Comparison

VVVVVV vs Elderand

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

Head to head
About

VVVVVV

Experience a critically acclaimed indie platformer where you control gravity to navigate a challenging world. Avoid enemies and traps by flipping your surroundings. A retro-inspired adventure with a unique mechanic.

Highlights
  • Gravity flipping mechanic
  • Challenging platforming
  • Retro pixel art style
  • Award-winning indie game
  • Unique level design
Features
Read full description

From the creator of Super Hexagon - VVVVVV, the hit 2010 indie platformer, now available on iOS! Winner of Indiecade's 2010 award for Most Fun/Compelling Game. "One of the best platformers I've ever played." - Anthony Burch, Destructoid 10/10 "This game is incredible." - Michael Rose, Indiegames.com "The very best videogames in existence leave you with a whole mess of memories that are so varied and entertaining that you can leaf through them like a photo album. VVVVVV is one of those games." - Quintin Smith, Rock Paper Shotgun

About

Elderand

Embark on a brutal, skill-based action platformer in a Lovecraftian world. Wield diverse weapons and customize your character with RPG elements to battle terrifying creatures and explore a dark, hand-drawn pixel environment. Collect loot to upgrade your arsenal and uncover the land's secrets.

Highlights
  • Skill-based combat
  • Metroidvania exploration
  • Lovecraftian horror themes
  • RPG character customization
  • Diverse weapon arsenal
  • Hand-drawn pixel art
  • Loot collection and crafting
Features
Read full description

Become the hero of an epic quest in Elderand, a metroidvania that will test your will and skill. Heads will literally roll in this gruesome, retro-inspired action platformer, where only the strong will survive in brutal, skill-based combat against terrifying creatures. Through the darkness and madness, promised glory awaits. Wield a variety of killing instruments and abilities to test your metal against towering, bone-chilling bosses. Explore a twisted Lovecraftian world shrouded in darkness and madness. RPG elements allow you to customize your battle experience to your liking, from your character’s appearance to skills, stats, and weapons. Slay or be slain as you collect glory and treasure in this nightmarish 2D world. Glory and riches await those who can spill the required blood and guts to collect it. KEY FEATURES: •Wield an arsenal of killing devices, including whips, swords, daggers, axes, bows, and more. From a magical staff that shoots bursts of energy to a giant sword, different weapons have different stats and capabilities, so find the ones that you enjoy battling beasts with the most! •Satisfying Metroidvania-style exploration meets terrifying Lovecraftian creatures in this detailed hand-drawn pixel world with glorious gothic aesthetics and handcrafted level design. •RPG elements let you customize your experience to best suit your play style, from your character’s appearance to their skills, stats, and weapons. Collect loot from exploration and fallen enemies and then use it to upgrade your weapons via crafting. •Travel to the many corners of this perilous land, such as an inviting village with merchants, a forest, a temple prison, floating islands, a cursed Cathedral, and the hellscape that is Elderand itself. •More than 60 different enemy types and around a dozen bosses for your slaying pleasure. •Collect lost letters and other correspondence from the poor souls who came before you to learn more about the darkness taking hold of this grim land.

Screenshots

VVVVVV4 screens
Elderand4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Elderand at weekly against VVVVVV's every 18 months. VVVVVV's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 4.2) and price ($2.99 vs $6.99). On review sentiment, ads, in-app purchases 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

VVVVVV costs $2.99 and Elderand $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

VVVVVV holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: VVVVVV has 187 ratings behind it against 36, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of VVVVVV's written reviews are positive against 74% of Elderand's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

VVVVVV ships an update every 18 months, Elderand weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
VVVVVV versus Elderand: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVVVVVVElderand
Price$2.99 — better$6.99
Rating4.5 (187 ratings) — better4.2 (36 ratings)
Positive reviews74.8% of reviews — better73.7% of reviews
Number of ratings187 — better36
Update frequencyEvery 18 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS6.0 — better11.0
Further details — not scored
Size83 MB818 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperDistractionware LimitedPlug In Digital

Customer experience

VVVVVV

All ratings187 ratings
Positive86.1%
Neutral4.8%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews286 reviews
Positive74.8%
Neutral6.6%
Negative18.5%

Elderand

All ratings36 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral11.1%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews38 reviews
Positive73.7%
Neutral7.9%
Negative18.4%

User reviews

VVVVVV

From 187 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fun, worth the money, amazing
  • 👍 Great gameplay, story, and characters
  • 🎶 Amazing soundtrack

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Old, outdated port with issues
  • 📱 Controls not optimized for mobile
  • 🔍 Blurry graphics, low resolution

Elderand

From 36 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great game overall
  • 🗺️ Deep lore and world-building
  • 🎵 Amazing music and audio
  • ⚔️ Challenging yet approachable combat
  • 🎮 Excellent controller support (mostly)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Game crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Controls can be buggy and unresponsive
  • 🐛 Dash function sometimes not working
  • 🐛 Game freezes intermittently
  • 🐛 Bosses getting stuck in animations

Bugs and requests

VVVVVV

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Impossible user-created levels
  • Teleporter issues and softlocks
  • Frequent crashes and performance problems

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add controller support
  • Update for newer iOS versions
  • Implement level editor

Elderand

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • Permanent crashes
  • Character spawning underneath level
  • R button for subweapon not working on Steelseries Nimbus
  • Dash function not working
  • Game freezing for a moment
Show 6 more
  • Bosses getting stuck in attack animations
  • Campfire menu broken (cannot select options)
  • Lost save data after updates
  • D-pad moves on screen and becomes unusable
  • Joystick teleports to random spots
  • Virtual joystick bug with attack key

Requested features

7 requests
  • Full controller remapping for bindings
  • Multiplayer PvP 'Invasions' system
  • Cloud saves (iCloud)
  • Adjustable button layout and size
  • Ability to track materials acquired
Show 2 more
  • New game+ option
  • Boss replayability

In-app purchases

None

VVVVVV

No in-app purchases

None

Elderand

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is VVVVVV free?
VVVVVV costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Elderand free?
Elderand costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, VVVVVV or Elderand?
VVVVVV is rated higher. VVVVVV averages 4.5 out of 5 from 187 ratings, while Elderand averages 4.2 from 36 ratings.
Do VVVVVV or Elderand have ads?
Neither VVVVVV nor Elderand shows ads.
Which is updated more often, VVVVVV or Elderand?
VVVVVV ships an update every 18 months, and Elderand weekly. Most recently, VVVVVV was updated on October 15, 2026 and Elderand on October 14, 2026.

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