Comparison

The Bear vs Howl

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

Head to head
About

The Bear

Embark on a friendship adventure with a bear and a little one across a magical universe. This interactive bedtime experience features hand-drawn animations and original music, offering a calming story about togetherness and belonging.

Highlights
  • Interactive bedtime experience
  • Friendship-forming adventure
  • Hand-drawn animations
  • Specially composed music
  • Touching story
  • Calming experience
Features
Read full description

The Bear is an interactive bedtime experience for everyone. The game is free-to-try with no ads. You can play the first chapter for free and unlock the remaining 4 chapters with a single in-app purchase. Lead the bear and the little one through a friendship-forming adventure as they travel across the atmospheric universe of the World of Gra. Relax and stargaze with these weird little characters, as they tell you stories of togetherness, of letting go and of the longing to find a place you belong. The Bear has been lovingly crafted with hundreds of hand drawn animations, specially composed music and a touching story to create a uniquely calming experience, that feels like a bedtime story, read to you by a loved one.

About

Howl

Engage in turn-based tactical combat within a dark fairy-tale world threatened by a mysterious plague. Play as a deaf heroine who can foresee enemy moves, utilizing unique arrows and skills to defeat beasts. Explore beautifully illustrated environments and uncover secrets.

Highlights
  • Turn-based tactical combat
  • Foretell enemy moves
  • Variety of arrow types
  • Unlockable skills and upgrades
  • Living ink art style
  • Multiple chapters and levels
  • Save villagers
Features
Read full description

This game is free to download and play for a limited number of levels and time. Do you like the game? Then you can easily unlock the full version through the in App purchase! Howl is a turn-based puzzle/tactical folktale set in the Middle Ages, where a mysterious "howling plague" ravages the land. Any who hear the beasts’ howls turn into feral, hungering beasts themselves – further spreading the curse through their own howls. The Heroine of this tale was born deaf, giving her a unique protection against this curse. Play as a daring combat Prophet with the ability to foretell your enemies’ moves. Plan up to six steps ahead to outmaneuver your enemies. Fire a variety of arrows, such as exploding, lightning, or piercing shots, and use skills like Smoke Bombs and Shadow Step’s Invisibility to kill any beasts who stand in your way. Each type of beast offers its own challenges, with some approaching fast, while others taking more powerful hits or attacking from afar. Howl's visuals are created through "living ink", a flowing art style that paints the story as you play. Carve your way through a dark, fairy-tale world made up of obscure yet magical places where you fight to rid the lands of the howling plague. Howl features a total of 5 chapters, including the free Heart of Rot update, each with a distinct visual atmosphere scored by soothing music. Access to this update is FREE for anyone who has bought the Howl base game. You can access this update chapter from the Chapter 3 map at any point after reaching Chapter 3 of the main story. This update features its own chapter map, new enemies, a new boss level, new environment mechanics, the new Lightning Shot skill (which, once unlocked, can be used in the main game!), and an NPC who fights by your side in later levels. Features • Foretell the actions of your enemies in turn-based puzzle/tactics combat. • Play through 60 levels across 4 chapters, plus 18 new levels in the free update chapter! • Beautifully illustrated in a unique, living ink art style. • Outsmart the different wolf species, from fast predators to enormous pack leaders. • Unlock and upgrade new skills like Shadow Step, Exploding Shot, and more. • Save villagers from the claws – and howls – of the wolves. • Plot your route on the world map to uncover new skills and secret paths.

Screenshots

The Bear4 screens
Howl4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: The Bear at 4.6 against Howl's 4.2. The Bear also leads on ratings volume (1.1K vs 63). Howl's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. The Bear sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Howl sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Bear holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Bear has 1.1K ratings behind it against 63, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 78% and 78% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Bear ships an update fortnightly, Howl every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
The Bear versus Howl: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe BearHowl
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (1.1K ratings) — better4.2 (63 ratings)
Positive reviews78.1% of reviews78.1% of reviews
Number of ratings1.1K — better63
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size224 MB477 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperMucks Gamesastragon Entertainment GmbH

Customer experience

The Bear

All ratings1,131 ratings
Positive89.4%
Neutral4.4%
Negative6.2%
Written reviews137 reviews
Positive78.1%
Neutral8.0%
Negative13.9%

Howl

All ratings63 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral4.8%
Negative17.5%
Written reviews64 reviews
Positive78.1%
Neutral4.7%
Negative17.2%

User reviews

The Bear

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 😊 Liked the stars and music
  • 👍 Cute, calming, and relaxing
  • 🎨 Beautiful art style and animations
  • 💡 Meaningful story and themes
  • 🤗 Touching and emotional

Room to improve

  • 💰 Need to pay for additional chapters
  • 🐛 Progress not saved properly

Howl

From 63 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Beautiful art style and visual design
  • 🎵 Excellent music and sound design
  • 🧩 Engaging turn-based strategy gameplay
  • 🎯 Creative puzzle mechanics with multiple solutions
  • 📖 Compelling story and atmosphere

Room to improve

  • 🐛 UI elements covering action cards on left screen edge
  • 📱 Text too small on mobile devices
  • 🌍 Limited language localization options
  • ⏱️ Game length feels short for the price
  • 💾 Save progress issues and data loss

Bugs and requests

The Bear

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Game resets when leaving the screen
  • Compatibility issues with older devices

Requested features

2 requests
  • Make the full game free
  • Add a demo or trial version

Howl

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Arrow card hidden by sidebar UI on left screen edge
  • Text bubbles blocking enemy action information
  • Save data not persisting after app closure
  • UI elements too small to read on iPhone
  • Tooltip descriptions not displaying correctly
Show 3 more
  • Hover mechanics don't work on iPad
  • Specific level completion issues (Tower chapter)
  • Yellow completion symbol blends with map background

Requested features

10 requests
  • Movable text bubbles to prevent obstruction
  • Character gender/pronoun customization
  • More levels and expanded content
  • Language localization (Vietnamese, German, etc.)
  • UI scaling for smaller phones
Show 5 more
  • Ability to select language for voice acting
  • More detailed story development
  • 3D graphics enhancement
  • Clearer level count visibility upfront
  • Improved tooltip system for mobile

In-app purchases

4 purchases

The Bear

One-time4
  • Buy us a cookie!$0.99
  • Buy us a coffee!$2.99
  • Unlock all chapters$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Buy us lunch!$3.99
1 purchases

Howl

One-time1
  • Upgrade to Full Version$3.99

Questions

Is The Bear free?
The Bear is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Howl free?
Howl is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Bear or Howl?
The Bear is rated higher. The Bear averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while Howl averages 4.2 from 63 ratings.
Do The Bear or Howl have ads?
Neither The Bear nor Howl shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Bear or Howl?
The Bear ships an update fortnightly, and Howl every 3 weeks. Most recently, The Bear was updated on September 26, 2026 and Howl on September 23, 2026.

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