Comparison

Wanted! Cave Explorer vs Shadow

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

Head to head
About

Wanted! Cave Explorer

Embark on a thrilling 2.8D adventure exploring mysterious caves. Overcome traps and uncover ancient secrets with simple controls and smooth action. Your expedition into the deep awaits.

Highlights
  • Simple controls
  • 3D cave exploration
  • Mysteries and traps
  • Smooth action
  • Heart-pounding thrills
Features
Read full description

"Wanted! Cave Explorer" is a simple-to-control new 2.8D adventure experience. As an explorer, you'll investigate caves. With simple actions, you can freely explore three-dimensional cave systems. The caves contain mysteries and traps that you'll overcome as you venture deeper. Experience heart-pounding thrills with smooth action. Let's begin our expedition! Deep inside sleeps... Artificial intelligence... Something the ancients desperately wanted to preserve...

About

Shadow

Embark on a nostalgic adventure in a town that bridges two worlds. Help a girl regain her memories, solve puzzles, and uncover mysteries with her loyal dog. Interact with unique characters and explore diverse locations to find a way back home.

Highlights
  • Nostalgic townscape exploration
  • Mystery solving and puzzles
  • Switch between human and dog characters
  • Interact with unique characters
  • Story-driven gameplay
  • Inventory system for items
Read full description

<About This Game> A girl who lost her memories lives in a town with a nostalgic atmosphere. One day, she wanders into another world that looks exactly like her town... While regaining her memories, she searches for a way back to her original world with her beloved dog. ---------------------------------------- Listen to the troubles of the “Shadow” characters you meet along the way, or help them find lost items to receive items and hints that advance the story! Plenty of event characters too—but watch out for enemy characters along the way!? Explore various locations like towns, schools, forests, and otherworldly realms... Solve puzzles and mysteries to advance the story! ---------------------------- ------------ ■How to Play ・Tap the protagonist with your finger to move them up, down, left, or right. ・Press the dog icon button to switch between playing as the “person” or the “dog.” Some areas are only accessible to the dog, so switch between characters to explore. ・Tap objects or furniture that catch your interest to inspect them. ・Tap items on the ground to pick them up; they'll all be added to your “Inventory”. (To use an item, select it from your inventory. While holding the item, inspect a character, piece of furniture, or building to use it. ・Choosing the wrong option, getting attacked by enemies, or failing to find a necessary item will result in Game Over. ・If you get stuck, check the hint displayed above the play screen or talk to Shadow. ■Features ・A townscape with a nostalgic atmosphere ・A Showa-era style world ・Exploration possible ・Mystery solving, puzzles ・Unique characters like monstrous heads and talking animals ・Animations included <About Used Materials> ・Sound effects: Pocket Sound – https://pocket-se.info/

Screenshots

Wanted! Cave Explorer4 screens
Shadow4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Wanted! Cave Explorer at none against Shadow's 3. Wanted! Cave Explorer also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Shadow's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs fortnightly). On price, ads, monetization model 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

Both are free to download. Shadow sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Wanted! Cave Explorer asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Wanted! Cave Explorer ships an update fortnightly, Shadow every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Wanted! Cave Explorer versus Shadow: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWanted! Cave ExplorerShadow
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews—58.3% of reviews
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 6 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size165 MB234 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperMasahiro NittaNOELITH, INC.

Customer experience

Wanted! Cave Explorer

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Shadow

Written reviews12 reviews
Positive58.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

Wanted! Cave Explorer

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Shadow

One-time3
  • Ad Removal B Pack$0.99
  • Ad Removal A Pack$0.99
  • Ad Removal AB Value Pack$1.99

Questions

Is Wanted! Cave Explorer free?
Wanted! Cave Explorer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shadow free?
Shadow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Wanted! Cave Explorer or Shadow have ads?
Both Wanted! Cave Explorer and Shadow show ads.
Which is updated more often, Wanted! Cave Explorer or Shadow?
Wanted! Cave Explorer ships an update fortnightly, and Shadow every 6 days. Most recently, Wanted! Cave Explorer was updated on October 17, 2026 and Shadow on October 2, 2026.

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