Comparison

Shadowmatic vs hocus.

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

Head to head
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.

About

hocus.

Engage with a collection of mind-bending puzzles featuring impossible shapes. Create and share your own levels, or get assistance from AI when you're stuck. Explore both handcrafted challenges and an endless mode.

Highlights
  • 120 mind-bending handcrafted levels
  • Create and share custom levels
  • Load levels from pictures
  • Endless mode
  • AI-assisted gameplay
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

hocus. is celebrating 10th year; Let artificial intelligence design new levels for you. You can even get help from her if you get stuck. Best Games on iPhone; Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Middle East New, polished, mind-bending, impossible shapes. Features: • 120 mind-bending hand-craft levels • Create/share your own levels • Load / take picture of levels cards • Endless mode • Shortest path algorithm

Screenshots

Shadowmatic4 screens
hocus.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Shadowmatic at 4.8 against hocus.'s 4.3. Shadowmatic also leads on ratings volume (2.1K vs 234) and chart position (#23 vs #87). hocus.'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and price ($1.99 vs $3.99). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads 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

Shadowmatic costs $3.99 and hocus. $1.99 up front. Shadowmatic sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. hocus. asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Shadowmatic holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shadowmatic has 2.1K ratings behind it against 234, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 86% of Shadowmatic's written reviews are positive against 87% of hocus.'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shadowmatic ships an update every 2 months, hocus. every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Shadowmatic versus hocus.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShadowmatichocus.
Price$3.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.8 (2.1K ratings) — better4.3 (234 ratings)
Positive reviews85.8% of reviews87.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.1K — better234
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#23 — better#87
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size388 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTRIADA StudioGAMEBRAIN YAZILIM TEKNOLOJILERI ANONIM SIRKETI

Customer experience

Shadowmatic

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

hocus.

All ratings234 ratings
Positive80.3%
Neutral7.7%
Negative12.0%
Written reviews402 reviews
Positive87.1%
Neutral5.7%
Negative7.2%

Bugs and requests

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

hocus.

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
None

hocus.

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shadowmatic free?
Shadowmatic costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is hocus. free?
hocus. costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Shadowmatic or hocus.?
Shadowmatic is rated higher. Shadowmatic averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.1K ratings, while hocus. averages 4.3 from 234 ratings.
Do Shadowmatic or hocus. have ads?
Neither Shadowmatic nor hocus. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shadowmatic or hocus.?
Shadowmatic ships an update every 2 months, and hocus. every 5 weeks. Most recently, Shadowmatic was updated on September 22, 2026 and hocus. on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Shadowmatic or hocus.?
Shadowmatic currently peaks at #23 in the App Store charts, and hocus. at #87. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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