Comparison

Shadowmatic vs LVL

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

LVL

This minimalistic puzzle game challenges players to think in 3D while solving 2D puzzles. It features over 50 hand-crafted levels and an endless mode with randomly generated puzzles. The unique gameplay requires players to consider interactions on opposite faces of the puzzle.

Highlights
  • 50+ hand-crafted levels
  • 150+ incredible puzzles
  • Unlimited randomly-generated levels
  • Minimalist design
  • Think in 3D for 2D puzzles
  • Interact with opposite faces
Read full description

LVL is the new minimalistic puzzle that blends 3D into 2D with a twist! - 50+ hand-crafted levels with 150+ incredible puzzles - unlimited randomly-generated levels for endless mode - minimalist design - 11 different languages support LVL forces players to think in 3D while solving puzzles in 2D. Most of the puzzles of LVL can not be solved by interacting pieces on a single face. Players have to think possible solutions that involve replacing pieces on the current face and opposite face of it.

Screenshots

Shadowmatic4 screens
LVL4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: LVL at Free against Shadowmatic's $3.99. LVL also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 5) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). Shadowmatic's advantage is chart position (#23 vs unranked) and ratings volume (2.1K vs 397). On rating, review sentiment, 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

LVL is free to download; Shadowmatic costs $3.99 up front. Shadowmatic sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. LVL asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Shadowmatic against 4.7 for LVL. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shadowmatic has 2.1K ratings behind it against 397, 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 90% of LVL's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shadowmatic ships an update every 2 months, LVL every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and June 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Shadowmatic versus LVL: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShadowmaticLVL
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (2.1K ratings) — better4.7 (397 ratings)
Positive reviews85.8% of reviews89.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.1K — better397
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#23 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size388 MB130 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTRIADA StudioErtan Unver

Customer experience

Shadowmatic

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

LVL

All ratings397 ratings
Positive95.0%
Neutral2.3%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews257 reviews
Positive89.9%
Neutral5.4%
Negative4.7%

User reviews

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

LVL

From 397 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Wonderful game
  • 👍 由淺入深的遊戲
  • 👍 simple and satisfying
  • 👍 Lvl
  • 👍 schlicht und gut

Room to improve

  • 🐛 stope music
  • 🔋 電池食う
  • 🔋 Не оптимально
  • 🔋 Игра отличная!
  • 🐛 Game needs some fixing

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

LVL

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • the game start from the beginning when changing mobile device
  • The endless version keeps crashing, please fix!
  • Swipe controls are poor, making it a pain to change surfaces.
  • Your new upgrade is terrible. Very jerky. Liked the old one much better.

Requested features

3 requests
  • Move a piece off the cube so it would be easier to rearrange larger pieces.
  • a simple button to deactivate the sound
  • Different geometric prisms instead of cubes and cubes within cubes

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

LVL

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shadowmatic free?
Shadowmatic costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is LVL free?
LVL is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Shadowmatic or LVL?
Shadowmatic is rated higher. Shadowmatic averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.1K ratings, while LVL averages 4.7 from 397 ratings.
Do Shadowmatic or LVL have ads?
Neither Shadowmatic nor LVL shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shadowmatic or LVL?
Shadowmatic ships an update every 2 months, and LVL every 3 weeks. Most recently, Shadowmatic was updated on September 22, 2026 and LVL on June 11, 2026.

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