Comparison

Vertex Core vs Pulse

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

Head to head
About

Vertex Core

Features
Read full description

SWIPE. FIRE. SURVIVE THE TUBE. Vertex Core is a neon vector tube shooter built for one-thumb-fire, one-thumb-swipe mobile play. Spin around a glowing wireframe web, blast down everything crawling toward your rim, and chain kills into screen-clearing power. • PURE VECTOR STYLE - every line on screen is drawn in real time. No sprites, no textures. Just glowing neon against black. • SEVEN ENEMY TYPES - cartwheeling Tumblers, splitting Splitters, wall-climbing Impalers, lane-electrifying Conductors, swarming packs, and Hunters that shoot back. Learn them, or lose to them. • THREE POWER-UPS - a tube-clearing Plasma Bomb, piercing Laser Storm, and a time-bending Chrono Field. Bank them. Unleash them when it counts. • BOSS BATTLES EVERY 6 LEVELS - a colossal, ever-morphing Core Guardian descends from the sky. Armored. Evasive. Only vulnerable in the instant its core cracks open. Beat it and earn a wingman. • ENDLESS VARIETY - 10 tube shapes and 8 color schemes cycle independently, so the run never looks the same way twice. • CHASE THE LEADERBOARD - a local top-8 table, three-letter arcade name and all. No ads mid-run, no pay-to-win. Free through the first boss fight. Unlock the full run whenever you're ready to go further. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Pulse

Features
Read full description

Pulse is minimalist pinball for iPhone. Clean tables. Quiet focus. Rules with real depth under the surface. Start on PULSE, the free table. Learn the shots, the modes, and how the table wants to be played. When you want more, unlock THE VAULT and THE ABYSS on their own, or unlock every premium table at once. WHY PULSE • Minimal look, serious pinball logic • Three distinct tables with their own feel • Built for short sessions and long ones • Plays on your device. No account required • Analytics stay on device TABLES • PULSE: included free • THE VAULT: premium table • THE ABYSS: premium table Unlock THE VAULT or THE ABYSS individually, or unlock both with the bundle. Family Sharing is supported where available. Pinball without the noise. Just you, the ball, and the table.

Screenshots

Vertex Core3 screens
Pulse4 screens

Verdict

The call

Vertex Core and Pulse are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Vertex Core sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Pulse sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Vertex Core ships an update daily, Pulse every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Vertex Core versus Pulse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVertex CorePulse
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 3 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size132 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSPRUCE PROJECT, Y.K.Niv Nisanov

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Vertex Core

One-time1
  • Vertex Core Full Version$2.99
3 purchases

Pulse

One-time3
  • Unlock THE VAULT$1.99
  • Unlock THE ABYSS$1.99
  • Unlock All Tables$2.99

Questions

Is Vertex Core free?
Vertex Core is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pulse free?
Pulse is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Vertex Core or Pulse have ads?
Neither Vertex Core nor Pulse shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Vertex Core or Pulse?
Vertex Core ships an update daily, and Pulse every 3 days. Most recently, Vertex Core was updated on October 15, 2026 and Pulse on October 12, 2026.

Other comparisons