Pocket Oasis vs Holy Mackerel
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pocket Oasis
Cultivate a serene virtual garden on your own balcony. Choose from a variety of plants and decorations to create a personalized oasis, influenced by real-world weather and climate data. Enjoy casual gameplay and unlock pets to join your tranquil space.
- Hand-painted 2.5D balcony simulation
- Decorate 3 balconies in global cities
- 36 unlockable plants with harvestable fruit
- Name and repot plants with unlockable pots
- 36 bespoke decorations
- Day/night cycle impacting plant stats
- Real-world weather and climate data
Read full descriptionHide full description
Gardening is one of life’s simplest pleasures, and there are few things more satisfying than watching a plant grow from a tiny seedling to a blooming plant. Pocket Oasis brings that joy to life in a beautiful, hand-painted world. Take a deep, relaxing breath and step out onto your very own balcony in a city of your choice. Choose from a wide variety of plants and decorations as you build your own little pocket oasis. Game Features - Relax in a hand crafted 2.5D balcony simulation with casual gameplay to unwind - Decorate 3 balconies in stunning cities around the world with hand-painted watercolors - 36 plants to unlock each with their own fruit to grow, harvest, and turn into jam - Name and repot your plants with up to 36 unlockable pots - 36 bespoke decorations to give each balcony a personal touch - A day and night cycle that impacts plant stats - Real-life geographical, weather, and climate data backend Plants Design a garden that’s entirely your own - With a wide selection of fruit bushes, vegetables and herbs, you have complete control over what you choose to grow in your garden. Decorate your balcony as you see fit - this is your little oasis. Harvest Fruit Transform your balcony into a true masterpiece with vibrant colours and deliciously drawn fruit. Pets Unlock up to 20 of your very own pets to roam around on your balcony. Cities Discover gardens around the globe - Grow sunflowers in Switzerland, roses in Rome, or figs in France - explore cities across Europe. Weather Influenced by real-life weather - Pocket Oasis takes data from the real world and brings it into the game, mirroring the weather and seasons of each city with its real-life counterpart. Hand Painted Beautiful, hand-painted water colours - Every flower, creature, object and backdrop has been carefully painted by hand. Audio Original scoring from composer Tom Jensen.
Holy Mackerel
Embark on a pixel art fishing adventure across diverse biomes. Master timing-based mechanics, upgrade gear, and discover unique fish, including the legendary Holy Mackerel. Engage with charming NPCs and enjoy a stylized, cartoonish world.
- Retro pixel art graphics
- Explore diverse biomes
- Unique fish in each biome
- Timing-based fishing mechanics
- Gear upgrades
- Unlock new biomes
- Interact with NPCs
Read full descriptionHide full description
Experience the world of Holy Mackerel, a unique mobile fishing game with retro-inspired pixel art. Explore a variety of biomes, each with its own set of unique fish. Master the timing and strategy of the constant-motion fishing mechanics as you unlock new biomes, upgrade your gear, and search for the infamous Holy Mackerel, the most famed fish in town! Meet interesting NPCs who own the shops, and enjoy the playful, cartoonish visuals that bring the world to life. Whether you're into strategic fishing or just want a fun, stylised game, Holy Mackerel is your next adventure!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Holy Mackerel at 100% against Pocket Oasis's 58%. Holy Mackerel also leads on rating (4.5 vs 4.2). Pocket Oasis's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Pocket Oasis sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Holy Mackerel sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Holy Mackerel holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 13 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Pocket Oasis's written reviews are positive against 100% of Holy Mackerel's.
Pocket Oasis ships an update every 3 weeks, Holy Mackerel fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pocket Oasis | Holy Mackerel |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (6 ratings) | 4.5 (13 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 58.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6 | 13 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 731 MB | 174 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | knit'n'purl game studio LLC | Kate Young |
Customer experience
Pocket Oasis
Holy Mackerel
Bugs and requests
Pocket Oasis
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Holy Mackerel
Reported bugs
1 issue- Couple of glitches
Requested features
7 requests- Add an aquarium for passive income (like fish ponds)
- Add an inventory space to keep fish
- Allow players to choose which fish to sell
- A little fish zoo to keep fish in
- Fish hat cosmetic item
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- More games from the developer
- More levels
In-app purchases
Pocket Oasis
- Unlock Full Game$0.99
Holy Mackerel
- Supporters pt1$0.49
- Supporters pt2$0.49
- Supporters pt3$0.49
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Supporters pt4$0.49
- Its Alive$2.99
- Sun, Surf & Style Pack$2.99
- Speed Tackle Bundle$3.99
- Xmas 2024 Hat + Boat Pack$3.99
- Plunders Pack$5.99
- Bucket Full Of Clams$5.99
Questions
Is Pocket Oasis free?
Is Holy Mackerel free?
Which has better reviews, Pocket Oasis or Holy Mackerel?
Do Pocket Oasis or Holy Mackerel have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pocket Oasis or Holy Mackerel?
Other comparisons















