TENSEI vs Notebook Artillery
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TENSEI
Embark on a serene journey of self-discovery through an ultra-casual endless action game. Leap and fall through calming Zen landscapes, mimicking the flow of ink on paper, to escape daily stress and find deep immersion.
- Ultra-casual endless action gameplay
- Soothing Zen landscapes
- Relaxed journey into the sky
- Immersive experience
- Brush stroke-like movement
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An experience of self-discovery set in soothing Zen landscapes. "Tensei" is an ultra-casual endless action game. Leap and fall over and over in the style of a brush flowing across paper, and go on a relaxed journey into the sky. Leave the hectic routine of life behind for a chance to enjoy this deeply immersive experience.
Notebook Artillery
Engage in strategic cannon combat with this arcade-simulation-action game. Adjust firing angle and powder to hit targets or opponents, accounting for wind and random stage layouts. Features hand-drawn art and multiple game modes.
- Adjust firing angle and powder
- Account for wind and stage layouts
- Solo target practice mode
- CPU opponent
- Local multiplayer vs mode
- Hand-drawn game art
- Unlockable stickers
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Apple called it "sketchy — in a good way." Multiple-time Game of the Day in 80+ countries. Nintendo Force gave it 8.5/10. And it started as a doodle. Once upon a time in a middle school computer lab, a student ignored every assignment for an entire semester to fire cannons at a friend. That student grew up, spent 20 years making games professionally, and eventually decided the world needed a proper love letter to that wasted time. This is it. Notebook Artillery is a hand-drawn artillery game inspired by the classic Mac game that got confiscated off school computers everywhere. Set your angle. Load your powder. Fire. Account for the wind. Try not to hit your own tower. Play your way: Solo target practice — break floating targets across randomly generated stages VS CPU — take on a computer opponent Local multiplayer — challenge someone in the same room What makes it feel different: Every frame hand-drawn in Procreate — ruled lines, coil binding, pencil textures, the whole notebook aesthetic Trees splinter. Towers explode. Cannonballs collide mid-air. Wind changes everything. Read the flag. Use your shot trails. Unlock stickers by pulling off feats — first-shot eliminations, mid-air collisions, and yes, accidentally destroying your own tower Randomly generated stages mean no two games play the same Made by one person, with audio by Kevin Samuels and Switch/console ports by PolyCrunch Games. No AI tools were used in making this game. All art hand-drawn. Developed in GameMaker Studio.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: TENSEI at none against Notebook Artillery's shown. TENSEI also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (100% vs 82%). Notebook Artillery's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (148 vs 13). On in-app purchases 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
TENSEI costs $2.99 and Notebook Artillery $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
TENSEI holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notebook Artillery has 148 ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of TENSEI's written reviews are positive against 82% of Notebook Artillery's.
TENSEI ships an update every 5 months, Notebook Artillery every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 12, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TENSEI | Notebook Artillery |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | $0.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.9 (13 ratings) — better | 4.5 (148 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 81.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 13 | 148 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #63 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 405 MB | 115 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NEURON AGE CO.,LTD. | Austin Ivansmith |
Customer experience
TENSEI
Notebook Artillery
Bugs and requests
TENSEI
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Notebook Artillery
Reported bugs
2 issues- Crashes on iOS 12 and 13 on iPad Pro
- Inconsistent animation speeds
Requested features
7 requests- Online multiplayer
- Campaign mode with objectives
- Weapon/tower upgrades
- Customization options
- Special game modes (speed run, boss battles, etc.)
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- Ability to save and continue games
- Detailed badge/achievement system
In-app purchases
TENSEI
No in-app purchases
Notebook Artillery
No in-app purchases









