Comparison

Candle Drop vs Walk on Thin Ice

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

Head to head
About

Candle Drop

Explore a dark castle by dropping candles and strategically lining up their lights to trigger massive explosions and earn points. Discover hidden unlocks, character skins, and achievements in this unique indie puzzle game.

Highlights
  • Candle dropping gameplay
  • Black hole and miniature sun mechanics
  • Castle exploration
  • Character selection and skins
  • In-game achievements and unlocks
  • Strategic light alignment for explosions
Features
Read full description

Candle Drop is a game about candles. But it is also about black holes, miniature suns, castle secrets, and a ton of hidden unlocks and things to discover! Choose your starting candle, drop down into the belly of a dark and moody castle, and drop more candles. Try to get their lights to line up to cause a massive explosion and earn some points! Visit the basement to explore character selection and skins, and go even deeper to chase all of the in-game achievements and unlocks! This game was the first game made by me and my good friend Curtis. It is the manifestation of our love for video games and my personal dream-come-true. Over a year of work and learning how to make it all and we have something new and unique, and something I couldn't be prouder to share with you. One of our biggest focuses was to give the game a soul. No overused mainstream basic graphics or gameplay. No relentless popup ads or in-game pay-to-win purchases. And no corners cut in the makings. We truly made something that we would play ourselves. And I hope you'll take the time to enjoy it, too. Thanks :) Note: Preview images from both iPhone and iPad versions are interchangeable.

About

Walk on Thin Ice

Features
Read full description

You're an explorer stranded on a frozen lake, and the only way home is a ship somewhere ahead of you. There's just one problem: every tile you step on starts to crack, and after enough cracks it melts into open water. Walk somewhere once, and you might be walking there for the last time. Walk on Thin Ice is a minimalist puzzle game about planning your own escape route before you seal it off yourself. Every level is a small grid, a handful of moves, and one goal — but the ice remembers everywhere you've been, and a path that looks safe on your first step can strand you three moves later. DAILY PUZZLE A new puzzle every day of the year, 365 in all. Open the calendar, pick a day, and get an optional reminder that takes you straight to that day's puzzle. HOW TO PLAY - Move one tile at a time — up, down, left, or right — by swiping or tapping an adjacent tile. Tap a farther tile instead and you'll walk the whole path there in one go. - Every tile cracks a little more each time you step onto it. After a few cracks, it turns to water — stand on it when that happens, and you're done. - Reach the ship to complete the level. Fewer moves earns more stars. - Made a mistake? Undo up to 5 moves, or restart the level from scratch. HAZARDS - Rock — blocks your path outright, unless you're carrying a pickaxe to mine through it. - Fire — cracks every tile around it, every single turn, whether you're nearby or not. - Wind — sweeps you one or more extra tiles in the direction it's blowing, cracking everything it carries you across. Ride it right and it's a shortcut; misjudge it and it's how you strand yourself. GEAR - Pickaxe — a one-time use that breaks through a single rock. - Snowshoes — four charges that stop badly-cracked ice from cracking any further while you cross it. - Compass — once you've found it, a needle on your HUD always points the way to the ship, even across ice you haven't explored yet. - SOS flare — some crossings hide the ship until you signal for it; find the flare and it appears. - CO2 canister — freezes a crumbling tile rock-solid right before it would've dropped you into the water, three uses per canister. - Wooden scraps — build a permanent bridge across open water, one plank at a time. - Ski poles — plant them once and the wind can crack the ice under you, but it can't push you around anymore. ANIMALS Arctic animals are hiding across the six expeditions: foxes and owls, reindeer and polar bears, seals, walruses, orcas and more. Step onto one on the ice and it slips away, leaving fresh ice behind. Animals out on the water need a wooden-scraps plank to reach: bridge over and they are free. Expeditions bundle levels into themed sets with their own painted landscape, difficulty curve, star ratings, and achievements to unlock as you go. Later expeditions branch — choose a path, discover a dead end or two along the way, and every branch you've found stays open for next time. No timers, no penalties for thinking — just you, the ice, and the choices you can't take back. Play your way: on iPad in landscape, the level list and the live puzzle sit side by side. Prefer a different look? Switch to the Anime tile theme in Settings.

Screenshots

Candle Drop4 screens
Walk on Thin Ice4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Candle Drop at none against Walk on Thin Ice's 3. Candle Drop also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Walk on Thin Ice's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Walk on Thin Ice sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Candle Drop asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Candle Drop ships an update every 3 weeks, Walk on Thin Ice every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Candle Drop versus Walk on Thin Ice: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCandle DropWalk on Thin Ice
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (17 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings17 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size257 MB240 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGAVIN CURTIS LESTERyury chebiryak

In-app purchases

None

Candle Drop

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Walk on Thin Ice

One-time3
  • Small Tip$1.99
  • Medium Tip$4.99
  • Large Tip$9.99

Questions

Is Candle Drop free?
Candle Drop is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Walk on Thin Ice free?
Walk on Thin Ice is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Candle Drop or Walk on Thin Ice have ads?
Candle Drop shows ads; Walk on Thin Ice does not.
Which is updated more often, Candle Drop or Walk on Thin Ice?
Candle Drop ships an update every 3 weeks, and Walk on Thin Ice every 4 days. Most recently, Candle Drop was updated on October 24, 2026 and Walk on Thin Ice on October 20, 2026.

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