The First Ascent vs Halloway
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The First Ascent
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“The first ascent” is an immersive climbing adventure where players scale treacherous mountains, sheer cliff faces, and mysterious vertical landscapes in their quest to reach the top. From dark caves to outer space, each level introduces new challenges and environmental hazards like hotwind, falling blizzards, mostly unstable obstacles. Strategic planning, quick reflexes, and precision are the keys to reaching the summit. Upgrade your character and unlock new climbers with unique skills, and collect the useful items along your route. Whether you're racing the clock or exploring at your own pace, "The first ascent" promises a vertical adventure like no other.
Halloway
Explore a house of riddles played in the dark, focusing on solving clues to unlock doors. Progress is saved on your device, with optional cross-device sync. No account is needed to begin your mysterious journey.
- Three hand-built cipher wings
- Played phone-first in the dark
- No maps or busywork
- Solve rooms to turn keys
- Progress saved on device
- Optional cross-device sync
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Halloway is a house of riddles - three hand-built cipher wings (The Veil, The Athanor, and The Threshold) played phone-first in the dark. No maps, no busywork: just you, a clue, and the next door. Solve a room to turn its key; the house remembers them all. No account is required. Progress stays on your device unless you sign in for cross-device sync; anonymous aggregate usage counts can be turned off in Settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: The First Ascent at none against Halloway's 6. The First Ascent also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Halloway's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months). On price 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
Both are free to download. Halloway sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. The First Ascent asks for nothing beyond the download.
The First Ascent ships an update every 5 months, Halloway fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The First Ascent | Halloway |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 4 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 134 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Chi Nguyen | No Evil Star LLC |
In-app purchases
The First Ascent
No in-app purchases
Halloway
- Whole House Upgrade$1.00
- Halloway - The Veil$1.99
- Halloway - The Threshold$1.99
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- Halloway - The Athanor$1.99
- Whole House Upgrade$3.00
- Halloway - All Access$4.99
