The Bear vs Howl
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Interactive bedtime experience
- Friendship-forming adventure
- Hand-drawn animations
- Specially composed music
- Touching story
- Calming experience
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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.
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
The Bear ships an update fortnightly, Howl every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Bear | Howl |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (1.1K ratings) — better | 4.2 (63 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 78.1% of reviews | 78.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K — better | 63 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 224 MB | 477 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Mucks Games | astragon Entertainment GmbH |
Customer experience
The Bear
Howl
User reviews
The Bear
From 1.1K App Store ratingsWhat 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 ratingsWhat 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
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- 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
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- 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
The Bear
- Buy us a cookie!$0.99
- Buy us a coffee!$2.99
- Unlock all chapters$2.99
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- Buy us lunch!$3.99
Howl
- Upgrade to Full Version$3.99









