Comparison

PULSE vs Skycatching

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

Head to head
About

PULSE

Engage in a procedural music survival game where your taps influence the evolving soundtrack. Tap in sync with energy pulses to score points, build combos, and unlock new musical layers. Experience a unique audiovisual journey with every playthrough.

Highlights
  • Procedural music generation
  • Rhythm-based survival gameplay
  • Timing-based scoring system
  • Reactive visuals and haptics
  • Unlockable musical layers
  • Shareable musical seeds
Features
Read full description

PULSE is a procedural music survival game where every tap shapes the track. Pulses of energy travel toward a gemstone reactor. Tap as each pulse crosses the fixed outer hit-zone ring. The closer your timing, the more points you earn. Build a combo, reveal new musical layers, survive the countdown, and release the full composition in EUPHORIA. Every run begins with a musical seed that defines its tempo, rhythm, sound palette, and visual atmosphere. Your timing and play style determine how that seed evolves. Replay the same seed and chase a stronger performance—or share its musical DNA and compare how differently another player transforms it. Features include single-tap rhythm survival gameplay, procedural music shaped by timing and precision, five timing grades, reactive gemstone visuals and haptics, unlockable musical layers, selectable player instruments, responsive mix controls, Game Center rankings, and shareable seeds. Play the full game free with Original, Spectrum, Obsidian Prism, and Paper Waves. Theme Set 1 adds fifteen complete visual themes in one optional, one-time purchase. Existing paid PULSE owners receive Theme Set 1 free. Themes change the look of the game while the music, timing, scoring, and game rules stay the same. Find sound, visuals, theme packs, and more games by D-CSIL in Settings. The better you play, the more the music reveals itself. Developed by Derrington Collaborative Synthetic Intelligence Labs (D-CSIL).

About

Skycatching

Explore the real night sky from your location. Catch stars and planets to build your fleet, upgrade your equipment, and defend your constellations from intruders. Enjoy a unique astronomical adventure that works anytime, anywhere.

Highlights
  • Real-time sky simulation
  • Star and planet catching mechanics
  • Fleet building and upgrades
  • Constellation defense
  • Custom constellation drawing
  • Offline play
Features
Read full description

The sky in Skycatching is the real sky above you, right now. It's calculated from 119,625 stars, the planets, the time and where you're standing. Point your phone at the ceiling and the stars are still there, in the right place. Aim at a star and press when the marker hits the zone. That's a catch. Every catch earns fragments. Upgrade your optics and fainter stars get easier. Or build a cannon for the raiders that cross the sky. Every star you catch joins your fleet. Its strength comes from how much light it really gives off, so Deneb beats Sirius. When an intruder takes one of your constellations, pick five stars and win it back. Six final bosses are waiting at the end. Three times a week, a tournament: everyone fights the same boss with the same stars. Break its shield to ready your squad's trick, and climb the Game Center leaderboard. Catch both ends of a line and it lights up. Orion builds itself over a few nights. You can also draw and name your own. Fly to any star. Tap "fly there" and travel to it past the real stars on the way. Up close it has the surface its kind of star has, and the dozen that have actually been imaged, like Betelgeuse, are drawn as they were found. Then see the planets known to go round it, beside our own. Don't want the game? Switch to Sky mode and one press logs a star. Everything you log counts if you start playing later. Works at noon, indoors and under clouds. No account, no ads, nothing to buy. Your location never leaves your phone. Game Center is optional.

Screenshots

PULSE4 screens
Skycatching4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Skycatching at none against PULSE's 1. Skycatching also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs weekly). PULSE's advantage is ratings volume (8 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. PULSE sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Skycatching asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for PULSE against 5.0 for Skycatching. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PULSE has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PULSE ships an update weekly, Skycatching every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
PULSE versus Skycatching: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPULSESkycatching
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (8 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings8 — better1
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB13 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperPaul DerringtonMatej Blinka

Customer experience

PULSE

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Skycatching

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

PULSE

One-time1
  • Theme Set 1$4.99
None

Skycatching

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PULSE free?
PULSE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Skycatching free?
Skycatching is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PULSE or Skycatching?
PULSE and Skycatching are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 8 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do PULSE or Skycatching have ads?
Neither PULSE nor Skycatching shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PULSE or Skycatching?
PULSE ships an update weekly, and Skycatching every 3 days. Most recently, PULSE was updated on October 31, 2026 and Skycatching on October 31, 2026.

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