Shimmers vs Layer2
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shimmers
A cozy indie game where you travel through time and space to identify mysterious characters using limited questions and guesses. Collect identified characters in your Temporal Codex. Subscription offers increased encounters and ad-free play.
- Time and space travel
- Character identification gameplay
- Limited questions and guesses
- Collect characters in Temporal Codex
- Unique character rarities and traits
- Subscription for enhanced features
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Delve into the world of Shimmers! In this cosy indie game, you hop through time and space to meet different unknown Shimmers. The Shimmers you meet could be anyone from all of human history, fiction and folklore. It's up to you to talk to this unknown Shimmer, and to use up to three open questions and guesses to slim down the infinite options to just one. Be careful though: Shimmers are slippery and cunning, and will flee to never be seen again should you guess wrong too many times. In addition, you only get one new Shimmer encounter per 3 hours, and can only save up to 5 encounters. Make those guesses count! Each Shimmer will have a unique rarity, as well as unique traits. Some Shimmers may even have unique emotions that will seep through in everything they say. Once you have found and identified a Shimmer, you add them to your Temporal Codex for safekeeping. Are you knowledgeable and nimble enough to meet and identify all Shimmers? Shimmers+ Can't get enough of playing Shimmers? Subscribe to Shimmers+ to drastically increase the amount of Shimmer encounters you save up (15 instead of 5), increase the rate of new Shimmer encounters (a new encounter every 1 hour instead of 3), meet unique Shimmers only available to Shimmers+ members, and enjoy an experience without any ads. Why a subscription rather than a one time purchase? Because keeping Shimmers in the air requires running costly servers now and in the future. We are so thankful for your support! IMPORTANT NOTE: the Shimmers (persons) you talk to in the app are not real whatsoever, and are modeled by AI algorithms. Terms of Use By downloading and using Shimmers, you agree to our Terms of Use, as outlined in the standard Apple EULA. Please review the terms carefully at the link below: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Layer2
Explore the real world as a GPS MMORPG. Build your homestead, fight monsters, and conquer your city with your guild. Team up with friends to take down bosses and climb leaderboards.
- Location-based gameplay
- Build and upgrade homestead
- Real-time monster combat
- Guild-based city conquest
- Global server with thousands of players
- Cooperative boss battles
- Quest completion and leaderboards
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Layer2 is a free-to-play location-based GPS MMORPG laid over the real world, played in the streets you already walk through. _______________ · BECOME STRONGER Build your homestead, collect resources, and fight monsters in real-time to become stronger! Your commute and usual walking routes are filled with encounters waiting to be discovered. · CONQUER YOUR CITY Complete missions with your guild to gain control of your city. Choose the city's specialization to give a strong buff to every player affiliated with it! · ONE GLOBAL SERVER Thousands of players, one persistent global world. Whether you play in your neighbourhood or at the other side of the globe, there is always something to uncover and take back home! · PARTY UP! Team up and take ground. Challenging boss monsters are roaming around - party up with your friends to tackle difficult enemies! · MAKE A NAME FOR YOURSELF Build your reputation by completing quests and climb the leaderboards of your city!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Layer2 at 4.0 against Shimmers's 3.0. Layer2 also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). Shimmers's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and monetization model 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. Shimmers sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. Layer2 asks for nothing beyond the download.
Layer2 holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
Shimmers ships an update fortnightly, Layer2 every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shimmers | Layer2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (1 ratings) | 4.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 129 MB | 76 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Jochem Kleine | 2AM |
In-app purchases
Shimmers
- Shimmers+$1.991 Month
Layer2
No in-app purchases









