the game. Ever wanted to eat an eyeball? Chow down on a cactus? How about snack on a submarine? Redefine the meaning of fine cuisine with the adorable ogre, Oni. ・Simple! - all you need is a thumb to play ・Challenge! - 5 game modes, ranging from sedate to sadistic ・Collect! - 60 bizarre objects for Oni to dine upon ・Explore! - a world chock-full of pop culture and offbeat humor ・Outfit! - your Oni in 5 funky costumes ・Decorate! - your house with 32 achievements ・Compete! - for hi-scores with friends, and the world online

About

SHI

Engage with stories from early Japan by solving intricate puzzles on a beautifully designed lacquer box. Journey through ancient tales, uncover hidden meanings, and experience the art of Japanese lacquerware.

Highlights
  • Challenging lacquer box puzzles
  • Engaging ancient Japanese stories
  • Beautiful Japanese lacquerware design
  • Japanese language learning elements
  • Taiko drum soundscapes
Features
Read full description

Solve challenging puzzles on a beautiful Japanese lacquer box and engage with stories based in early Japan: In the beginning, so the Kojiki tells, sea was sky and sky was sea. Journey towards calmness while rotating a lacquer box, puzzle by puzzle, word by word, further in time. In SHI•RO you reconcile past and present with empress Gemmei, travel through dark forests to invite spirits to the shrine of old Yoshida, and climb Mount Inari with a fox. PLAY AN ENGAGING STORY SHI•RO tells the story of an ancient empress, a lost love and a blossoming friendship. Based on the first Japanese writing, the Kojiki, you engage with an emerging world. SOLVE CHALLENGING PUZZLES Over 60 handmade puzzles challenge you along the journey of empress Gemmei. Think out of the box while playing on a lacquer box! Will you help the empress to separate the sea from the sky? ENJOY A BEAUTIFUL DESIGN SHI•RO celebrates the beauty of Japanese lacquerware by transforming your device into a lacquer box. Gold and silver shimmer in your hands while you unriddle complex geometries and find stories of depth beyond the surface. LISTEN TO THE SOUND OF JAPAN By solving puzzles, you hear words of Japanese language, or as a native speaker of Japanese, learn words in English. Japanese Taiko drums will guide your way. ENTER THE SHI•RO UNIVERSE By purchasing SHI•RO, you get access to the complete first part, KURO. But more is in the making! Once we release the second part MIDORI and the third part AKA, you will be able to purchase them in-game and continue your journey.

Screenshots

Hungry Oni4 screens
SHI4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Hungry Oni at Free against SHI's $2.99. Hungry Oni also leads on review sentiment (95% vs 68%). SHI's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months). On rating, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Hungry Oni is free to download; SHI costs $2.99 up front. Hungry Oni sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. SHI asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Hungry Oni against 4.6 for SHI. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SHI has 215 ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of Hungry Oni's written reviews are positive against 68% of SHI's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hungry Oni ships an update every 6 months, SHI every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Hungry Oni versus SHI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHungry OniSHI
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.7 (20 ratings) — better4.6 (215 ratings)
Positive reviews95.2% of reviews — better68.3% of reviews
Number of ratings20215 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size67 MB181 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperFuturetro Studiosthe brothers grimm

Customer experience

Hungry Oni

All ratings20 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews229 reviews
Positive95.2%
Neutral1.3%
Negative3.5%

SHI

All ratings215 ratings
Positive90.7%
Neutral4.7%
Negative4.7%
Written reviews41 reviews
Positive68.3%
Neutral12.2%
Negative19.5%

User reviews

Hungry Oni

From 20 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Addictive and fun gameplay
  • 👍 Charming and colorful visuals
  • 🎨 Unique art style and references
  • 🎶 Catchy soundtrack
  • 💎 Polished and well-designed

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional glitches and bugs
  • 🔁 Repetitive gameplay over time
  • 🔋 Can be hard on the wrists after extended play
  • 🔒 Lack of customer support for lost progress

SHI

From 215 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✨ Beautiful graphics and art
  • 🎧 Soothing sound design
  • 🧠 Engaging and challenging puzzles
  • 📚 Interesting story and lore
  • 🇯🇵 Japanese mythology and language integration

Room to improve

  • 😩 Puzzles become frustrating
  • ❓ Lack of clear instructions
  • 😴 Gameplay can be boring
  • 📉 Too simple and limited
  • ⏳ Not enough content

Bugs and requests

Hungry Oni

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Progress being randomly reset
  • Glitchy and unresponsive controls on certain levels
  • Achievements not unlocking properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • New levels or game modes
  • Multiplayer or competitive options
  • More costume and food item variety
  • Ability to restore purchases and progress

SHI

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Cannot find a way to reset the game
  • Error with game purchase
  • Parts don't seem to work
  • Game enforces arbitrary move order
  • Confusing UI, need clearer restart/reset options

Requested features

6 requests
  • More levels/stories
  • Ability to reset the game
  • Landscape view option for iPad
  • Daily puzzles
  • More instructions/tutorial
Show 1 more
  • Option to go back one move

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Hungry Oni

One-time3
  • Piggy Bank$0.99
  • Treasure Chest$2.99
  • Lottery Win$5.99
None

SHI

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hungry Oni free?
Hungry Oni is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SHI free?
SHI costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Hungry Oni or SHI?
Hungry Oni is rated higher. Hungry Oni averages 4.7 out of 5 from 20 ratings, while SHI averages 4.6 from 215 ratings.
Do Hungry Oni or SHI have ads?
Neither Hungry Oni nor SHI shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hungry Oni or SHI?
Hungry Oni ships an update every 6 months, and SHI every 2 months. Most recently, Hungry Oni was updated on October 23, 2026 and SHI on October 21, 2026.

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