Comparison

Pixelvale vs Rootflux

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

Head to head
About

Pixelvale

Solve logic puzzles to reveal pixel art and build a charming valley. Enjoy a relaxing experience with no timers or pressure, and watch your world grow across seasons. Support development through optional donations.

Highlights
  • Solve logic nonogram puzzles
  • Build a growing pixel art valley
  • Experience seasonal changes
  • Relaxed gameplay with no timers
  • Offline play
  • Hand-drawn pixel art
Read full description

Pixelvale is a cozy nonogram game: solve elegant logic puzzles and bring a little valley to life, pixel by pixel. Every puzzle you solve reveals a hand-painted piece of pixel art—an apple tree, the bakery, a villager—and adds it to your world. So a living valley slowly grows out of pure logic puzzles, transforming across four seasons. RELAXED PUZZLING Nonograms (also known as picross or griddlers) are elegant logic puzzles: use the numbers along the edges to work out which cells must be filled. No luck, no time pressure—just you and a calm, satisfying flow of thinking. A WORLD THAT GROWS You don't come back to "Puzzle #47"—you return to your valley. Each picture has its own fixed place on the map. Season by season the mood shifts—from blooming spring to quiet winter. FREE AND FAIR • Completely free to play • No ads • No energy system, no timers, no nagging If you enjoy Pixelvale, you can support development with a voluntary donation—entirely optional. It unlocks no content: you always have the whole game. FREE PLAY Want more? In Free Mode you can solve as many random nonograms as you like, in grid sizes from 5×5 to 25×25—perfect for a short break or a long evening of puzzling. MADE WITH CARE • Hand-drawn pixel art, no stock material • Warm, modern interface with subtle haptic feedback • Native iOS app: launches instantly, runs on older iPhones, fully playable offline • Available in English and German Pixelvale is a calm place to keep coming back to. Grab a puzzle, fill in a few cells—and watch your valley bloom.

About

Rootflux

An idle growth game where you expand an underground root system. Gather nutrients, strengthen your network, and break through strata to build a deeper living system. Features include idle growth, visible expansion, and long-term systems like challenges and automation.

Highlights
  • Idle nutrient growth
  • Visible root network expansion
  • Transport, absorption, branching, and depth upgrades
  • Permanent growth through strata breakthroughs
  • Seedfall, challenges, and automation systems
  • Frequent updates with new content
Features
Read full description

Rootflux is an idle growth game about sending roots deeper underground. Grow new roots, gather nutrients, strengthen your transport network, break through strata, and gradually build a wider and deeper living system. Features: - Idle nutrient growth over time - A root network that visibly expands as you play - Upgrades for transport, absorption, branching, and depth - Permanent growth through strata breakthroughs - Longer-term systems including seedfall, challenges, and automation Rootflux will continue to grow through frequent updates with new systems, balance changes, and usability improvements.

Screenshots

Pixelvale4 screens
Rootflux4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Pixelvale at none against Rootflux's shown. Pixelvale also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Rootflux's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs weekly) and ratings volume (88 vs 8). On price, rating, review sentiment 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Pixelvale sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Rootflux sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Pixelvale against 4.5 for Rootflux. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rootflux has 88 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of Pixelvale's written reviews are positive against 60% of Rootflux's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixelvale ships an update weekly, Rootflux every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Pixelvale versus Rootflux: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixelvaleRootflux
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (8 ratings)4.5 (88 ratings)
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews — better60.0% of reviews
Number of ratings888 — better
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB161 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYves KopmannIdle System, Inc.

Customer experience

Pixelvale

All ratings8 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

Rootflux

All ratings88 ratings
Positive86.4%
Neutral3.4%
Negative10.2%
Written reviews60 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral16.7%
Negative23.3%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Pixelvale

One-time4
  • Small Thank-You$0.99
  • Coffee for the Valley$1.99
  • A Generous Round$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Grand Gesture$3.99
3 purchases

Rootflux

One-time3
  • Ad-Free Pass$2.99
  • Dandelion$4.99
  • Spider$4.99

Questions

Is Pixelvale free?
Pixelvale is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Rootflux free?
Rootflux is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pixelvale or Rootflux?
Pixelvale and Rootflux are both rated 4.5 out of 5 on the App Store, from 8 and 88 ratings respectively.
Do Pixelvale or Rootflux have ads?
Rootflux shows ads; Pixelvale does not.
Which is updated more often, Pixelvale or Rootflux?
Pixelvale ships an update weekly, and Rootflux every 3 days. Most recently, Pixelvale was updated on October 31, 2026 and Rootflux on November 7, 2026.

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