Comparison

Butcher Hook vs Shadow Leveling

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

Head to head
About

Butcher Hook

Features
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Two teams. One river. Nobody can cross it but your hook. Butcher Hook is a fast team brawler for hulking butchers armed with hooks and chains. Move along your own bank, find the angle, lead your shot and fling a chain across the water. Land a hook to deal damage and knock your target back. If the hit would finish them, you drag them across the river for the takedown. EASY TO PICK UP, HARD TO PUT DOWN • Drag on the left half of the screen to move and on the right half to aim. Let go to throw. • Hooks charge your Super. Fire it at the right moment to turn a fight. • Health regenerates when you stay out of trouble, so every catch counts. 66 BUTCHERS, EACH WITH A TWIST Every hero is a brute in a leather apron with their own colours and gear: sack hoods, iron muzzles, welding goggles, bandanas and flat caps, plus a cleaver, meat hook, mallet or butcher's knife. Each has their own hook (damage, speed, range, catch size and recovery), their own Super and a Passive that unlocks at level 5. Reflect hooks back at the thrower, parry and strike back, drop minefields, rewind three seconds, call down meteors, grow to giant size, blow every enemy chain back across the river, or hook an ally out of an enemy's grip. 18 WAYS TO PLAY Rumble 5v5, Duel 1v1, Duos 2v2 and Knockout 3v3, plus Frenzy, Gem Rush, Bounty, Siege, Boss Raid (co-op against a giant boss), Classic (every hook kills), Hot Zone, Treasure Hunt, Mirror Match, Giant Slayer, Jailbreak, Super Chaos, Bomb Tag and Tug of War. New modes unlock as you climb. 13 ARENAS From Whispering Woods and Frozen Peak to Candy Kingdom, Haunted Swamp, Crystal Caverns and Pirate Cove. Later arenas change how you play: narrow rivers, wide channels, and pillars and shipwrecks that stop hooks dead. PLAY ANYWHERE Tap PLAY and you're in a match in seconds, online or offline. Create a private room, share the 5-character code, pick Blue or Red and brawl with friends. Quick-chat emotes let you say GG without typing. MAKE YOUR HOOK YOURS Collect 14 claws, 8 chains and 9 particle trails: anchors, harpoons, tridents, candy chains, lightning trails and more. Cosmetics never change stats. A FAIR CLIMB • Earn trophies per hero and climb a Trophy Road to 6,000 trophies, with unlocks at every stretch. • Level heroes from 1 to 11, open Reward Drops, finish Daily Quests and progress through a 30-tier Hook Pass. • Everything in the Shop is priced in in-game currency you earn by playing. There are no real-money purchases, no ads and no analytics.

About

Shadow Leveling

Features
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You are an E-Rank hunter, the weakest of them all. Until the day the System chooses you. Climb the Infinite Castle, slay hordes of monsters and turn every fallen enemy into a soldier of your SHADOW ARMY. From E-Rank to SSS, become the Shadow Monarch. ADDICTIVE ROGUELIKE ACTION • One-finger controls: move and your attacks fire automatically • Fast, intense runs, perfect for playing anywhere • Hundreds of enemies on screen at once RANK UP AND EVOLVE • 8 hunter ranks: E, D, C, B, A, S, SS and SSS • Your hero gets a new look at every rank • Grow stronger with every floor SHADOW ARMY • Raise defeated enemies as your soldiers • Command up to 10 shadows that fight by your side • Turn even bosses into allies EPIC BUILDS • Blades, lightning, shadow novas, scythes and more • Combine weapons and passives to AWAKEN skills • Every run is different BOSSES AND GUARDIANS • Giant bosses on every floor • Unique guardians in every zone of the castle • Anime-style cinematic entrances • 12 epic guardians: stronger new rulers seize the zones on every climb 300-MONSTER BESTIARY • 60 monsters with brand-new art and animations, 5 variants each • Tougher apex monsters appear as you climb FORGE AND GEAR • Permanent Power, Vitality and Fortune upgrades • Gear from common to legendary • Daily quests and login rewards GLOBAL LEADERBOARD • Compare your highest floor with hunters worldwide Free to play. Works offline. Arise, hunter. The castle awaits.

Screenshots

Butcher Hook4 screens
Shadow Leveling4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Butcher Hook at none against Shadow Leveling's 1. Butcher Hook also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (monthly vs every 8 months). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Shadow Leveling sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Butcher Hook asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Butcher Hook ships an update monthly, Shadow Leveling every 8 months. Both last shipped on November 12, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences Ā· 3 level
Butcher Hook versus Shadow Leveling: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterButcher HookShadow Leveling
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 8 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB69 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperHE HENathan Oliveira

In-app purchases

None

Butcher Hook

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Shadow Leveling

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$4.99

Questions

Is Butcher Hook free?
Butcher Hook is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shadow Leveling free?
Shadow Leveling is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Butcher Hook or Shadow Leveling have ads?
Shadow Leveling shows ads; Butcher Hook does not.
Which is updated more often, Butcher Hook or Shadow Leveling?
Butcher Hook ships an update monthly, and Shadow Leveling every 8 months. Most recently, Butcher Hook was updated on November 12, 2026 and Shadow Leveling on November 12, 2026.

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