Comparison

Pattern Play Story vs Eldershyft

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

Head to head
About

Pattern Play Story

A match-3 puzzle game where players clear lines to advance through levels. Maintain a high time bonus to avoid game over. Enjoy limitless, offline gameplay with full voiceover compatibility.

Highlights
  • Match-3 gameplay
  • Level-based progression
  • Time bonus mechanics
  • Limitless gameplay
  • Offline play
  • Voiceover compatible
Features
Read full description

Welcome to a match 3 game for everyone. Make lines clear the levels and keep the time bonus high or the game stops. Features Easy to play Limitless gameplay Offline play NO in app purchases 100% voiceover compatible

About

Eldershyft

A unique match-3 puzzle game where you move entire paths on a hexagonal board to create cascades and combos. Build a mystical island, tame beasts, and choose your strategy to achieve high scores or complete challenges.

Highlights
  • Hexagonal board path movement
  • Cascading matches and combos
  • Endless and Challenge modes
  • Beast management and island building
  • Stackable bonuses and abilities
  • Full VoiceOver support
  • Color-blind and high contrast settings
Features
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Eldershyft is a match-3 puzzle game with unique gameplay. Instead of swapping individual tiles, you move entire paths across a hexagonal board in 6 directions, opening up cascades, combos, and strategies. Set before the days of Eldermyth, you take control of the Curator of Lands to build the mystical Island whilst trying to tame the Beasts that have followed you from your realm. 

As you grow stronger, will you choose to focus your powers on board manipulation, Beast management or score multipliers? Or, maybe a combination of them all! Two ways to play - Endless Mode: Push for the highest score on the world leaderboard. Survive as long as possible as enemy pressure escalates and the Island becomes more complex - Challenge Mode: Settle the Island by reaching level 5 on each land type in the least amount of turns possible. Each turn counts even more in this mode Deep strategy. Pure puzzle - Cascading matches and board refill from 6 directions reward planning and positional awareness - Ever changing board from multiple different mechanics at play - A rich progression system with stackable bonuses, passive and consumable abilities, and permanent multipliers - No timers. No pay-to-win. Pure strategic depth Fully accessible - Complete VoiceOver support with full gameplay narration, accessible drag-and-drop path building, as well as colour-blind and high contrast settings Try for free before purchasing the full game!

Screenshots

Pattern Play Story3 screens
Eldershyft4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Eldershyft at Free against Pattern Play Story's $1.99. Eldershyft also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3). Pattern Play Story's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (75% vs 50%). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads 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

Eldershyft is free to download; Pattern Play Story costs $1.99 up front. Eldershyft sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Pattern Play Story asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Eldershyft holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 8 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 75% of Pattern Play Story's written reviews are positive against 50% of Eldershyft's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Pattern Play Story versus Eldershyft: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPattern Play StoryEldershyft
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (3 ratings)5.0 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings38 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB7 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperJohn SturtKIERAN HARTNETT

Customer experience

Pattern Play Story

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%

Eldershyft

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

Pattern Play Story

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Eldershyft

One-time2
  • Rival Curators$1.99
  • Full base game unlock$2.99

Questions

Is Pattern Play Story free?
Pattern Play Story costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Eldershyft free?
Eldershyft is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pattern Play Story or Eldershyft?
Eldershyft is rated higher. Pattern Play Story averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Eldershyft averages 5.0 from 8 ratings.
Do Pattern Play Story or Eldershyft have ads?
Neither Pattern Play Story nor Eldershyft shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pattern Play Story or Eldershyft?
Pattern Play Story ships an update every 3 weeks, and Eldershyft every 3 weeks. Most recently, Pattern Play Story was updated on October 16, 2026 and Eldershyft on October 8, 2026.

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