Comparison

Nicole vs Hosted Games

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

Head to head
About

Nicole

Experience college life while unraveling a campus mystery. Engage in daily activities, take part-time jobs, and interact with intriguing characters. You might even find yourself dating the culprit.

Highlights
  • Dating sim gameplay
  • Campus mystery storyline
  • Part-time jobs for income
  • Explore various locations
  • Multiple dating options
  • Multiple endings
Features
Read full description

Nicole is thrilled that she managed to get into her first choice school and is looking forward to experiencing college life there. However, as soon as she moves into the university dorms, she finds out that there’s been a series of mysterious disappearances going on around the campus! So far, three girls have already gone missing and Nicole could be next if she’s not too careful – not quite the ideal college experience Nicole had in mind. Nicole is a dating sim that revolves around your day-to-day life as a college student. You can take up part-time jobs to earn money, explore various locations, do recreational and extra-curricular activities, and meet intriguing characters like Darren, Kurt, Jeff and Ted. You might even get to date the culprit! - Four different boys to date: Jeff, Ted, Darren & Kurt with 10 different endings - Discover the true identity of the culprit. Careful, you could be dating him! - Life simulation gameplay with several places to visit and activities to choose from - Classic dating sim with several statistics and items to buy

About

Hosted Games

Explore a vast library of text-based interactive novels where your choices shape the narrative. Engage in diverse genres from horror and fantasy to romance and sci-fi, all powered by your imagination. Create your own stories using a simple scripting language.

Highlights
  • Vast library of interactive novels
  • Text-based storytelling
  • Choice-driven narratives
  • Multiple genres available
  • Create your own games
  • ChoiceScript programming language
Features
Read full description

The choice is yours! Joust for love and glory, solve an eldritch murder, find romance, or battle aliens with Magitek? "Hosted Games" is a magnificent library of interactive novels, written by authors like you. Hosted Games are entirely text-based—without graphics or sound effects—and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination. Try a few of these fan favorites: • Zombie Exodus — Fight your way out of a zombie-filled city in this interactive horror story! • Fallen Hero — Step into the shoes of a telepath turned villain and explore the dark side. • Wayhaven Chronicles — Something stalks the shadows, and it's up to you to find out what! • Sabres of Infinity — Step into the boots of a Royal Dragoon in this tale of war in a fantasy world. • Golden Rose — Explore a medieval Europe where history took a different turn! • Soul Stone War — Fight for the future—your own, and the world's! Your fate is yours. • I, the Forgotten One — Can you defeat the rebellion in your kingdom before your past consumes you? • An Unexpectedly Green Journey — From birth to death, craft your orc's legacy. Are you destined for glory? • Fields of Asphodel — Join the ranks of the Underworld's misfit gods and make it your home! • Tin Star — Ride out into the Old West as a U.S. marshal and craft a legend. Authors just like you have developed these games using ChoiceScript, a simple programming language for writing multiple-choice interactive novels. Writing games with ChoiceScript is easy and fun, even for authors with no programming experience. Learn more at https://hostedgames.org

Screenshots

Nicole4 screens
Hosted Games4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Hosted Games at 4.7 against Nicole's 4.2. Hosted Games also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 20 months) and review sentiment (77% vs 61%). Nicole's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Both are free to download. Nicole sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Hosted Games sells 33 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Hosted Games holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hosted Games has 956 ratings behind it against 108, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of Nicole's written reviews are positive against 77% of Hosted Games's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nicole ships an update every 20 months, Hosted Games every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Nicole versus Hosted Games: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNicoleHosted Games
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (108 ratings)4.7 (956 ratings) — better
Positive reviews61.3% of reviews77.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings108956 — better
Update frequencyEvery 20 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size118 MB94 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperCelso RivaHosted Games LLC

Customer experience

Nicole

All ratings109 ratings
Positive75.2%
Neutral9.2%
Negative15.6%
Written reviews155 reviews
Positive61.3%
Neutral13.5%
Negative25.2%

Hosted Games

All ratings956 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral1.7%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews213 reviews
Positive77.5%
Neutral6.6%
Negative16.0%

Bugs and requests

Nicole

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Ending glitches preventing true endings
  • Progress loss after exiting the app
  • Compatibility issues on older devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • More free content in trial version
  • Ability to switch between love interests
  • Longer gameplay duration
  • Improved save/load functionality

Hosted Games

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Nicole

One-time2
  • Add 100 units of in-game currency$0.99
  • Unlock all male romances$5.99
33 purchases

Hosted Games

One-time33
  • Dragon of Steelthorne$2.99
  • Side Stories 21-30$2.99
  • First Bull Run$2.99
Show 30 more
  • Tokyo Wizard$2.99
  • It Takes Three to Tango$3.99
  • Divine Ascension$4.99
  • Samurai of Hyuga$4.99
  • Keeper's Vigil$5.99
  • World War II Armored Recon$5.99
  • Life as a Lich$5.99
  • Velocity: The Race Begins$6.99
  • Keeper of the Sun and Moon$6.99
  • Samurai of Hyuga Book 6$6.99
  • Fallen Hero: Rebirth$6.99
  • Hero or Villain: Genesis$6.99
  • A Kiss from Death$6.99
  • Kitsune$6.99
  • Whiskey-Four$6.99
  • Wayhaven Chronicles: Book One$7.99
  • The Soul Stone War$7.99
  • Leas: City of the Sun$7.99
  • The People's House$7.99
  • Scales of Justice$7.99
  • Tale of Two Cranes$8.99
  • Breach: The Archangel Job$8.99
  • Wayhaven Chronicles: Book Two$8.99
  • Saturnine$8.99
  • The Golden Rose: Book One$11.99
  • Diaspora$11.99
  • Wayhaven Chronicles Three$11.99
  • Fallen Hero: Retribution$11.99
  • An Unexpectedly Green Journey$11.99
  • Fields of Asphodel$11.99

Questions

Is Nicole free?
Nicole is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hosted Games free?
Hosted Games is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Nicole or Hosted Games?
Hosted Games is rated higher. Nicole averages 4.2 out of 5 from 108 ratings, while Hosted Games averages 4.7 from 956 ratings.
Do Nicole or Hosted Games have ads?
Hosted Games shows ads; Nicole does not.
Which is updated more often, Nicole or Hosted Games?
Nicole ships an update every 20 months, and Hosted Games every 10 days. Most recently, Nicole was updated on October 20, 2026 and Hosted Games on October 18, 2026.

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