Comparison

Shivah vs John Ray Space Adventure

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

Head to head
About

Shivah

Step into the shoes of a rabbi investigating a mysterious inheritance. Explore Manhattan, uncover the truth, and make moral choices that shape the story's outcome. This remastered adventure features new graphics, music, and multiple endings.

Highlights
  • Remastered graphics and music
  • Rabbinical conversation methods
  • Unique fighting system
  • Haunting musical score
  • Three distinct endings
  • Detective-style puzzles
Features
Read full description

The Shivah: Kosher Edition - Completely remastered with all-new graphics and music! Russell Stone is a Jewish rabbi at a struggling synagogue in New York City. He is a devout man with a problem - membership is down and he lacks the funds to keep his synagogue open. Things are looking very bleak, and he has grown progressively more cynical and bitter with the passage of time. Just as he is on the verge of quitting, he receives some intriguing news. An estranged member of his congregation has died and left the rabbi a significant amount of money. A blessing? Or the start of something far more sinister? Can Rabbi Stone just accept the money and move on, or will his conscience get the better of him? Step into his shoes as he travels all over Manhattan in his attempt to uncover the truth. Features rabbinical conversation methods, a unique method of fighting, a haunting score, and three different endings depending on your moral choices. _____________________________________________ REVIEWS PocketGamer - "Its unique cast of characters, intriguing storyline, and sharp detective-style conundrums mean it's well worth playing this thoughtful and pensive adventure." Score: 9/10, Gold Award Cult of Mac - "Tricky puzzles, a great hero, and an interesting plot." Score: 5/5 148Apps - "The perfect bite-sized adventure that'll whet one's curiosity for many answers to life, death, choices, and mystery." Score: 4.5/5 MacLife - "The Shivah makes the jump to iOS gracefully. It’s rare that a game’s plot, characters, genre, and platform mesh as neatly as they do in this short and bittersweet tale." Score: 4.5/5 IGN Italia - "The Shivar: Kosher Edition represents a great opportunity to play a solid, mature, fascinating and original graphic adventure." Score: 8/10 Adventure Gamers - "The Shivah's interesting clues system, well-written dialog, logical puzzles and fascinating commentary make it easy to recommend." Score: 4/5 GameZebo - "The game addresses philosophical questions that have been with humankind since we first learned how to look upwards and wonder. ... The Shivah: Kosher Edition doesn't have all the answers, but it does supply a top-notch adventure experience." Score: 4/5 The Onion A.V. Club - "The Shivah fits a compelling moral conscience over a tight decision tree, and compared to [other titles], its rewards are subtler and more satisfying."

About

John Ray Space Adventure

Embark on a retro point-and-click adventure as a space archaeologist searching for ancient artifacts. Explore planets, interact with characters, solve puzzles, and uncover the secrets of a forgotten civilization. This indie game offers a classic adventure experience with pixel art and atmospheric music.

Highlights
  • Retro point-and-click gameplay
  • Space archaeology theme
  • Pixel art graphics
  • Inventory puzzles
  • Interactive world
  • Atmospheric music and sound effects
  • Manual and auto-save options
Features
Read full description

John Ray's Space Adventure Archeology, Adventure, Artifacts. To excavate where no space archeologist has dug before. An indie adventure game! An retro point and click adventure game about John Ray, a space archaeologist, under contract by the wealthy Mr. Maljerk. John's adventure begins with the search for ancient artifacts scattered throughout the local star system. These artifacts are part of a powerful device left by a technologically advanced but mostly forgotten Xec race. Travel between planets, talk to people and robots, make friends, collect inventory items, solve puzzles and interact with the world. This is gameplay in the best point and click tradition. Independent game design, writing, development and publishing. Features: - John Ray's Space Adventure is a classic point & click adventure game. - Beautiful pixel art (hope you like it). - Wonderful scenes and worlds are waiting to be discovered. - Players become John Ray, a space archeologist. - There are many characters to talk to. - There is some humor and surprises. - Items can be collected and used to solve inventory puzzles. - John can interact with objects and inventory items. - Atmospheric ambient music and cool sound effects (see the credits to check out more from the musicians). - The game is in English without a voice-over for a classic gaming experience. - A hotspot-highlighting-function helps minimize pixel hunting. - Save game slots manually or use the convenient auto-save. - An advanced adventure game player will probably need a weekend to finish it, less experienced players may need one to two weeks. - An indie game from beginning to the end. - Available for iOS and Mac, so you can play it via touch or with a mouse.

Screenshots

Shivah4 screens
John Ray Space Adventure4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: John Ray Space Adventure at 4.6 against Shivah's 4.0. John Ray Space Adventure also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 9 months). Shivah's advantage is price ($1.99 vs $5.99) and ratings volume (40 vs 9). On review sentiment, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Shivah costs $1.99 and John Ray Space Adventure $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

John Ray Space Adventure holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 40 and 9 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 72% and 71% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shivah ships an update every 9 months, John Ray Space Adventure fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Shivah versus John Ray Space Adventure: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShivahJohn Ray Space Adventure
Price$1.99 — better$5.99
Rating4.0 (40 ratings)4.6 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.0% of reviews — better71.4% of reviews
Number of ratings40 — better9
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS5.1.1 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size115 MB145 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperWadjet Eye Games LLCAdam Musial-Bright

Customer experience

Shivah

All ratings40 ratings
Positive67.5%
Neutral17.5%
Negative15.0%
Written reviews82 reviews
Positive72.0%
Neutral12.2%
Negative15.9%

John Ray Space Adventure

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral11.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative14.3%

Bugs and requests

Shivah

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Computer password not working
  • Login issues on computer
  • Game freezes on login screen (implied by password issue)
  • Inventory slider bug on iOS 7

Requested features

10 requests
  • Extend the story plot
  • Add more characters
  • More interactive objects
  • Improve character development for minor characters
  • Add more locations/scenes
Show 5 more
  • Make the final fight less repetitive
  • More in-game toys/interactions
  • Fix inventory issues on iOS 7
  • Cut lengthy opening sequence
  • More complex puzzles

John Ray Space Adventure

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Shivah

No in-app purchases

None

John Ray Space Adventure

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shivah free?
Shivah costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is John Ray Space Adventure free?
John Ray Space Adventure costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Shivah or John Ray Space Adventure?
John Ray Space Adventure is rated higher. Shivah averages 4.0 out of 5 from 40 ratings, while John Ray Space Adventure averages 4.6 from 9 ratings.
Do Shivah or John Ray Space Adventure have ads?
Neither Shivah nor John Ray Space Adventure shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shivah or John Ray Space Adventure?
Shivah ships an update every 9 months, and John Ray Space Adventure fortnightly. Most recently, Shivah was updated on October 29, 2026 and John Ray Space Adventure on October 24, 2026.

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