Comparison

Blek vs Shadowmatic

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

Head to head
About

Blek

This is a minimalist puzzle game that challenges your imagination. Draw a line that collects all colored circles while avoiding obstacles. Discover elegant solutions and enjoy a magical experience as your creations come to life.

Highlights
  • Draw and animate lines
  • Collect colored circles
  • Avoid black holes
  • Multiple solutions per level
  • Elegant and intuitive design
Features
Read full description

Blek is a unique game about imagination and personality. Everything you draw keeps moving – and watching your creations move is like watching magic. The goal is simple: shape a line that collects all colored circles avoiding black holes on its route. There are no specific moves that you need to master. To every level countless solutions exist, from delightfully simple to exceptionally deep and complex, yet always elegant. ----- Articles & Commentaries ----- "The Most Brilliant iPad Game I've Played All Year." ~ Kotaku "One of the greatest joys of Blek is experimenting with your approach." ~ WIRED "It’s the sort of game you’d want to put on a space probe: when the aliens play it, they’ll take a liking to us right away." ~ The New Yorker "Wonderful experience" ~ Pocket Gamer "Blek is a thing of elegant, intuitive beauty" ~ Edge "One of the year’s best" ~ The New York Times ----- Awards ----- • Apple Design Award • Best Mobile Game - Casual Connect, Amsterdam • Excellence in Innovation - International Mobile Gaming Awards • Best Game - Content Award Vienna"

About

Shadowmatic

Rotate abstract objects in a spotlight to cast recognizable silhouettes. Explore unique environments with captivating music and stunning visuals. Discover unexpected shapes and solve mind-bending puzzles.

Highlights
  • Rotate abstract objects
  • Create recognizable silhouettes
  • Stunning visuals
  • Relaxing gameplay
  • Unique thematic environments
  • Assistant button for hints
Features
Read full description

** Apple Design Award Winner ** ** App Store Best of 2015 ** Shadowmatic is an imagination-stirring puzzle where you rotate abstract objects in a spotlight to find recognizable silhouettes in projected shadows, relevant to the surrounding environment. “Other Worlds” is a chapter of Shadowmatic with over 30 levels in 3 unique thematic environments: Ancient Worlds, Music and Space. The chapter is available as a separate purchase. The game combines stunning visuals with relaxing and captivating gameplay. On your journey to discover the right solution you will stumble upon many unexpected and infinitely varied silhouettes. The game features 15 rooms, each flavored with unique concept, atmosphere, and music. - - - - - - - - - - “Simple to the point of beauty, and beautiful to the point of becoming a work of art, this is a game you won't want to win, because you won't want the experience to end” - Pocket Gamer “It's fun, it's unique, and it's the perfect type of game to show off to people who typically don't play video games, as it's almost like an interactive piece of art” - Touch Arcade “It’s always awesome to see a breathtaking, unique, and thoroughly innovative puzzle game pop up on the App Store” - Macworld “Full of whimsical puzzles and thoughtful designs, Shadowmatic is a delightful and captivating iOS game” - CNET “'Fantastically original': Shadowmatic works modern-day wonders with the ancient Chinese art of shadow puppetry” - The Guardian “It’s like a mind-bending shadow-puppet spectacle” - TIME “This game requires you to look at things a little differently” - Washington Post - - - - - - - - - - Hints. The game includes a system of hints. To enjoy the game to its fullest, however, we recommend resorting to them on rare occasions only. Assistant Button. The Assistant button in the upper right corner will help you solve the puzzle by gradually rotating the objects in the correct direction. When you press the button, Hint-Points are used Music. Every room in the game features its own music arrangement, adding up to the distinctive atmosphere and feel in each. The music is best experienced with headphones, and is available separately on iTunes. -- More than 130 levels in 15 unique environments -- Gorgeous graphics -- Secondary objectives -- Assistant Button -- Nonlinear level progression -- 3D parallax view -- Achievements -- Arcade Mode -- Synchronization with Apple TV ** The game is optimized for every iOS device separately (starting from iPhone 5s and newer), however it's best experienced on the latest devices. Follow us on Twitter: @ShadowmaticGame Join us on Facebook: @Shadowmatic Follow us on Instagram: @Shadowmatic Questions? Shoot us an email: support@triadastudiogames.com ----------------------------------------------------- Triada Studio is a computer graphics and animation studio with over 20 years of industry experience. Shadowmatic is the company’s first project that bridges its vast computer graphics experience with an experimental in-house 3D engine.

Screenshots

Blek4 screens
Shadowmatic4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Blek at none against Shadowmatic's 5. Shadowmatic's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (86% vs 73%). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and chart position 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

Blek costs $4.99 and Shadowmatic $3.99 up front. Shadowmatic sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Blek asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Shadowmatic holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 795 and 2.1K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Blek's written reviews are positive against 86% of Shadowmatic's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Blek ships an update every 3 months, Shadowmatic every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Blek versus Shadowmatic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBlekShadowmatic
Price$4.99$3.99 — better
Rating4.5 (795 ratings)4.8 (2.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.3% of reviews85.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7952.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#72#31 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS11.011.0
Further details — not scored
Size196 MB388 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerkunabi brother GmbHTRIADA Studio

Customer experience

Blek

All ratings795 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral4.4%
Negative7.4%
Written reviews769 reviews
Positive73.3%
Neutral7.3%
Negative19.4%

Shadowmatic

All ratings2,090 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral2.2%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews423 reviews
Positive85.8%
Neutral5.4%
Negative8.7%

User reviews

Blek

From 795 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💡 Unique and creative concept
  • 👍 Relaxing and challenging gameplay
  • 🚀 Simple yet elegant design
  • 👍 No ads or in-app purchases

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and compatibility issues
  • 🔊 Annoying sound effects
  • 👎 Lack of instructions/tutorials
  • 👎 Repetitive and gets boring over time

Shadowmatic

From 2.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💡 Unique and creative gameplay
  • 👍 Relaxing and calming experience
  • 🎨 Beautiful graphics and visuals
  • 🧠 Challenging puzzles that exercise the mind
  • 🎶 Soothing background music

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Precision issues with controls, especially for complex puzzles
  • 🤔 Unclear objectives at times, making it difficult to understand what the desired solution is
  • ⏱️ Frustration when getting stuck on a puzzle for a long time
  • 👀 Difficult for left-handed players due to the positioning of the controls

Bugs and requests

Blek

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when trying to save screenshots
  • Compatibility issues on larger screens
  • Line disappears randomly during gameplay

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more levels and content
  • Implement a level select or skip option
  • Add sound/music controls
  • Improve UI and controls

Shadowmatic

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crashes or freezes on certain devices, especially newer iPad models
  • Progress not saving properly, causing players to lose progress

Requested features

4 requests
  • More levels and new puzzle types to keep the game fresh
  • Ability to save progress and resume puzzles
  • Option to mirror the game screen for left-handed players
  • Hints that provide more useful guidance, not just the final solution

In-app purchases

None

Blek

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Shadowmatic

One-time5
  • Pack of 20 Hint-Points$0.99
  • "Other Worlds" chapter$1.99
  • Pack of 50 Hint-Points$1.99
Show 2 more
  • Pack of 150 Hint-Points$3.99
  • Pack of 500 Hint-Points$7.99

Questions

Is Blek free?
Blek costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shadowmatic free?
Shadowmatic costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Blek or Shadowmatic?
Shadowmatic is rated higher. Blek averages 4.5 out of 5 from 795 ratings, while Shadowmatic averages 4.8 from 2.1K ratings.
Do Blek or Shadowmatic have ads?
Neither Blek nor Shadowmatic shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Blek or Shadowmatic?
Blek ships an update every 3 months, and Shadowmatic every 2 months. Most recently, Blek was updated on September 23, 2026 and Shadowmatic on September 25, 2026.
Which is more popular, Blek or Shadowmatic?
Blek currently peaks at #72 in the App Store charts, and Shadowmatic at #31. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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