Comparison

Strange Horticulture vs Shift II

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

Head to head
About

Strange Horticulture

Manage an occult plant store in a mysterious town. Discover and identify strange plants, using their unique properties to influence an unfolding narrative. Explore the surrounding lands to find new flora and unravel ancient secrets.

Highlights
  • Manage an occult plant store
  • Discover and identify strange plants
  • Use plant effects to influence story
  • Explore surrounding lands
  • Unravel dark mysteries
  • Pet your cat
Features
Read full description

Strange Horticulture is an occult puzzle game in which you play as the proprietor of a local plant store. Find and identify new plants, pet your cat, speak to a coven, or join a cult. Use your collection of powerful plants to influence the story and unravel Undermere’s dark mysteries. WELCOME TO UNDERMERE Welcome to Undermere, a quaint town surrounded by hag-infested forests and rugged mountains. You are the Horticulturist, owner of local plant store Strange Horticulture. As a cast of colorful customers come by your shop, you are quickly thrust into an occult mystery stretching back hundreds of years. EXPLORE THE LANDS BEYOND Explore the lands beyond your store to find new plants, but be careful! The dark woods and lakes are not always friendly to a simple herbalist. You might discover powers beyond your wildest dreams - or lose your mind completely. Use context clues to determine which places to visit, and which to avoid! AN EVER-GROWING COLLECTION Using your trusty encyclopedia and clues found on your explorations, you learn more about the strange plants you come across. By identifying each plant, you will be able to use their effects to influence the story -- from hypnotic hallucinogens to powerful poisons.

About

Shift II

A challenging puzzle game with three distinct modes: managing energy, maintaining streaks, or beating a timer. Upgrade and downgrade tiles to achieve high scores and compete on online leaderboards. Enjoy a meditative experience, except for the frantic mode.

Highlights
  • Three gameplay modes (Calm, Frantic, Tactical)
  • Online leaderboards
  • Tile upgrading and downgrading
  • Streak management
  • Timed challenges
  • Color themes
Features
Read full description

“The Hyperspatial Directive Node has been upgraded to a subdermal implant. All of its original functionality remains in place, quite literally at your fingertips. Please report any itching, spontaneous combustion or redness to your supervisor immediately.” A sequel to 2022's award nominated puzzle game for the Playdate, Shift II takes the familiar and adds all new mechanics, strategy and ways to play, and now on your phone! And sort of in color! Featuring three game play modes, The Calm tasks you with managing your energy supply, The Tactical only cares about your ability to maintain a streak, while The Frantic pits you against a thirty second countdown timer and was specifically designed for those of you who were disappointed that the original game wasn't stressful enough. Keeping up your streak count, upgrading and downgrading tiles and making the most efficient moves as possible are all critical to your high score chances. No ads and no in-app purchases. It won't even harass you to rate it (Though it would be nice if you did)! Just a super fun, meditative puzzle game. Well, except for The Frantic, that's not really very meditative. Features: - Three game play modes; The Calm, The Frantic & The Tactical - Online leader boards for all three modes. - Four color themes to choose from. - The same music and sound effects you loved in the Playdate version. - Again: No in app purchases, no ads, no tracking. -- "This sequel is as fun as the first game! Shift II adds a twist to the original, with more shapes to match and more modes. Our favorite new mode is The Tactical, where you must maintain your streak to keep playing!" -- Panic Staff Pick

Screenshots

Strange Horticulture4 screens
Shift II4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Strange Horticulture at 1.5K against Shift II's 3. Strange Horticulture also leads on chart position (#80 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). Shift II's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 75%) and price ($4.99 vs $5.99). On rating, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Strange Horticulture costs $5.99 and Shift II $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Strange Horticulture against 5.0 for Shift II. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Strange Horticulture has 1.5K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 75% of Strange Horticulture's written reviews are positive against 100% of Shift II's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Strange Horticulture ships an update weekly, Shift II every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Strange Horticulture versus Shift II: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStrange HorticultureShift II
Price$5.99$4.99 — better
Rating4.9 (1.5K ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.5K — better3
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supported — betterPaid
Best chart rank#80 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size522 MB4 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperPlug In DigitalScenic Route Software

Customer experience

Strange Horticulture

All ratings1,338 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral1.3%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews166 reviews
Positive75.3%
Neutral7.8%
Negative16.9%

Shift II

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Strange Horticulture

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Viewing device bug preventing progress
  • Plants getting stuck and unable to be moved
  • Crashes and freezes on certain devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • More content and expanded gameplay
  • Shelf/storage option for plants
  • Improved mobile optimization (larger text, better controls)

Shift II

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Strange Horticulture

No in-app purchases

None

Shift II

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Strange Horticulture free?
Strange Horticulture costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shift II free?
Shift II costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Strange Horticulture or Shift II?
Shift II is rated higher. Strange Horticulture averages 4.9 out of 5 from 1.5K ratings, while Shift II averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Strange Horticulture or Shift II have ads?
Neither Strange Horticulture nor Shift II shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Strange Horticulture or Shift II?
Strange Horticulture ships an update weekly, and Shift II every 5 days. Most recently, Strange Horticulture was updated on October 30, 2026 and Shift II on September 18, 2026.

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