# Seashine vs Once Upon a Tower

The clearest difference is ads: Seashine at none against Once Upon a Tower's shown. Seashine also leads on review sentiment (94% vs 75%). Once Upon a Tower's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Seashine sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Once Upon a Tower sells 24 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Seashine against 4.7 for Once Upon a Tower. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.7K and 3.2K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 94% of Seashine's written reviews are positive against 75% of Once Upon a Tower's.

Seashine ships an update monthly, Once Upon a Tower every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Seashine | Once Upon a Tower |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (4.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/seashine/id897544254/reviews)** | [4.7 (3.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/once-upon-a-tower/id1209083773/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **4.7K** | 3.2K |
| Positive reviews | **93.5% of reviews** | 75.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 217 MB | 226 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Patrick Ellis](https://appshunter.io/developer/1045860257) | [Pomelo Games](https://appshunter.io/developer/899606172) |

## What reviewers say

### Seashine

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/seashine/id897544254)

Explore a mysterious, dangerous underworld as a fragile jellyfish. Absorb light to survive longer and evade bizarre creatures lurking in the darkness. Experience an endless, unique survival quest with intuitive touch controls and a dynamic soundtrack.

**Highlights:** Endless underworld exploration, Unique, unlimited gameplay, Intuitive touch controls, Dynamic reactive soundtrack, Survival against bizarre creatures

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 40 Stars | $0.49 | one-time |
| 100 Stars | $0.99 | one-time |
| 200 Stars | $1.89 | one-time |
| 400 Stars | $2.99 | one-time |
| Star Doubler | $3.99 | one-time |
| 800 Stars | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🌟 Beautiful graphics and atmosphere
- 🎶 Calming and immersive soundtrack
- 🕹️ Unique and challenging gameplay
- 🔍 Interesting creature discoveries
- 📚 Detailed creature encyclopedia

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🕹️ Difficult controls
- ⏱️ Light meter drains too quickly
- 🐲 Aggressive enemy encounters
- 🔁 Repetitive gameplay after discovery
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases

**Reported bugs**

- Occasional crashes or freezes
- Disappearing collectibles or progress loss
- Inconsistent enemy spawn patterns

**Requested features**

- Peaceful exploration mode without enemies
- More diverse environments and creatures
- Ability to play as other sea creatures
- Multiplayer or co-op gameplay
- Improved tutorial and onboarding


### Once Upon a Tower

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/once-upon-a-tower/id1209083773)

Break free from your tower prison in this adventure game. Armed with a war hammer, you'll battle enemies and escape a dragon. Your rescue is up to you!

**Highlights:** Tower escape adventure, Battle enemies, Fight a dragon, Princess protagonist, Offline gameplay

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (24)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Oscura | $0.99 | one-time |
| Sigrid | $0.99 | one-time |
| Noriko | $0.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x10 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Myrina | $0.99 | one-time |
| Loriel | $0.99 | one-time |
| Denise | $0.99 | one-time |
| Ali'i | $0.99 | one-time |
| Lilith | $0.99 | one-time |
| Dragon scales x20 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x25 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Rita | $0.99 | one-time |
| Linda | $0.99 | one-time |
| Muffin | $0.99 | one-time |
| Xochi | $0.99 | one-time |
| Nzinga | $0.99 | one-time |
| Draculina | $0.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x25 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x60 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Dragon scales x100 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x200 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x200 | $9.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x1,500 | $49.99 | one-time |
| Lives Pack x9,999 | $99.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💕 Addictive gameplay
- 🎨 Beautiful graphics
- 🎮 Simple but engaging mechanics
- 🚀 Great time killer
- 👍 Empowering female characters

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🔍 Unclear instructions/tutorials
- 🔁 Repetitive levels
- 💰 Aggressive monetization with ads
- 🤖 Unresponsive controls

**Reported bugs**

- Game freezes when watching ads
- Progress resets after crashes
- Challenges not tracking properly
- Compatibility issues on older devices

**Requested features**

- More character/princess variety
- Ability to save progress
- Difficulty settings
- Multiplayer mode
- Level editor


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Seashine free?

Seashine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Once Upon a Tower free?

Once Upon a Tower is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Seashine or Once Upon a Tower?

Seashine is rated higher. Seashine averages 4.8 out of 5 from 4.7K ratings, while Once Upon a Tower averages 4.7 from 3.2K ratings.

### Do Seashine or Once Upon a Tower have ads?

Once Upon a Tower shows ads; Seashine does not.

### Which is updated more often, Seashine or Once Upon a Tower?

Seashine ships an update monthly, and Once Upon a Tower every 3 weeks. Most recently, Seashine was updated on September 25, 2026 and Once Upon a Tower on September 23, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*