Notebook Artillery vs The Universe, Controlled
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
The Universe, Controlled
Guide spacecraft, rockets, and UFOs to safe landings on planets and moons. Trace flight paths, avoid collisions with asteroids and aliens, and score points. Enjoy an immersive space experience with customizable sound options.
- Trace spacecraft paths
- Avoid collisions
- Land on planets/moons
- Dodge aliens and asteroids
- Score points
- Customizable soundtrack and sound effects
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Rockets. Spaceships. UFOs. They're all hurtling around up there in space, but someone's got to help them get to where they're going. It's you. You're that someone. Your job is to trace paths for spacecraft to land in the right place on the planet or moon they're headed for. And unsurprisingly, they'd rather not crash. That's on you. Trace paths, avoid collisions. On occasion, the other typical stuff you see in space might float by: Aliens, astronauts, asteroids. You'll want to avoid those, too. Play with the spacey soundtrack or turn it off. Enjoy the delightful sound effects, or turn those off, too. Just land everybody safely, score the most points you can, and then play again. The fun is out of this world. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: The Universe, Controlled at Free against Notebook Artillery's $0.99. The Universe, Controlled also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 weeks). Notebook Artillery's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (82% vs 50%). On rating, 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
The Universe, Controlled is free to download; Notebook Artillery costs $0.99 up front. The Universe, Controlled sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Notebook Artillery asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Notebook Artillery against 4.3 for The Universe, Controlled. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notebook Artillery has 149 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 82% of Notebook Artillery's written reviews are positive against 50% of The Universe, Controlled's.
Notebook Artillery ships an update every 2 weeks, The Universe, Controlled every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Notebook Artillery | The Universe, Controlled |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (149 ratings) — better | 4.3 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 81.6% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 149 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #179 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 115 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Austin Ivansmith | Lex Friedman |
Customer experience
Notebook Artillery
The Universe, Controlled
Bugs and 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
The Universe, Controlled
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Notebook Artillery
No in-app purchases
The Universe, Controlled
- Unlock The Universe$3.99
- Unlock (Platinum)$9.99
Questions
Is Notebook Artillery free?
Is The Universe, Controlled free?
Which has better reviews, Notebook Artillery or The Universe, Controlled?
Do Notebook Artillery or The Universe, Controlled have ads?
Which is updated more often, Notebook Artillery or The Universe, Controlled?
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