Comparison

AsciiLings Retro Rescue vs TamaShell

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

Head to head
About

AsciiLings Retro Rescue

Features
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Save the AsciiLings! ASCII art at its finest in this game that is a blast from the past in more than one way. Inspired by classic rescue games, rendered in retro ASCII art. Build bridges and ladders, use blockers and bashers, all to save the AsciiLings. Your mission: Guide the AsciiLings safely to the exit before time runs out. Without your help, they will walk automatically and stumble into danger! ASSIGN SKILLS TO SURVIVE - Blockers stop and redirect others - Bridgers span deadly gaps - Ladders help climb obstacles - Diggers, Bashers, and Miners carve new paths - Floaters survive long falls - Climbers scale walls FEATURES - 3-star rating system rewards perfect play - Game Center leaderboards for Total Stars and AsciiLings Saved - Multiple difficulty tiers: Sprite, Gnome, and Wizard - Interactive tutorial teaches the basics - Turbo mode for faster gameplay - Clean ASCII aesthetic with smooth animations Each level is a puzzle. Figure out which skills to use, where to use them, and in what order. Save the required number of AsciiLings to advance, or save them all for 3 stars! Simple to learn, challenging to master.

About

TamaShell

Features
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TamaShell is a virtual pet that lives entirely inside a fake computer terminal. Hatch an egg, then keep your pet fed, clean, rested, and happy using simple typed commands or on screen buttons. Your pet keeps living in real time, even while the app is closed, so a few days of neglect will actually catch up with you. Along the way there is a full day and night cycle, a coin economy you can earn by putting your pet to work, a shop for food and room decorations, and more... who knows what hides away in the terminal? If your pet dies, it does not just disappear. Reset and start the next generation. Raise a pet. Keep the terminal alive.

Screenshots

AsciiLings Retro Rescue4 screens
TamaShell4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: AsciiLings Retro Rescue at weekly against TamaShell's monthly. AsciiLings Retro Rescue also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. AsciiLings Retro Rescue sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and TamaShell sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AsciiLings Retro Rescue ships an update weekly, TamaShell monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
AsciiLings Retro Rescue versus TamaShell: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAsciiLings Retro RescueTamaShell
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeekly โ€” betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 โ€” better17.6
Further details โ€” not scored
Size2 MB1 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperVertoliniKAMIL BARCZAK

In-app purchases

1 purchases

AsciiLings Retro Rescue

One-time1
  • Adventure Pack$0.99
4 purchases

TamaShell

One-time4
  • Cat Form$1.99
  • Robot Form$1.99
  • $ theme creator -enable$3.99
Show 1 more
  • TamaShell Pro Set$5.99

Questions

Is AsciiLings Retro Rescue free?
AsciiLings Retro Rescue is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TamaShell free?
TamaShell is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do AsciiLings Retro Rescue or TamaShell have ads?
Neither AsciiLings Retro Rescue nor TamaShell shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AsciiLings Retro Rescue or TamaShell?
AsciiLings Retro Rescue ships an update weekly, and TamaShell monthly. Most recently, AsciiLings Retro Rescue was updated on November 9, 2026 and TamaShell on November 10, 2026.

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