Shadowmatic vs Hidden Folks
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Rotate abstract objects
- Create recognizable silhouettes
- Stunning visuals
- Relaxing gameplay
- Unique thematic environments
- Assistant button for hints
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** 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.
Hidden Folks
Explore charming, hand-drawn worlds to find hidden characters. Interact with the environment by opening doors, cutting bushes, and more to reveal them. Unlock new areas as you discover enough targets.
- Hand-drawn interactive landscapes
- Hundreds of targets to find
- Unique environmental interactions
- Multiple color modes
- iMessage stickers
- Community-translated languages
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Game of the Year (2017) on the App Store! Search for hidden folks in hand-drawn, interactive, miniature landscapes. Unfurl tent flaps, cut through bushes, slam doors, and poke some crocodiles! Rooooaaaarrrr!!!!! A strip of targets shows you what to look for. Tap a target for a hint, and find enough to unlock the next area. ------/ Game Features /------ - 32 hand-drawn areas - 300+ targets to find - 2000+ mouth-originated sound effects - 500+ unique interactions - 3 color modes: normal, sepia, and night mode - 100+ iMessage stickers - iCloud synchronisation - 22 languages (translated by the community) ------/ Need help? /------ You can always email game designer Adriaan de Jongh: support@hiddenfolks.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hidden Folks at none against Shadowmatic's 5. Hidden Folks also leads on ratings volume (13K vs 2.1K). Shadowmatic's advantage is price ($3.99 vs $4.99) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence 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
Shadowmatic costs $3.99 and Hidden Folks $4.99 up front. Shadowmatic sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Hidden Folks asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Shadowmatic against 4.9 for Hidden Folks. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hidden Folks has 13K ratings behind it against 2.1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of Shadowmatic's written reviews are positive against 93% of Hidden Folks's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shadowmatic | Hidden Folks |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (2.1K ratings) | 4.9 (13K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.8% of reviews | 93.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.1K | 13K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #23 | #15 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 388 MB | 247 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TRIADA Studio | Hidden Folks B.V. |
Customer experience
Shadowmatic
Hidden Folks
User reviews
Shadowmatic
From 2.1K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Hidden Folks
From 13K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Charming, quirky art style
- 👍 Engaging, interactive gameplay
- 👍 Clever, humorous sound effects
- 👍 Relaxing, no-pressure experience
- 👍 Highly detailed, layered scenes
Room to improve
- 🔍 Some objects too small/hard to find
- 🔍 Difficulty level can be inconsistent
- 🔍 Lack of ability to zoom out on larger maps
- 💰 Paid updates/expansions required
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
Hidden Folks
Reported bugs
2 issues- Conveyor belt issue on factory level
- Certain hidden objects not appearing
Requested features
4 requests- More levels/content updates
- Ability to save/resume progress
- Customizable hint system
- Randomized/procedurally generated levels
In-app purchases
Shadowmatic
- Pack of 20 Hint-Points$0.99
- "Other Worlds" chapter$1.99
- Pack of 50 Hint-Points$1.99
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- Pack of 150 Hint-Points$3.99
- Pack of 500 Hint-Points$7.99
Hidden Folks
No in-app purchases









