Comparison

Neon Spire vs Paper Arrows

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

Head to head
About

Neon Spire

Features
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Neon Spire is a one-tap tower builder with a single rule: tap at the right moment. A glowing block slides across the screen. Tap to drop it. Land it dead-center and the block stays full size. Miss, and the overhang is sliced off and falls away, leaving you less room for the next one. Five perfect drops in a row triggers FEVER, slowing everything down and giving you a window to build a run. HOW TO PLAY - Tap anywhere to drop the block - Perfect landings keep your tower wide - Every miss makes the next drop harder - One run takes about 30 seconds FEATURES - One-tap controls, no tutorial needed - Plays entirely offline - No forced ads between every round - One-time purchase to remove ads permanently - Free to play Built by 10percent studio.

About

Paper Arrows

Slide arrows off a page to solve ambient puzzles. The game features a simple mechanic with increasing complexity, offering a relaxing experience with no timers or ads. Enjoy a hand-tuned track of levels and customizable visual themes.

Highlights
  • Intuitive arrow sliding mechanic
  • Ambient puzzle solving
  • No timers or ads
  • Customizable themes and paper textures
  • Hand-tuned level progression
  • Offline play
  • Accessibility features
Features
Read full description

Tap an arrow and it slides off the page. If something is in its way, it bumps, and that costs a heart. That is the whole rule. There is nothing else to learn, nothing to unlock, and no ads between you and the next board. Paper Arrows is ink on paper. The boards start as a handful of arrows and grow into hundreds, and every fifth one is a picture: a silhouette, a painting, a small scene whose colors are the board you are clearing. Clear the last arrow and the page exhales, a ripple crossing the empty grid, and one hand-drawn arrow draws itself in the middle. That is the reward. There is no confetti. No clock runs while you play. The only time you will see is how long you took, once you are done, and only if you look. Four hearts a board, or three, or five, whichever you pick. Three hints a level. If you would rather have hearts and hints without limit, both are free switches in Settings, because nothing here is for sale except a tip. Your board is saved where you left it, mid-level, across a relaunch. There is one puzzle a day, the same for everyone who plays it. Everything behind you can be replayed without losing your place. The track is hand-tuned to level 400 and keeps going after that. Play on warm paper, in deep ink, or in one black ink on a plain page. Pick a paper texture. Double tap the bare page and every control fades away, leaving you and the arrows. A library of quiet pieces plays while you are on a board and rests when you are not. If a podcast or your own music is already going, it stays quiet and lets yours play. VoiceOver reads every arrow by direction and place, and Voice Control can play the board. The text grows to the largest sizes, Increase Contrast makes the panels solid, and Reduce Motion is honored throughout. No ads. No coins. No energy. No timers. No accounts. No sign-in. Paper Arrows has no networking code in it at all, so there is nothing to collect and nowhere to send it. We do not track you. Never have, never will. If it gives you a quiet minute and you would like to help, there is a tip jar under Support Developer. It unlocks nothing, because nothing is locked.

Screenshots

Neon Spire4 screens
Paper Arrows4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Neon Spire at none against Paper Arrows's 4. Neon Spire also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Paper Arrows's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs every 4 days). 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. Paper Arrows sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Neon Spire asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Neon Spire ships an update every 4 days, Paper Arrows daily. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Neon Spire versus Paper Arrows: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNeon SpirePaper Arrows
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—4 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysDaily — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size75 MB112 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHARADA ISSEIJoaquin Moquette

In-app purchases

None

Neon Spire

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Paper Arrows

One-time4
  • Small brew...$1.99
  • Afternoon snack...$4.99
  • One more round...$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Quiet lunch...$9.99

Questions

Is Neon Spire free?
Neon Spire is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Paper Arrows free?
Paper Arrows is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Neon Spire or Paper Arrows have ads?
Neon Spire shows ads; Paper Arrows does not.
Which is updated more often, Neon Spire or Paper Arrows?
Neon Spire ships an update every 4 days, and Paper Arrows daily. Most recently, Neon Spire was updated on November 6, 2026 and Paper Arrows on November 10, 2026.

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