The Guides vs Atomic Escape
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Guides
Embark on a journey of challenging codes, puzzles, and interactive ciphers that test your wit and imagination. Unravel a fragmented story by finding clues and patterns, utilizing integrated decoding tools and a distress support system.
- Hundreds of challenging codes and puzzles
- Interactive ciphers
- Fragmented story to unravel
- Integrated decoding tools (Morse, binary)
- Screenshot saving for clues
- Distress support system
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Featured by Apple in: 15 Most Mind-Bending Puzzlers, 15 Most Mysterious Games, The Best Games You’ve Never Played, Challenge Your Brain, Best New Games * * * * * “Best Mobile Games of 2015” — CNET “Best iOS Games of 2015” — Apple ‘N’ Apps “Best One Handed Mobile Games for Long Commutes” — Appcessories * * * * * Consisting of hundreds of extremely challenging codes, puzzles and interactive ciphers, The Guides is a journey that will challenge your wit, stretch your imagination and test your ingenuity in unique and innovative ways. Simply stated, they’re not easy. Progressing will be difficult, but you have the appropriate tools at your disposal. Everything you need to proceed is — or has been — provided. Look for clues and patterns to build on what you have learned. Remember what you have seen as for no detail is too subtle or insignificant. As you explore deeper, you’ll begin to unravel the enigma of The Guides. Peculiar, isn't it? • • • • • • • "From the word 'Go'... it tells you nothing. And you have to work it out for yourself. And that, my friends, that is cool." James Gilmour for App Spy "The Guides gets under your skin... you’ll find yourself thinking about it outside of the game and coming back for more." Jennifer Allen for 148apps "The Guides is one of the year’s most interesting puzzle games. It’s a beautifully designed toy box filled with an enormous variety of code-breaking ciphers and visual riddles..." Owen Faraday for Pocket Tactics "It's brilliant, uncompromising, satisfying, and one of the best games I have ever played on my phone... quite possibly on any platform." chanandler of App Army for Pocket Gamer • • • • • • • • Four Sections and 100 pages embedded with countless challenges. • Meticulously designed interactive puzzles and ciphers with each being more unique than the last. • Piece together the fragmented story to reveal the source of the messages. • Various game mechanics such as the code interface screen and the title bar to provide added layers of support. • Integrated decoding tools — including morse, binary and many more — to assist you on your journey. • Ability to save screenshots to keep track of invaluable clues and notes. • A distress support system is available if you find yourself stuck, but use sparingly, for your transmissions are limited. Official Site: theguidesapp.com General Inquiries: info@theguidesapp.com Twitter: twitter.com/theguidesapp Facebook: fb.com/theguidesapp Instagram: instagram.com/theguidesapp
Atomic Escape
Embark on a first-person point-and-click adventure set in a mid-century atomic age ranch. Uncover a secret space travel conspiracy by solving puzzles and cracking codes to access confidential files. Explore a retro-futuristic world with challenging yet accessible puzzles.
- Point and click gameplay
- Explore atomic ranch and secret facility
- Search for clues and solve puzzles
- 3D real-time graphics
- Retro-futuristic world
- Challenging yet balanced puzzles
- Conspiracy storyline
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Uncover a profound secret conspiracy solving puzzles and cracking codes to access the confidential files from a secret space travel project in this first person point and click adventure game set in a beautiful mid century atomic age ranch. -Point and Click Gameplay- Classic Point and Click Fun with modern mechanics, Explore A Beautiful Atomic Ranch with an underground secret facility, Search for clues, Find Items and Solve Puzzles, no Hidden Objects or pixel hunting. -3D Fast Real Time Graphics- Discover a Beautiful Retro futuristic world rendered with colorful high-quality graphics, move fast between scenes with responsive controls, solve clever puzzles taking advantage of 3D puzzle Design. -Challenging Fun to Solve Puzzles- Well Designed and Balanced Puzzles that are fun to solve for the experimented puzzler and friendly for brand new players, All the Puzzles are designed to feel Challenging yet not frustrating. -Beyond this World Storyline- Solve an Atomic Space Travel Conundrum, Discover the amazing secret hidden under an apparently regular Mid Century Atomic Ranch, Crack the codes to Access the Confidential files to reveal the truth about a profound Conspiracy.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Atomic Escape at every 10 days against The Guides's every 4 months. The Guides's advantage is ratings volume (731 vs 29) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). On ads, 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
The Guides costs $2.99 and Atomic Escape $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
The Guides holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Guides has 731 ratings behind it against 29, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of The Guides's written reviews are positive against 75% of Atomic Escape's.
The Guides ships an update every 4 months, Atomic Escape every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Guides | Atomic Escape |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (731 ratings) — better | 4.6 (29 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 87.7% of reviews — better | 75.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 731 — better | 29 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 45 MB | 220 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | 2 Fountains LLC | MediaCity Games |
Customer experience
The Guides
Atomic Escape
Bugs and requests
The Guides
Reported bugs
2 issues- Puzzle solutions not being accepted correctly
- App crashes or freezes when switching between puzzles
Requested features
3 requests- More frequent updates and new content
- Improved UI and accessibility options
- Hint system or gradual difficulty scaling
Atomic Escape
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
The Guides
No in-app purchases
Atomic Escape
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is The Guides free?
Is Atomic Escape free?
Which has better reviews, The Guides or Atomic Escape?
Do The Guides or Atomic Escape have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Guides or Atomic Escape?
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