Seashine vs Upstream Struggle
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Seashine
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.
- Endless underworld exploration
- Unique, unlimited gameplay
- Intuitive touch controls
- Dynamic reactive soundtrack
- Survival against bizarre creatures
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How long will you survive in the abyss? Dive now into the abyss, in an endless quest for survival. You are born as a fragile jellyfish, struggling to maintain a fading light in the darkness of the deep ocean caves. Explore this mysterious underworld and absorb all the light you find on your way to live a few more seconds. But be aware... As poetic as this place seems to be, bizarre creatures and plants lurk in the obscurity, waiting to take a bite of you! Survival of the fittest inside nature's most well kept secret, the depths of the ocean. - Explore a gorgeous and endless underworld full of unknown dangers and strange creatures. - An unlimited experience where each game is unique. You'll never face the same challenge twice. - Intuitive controls specially made for touch devices. - A beautiful dynamic soundtrack reacting to the environment.
Upstream Struggle
Embark on an endless salmon run, swimming upstream to reach home. Dodge a variety of enemies for as long as possible to unlock new fish species and improve your score.
- Endless salmon run gameplay
- Dodge enemies
- Unlock new fish
- High score challenges
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In Upstream Struggle, you play as a salmon swimming upstream to return home (except right now it's just endless, oops). Dodge enemies for as long as you can to unlock new fish.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Upstream Struggle at none against Seashine's 6. Upstream Struggle also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.6). Seashine's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Seashine sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Upstream Struggle asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Seashine against 4.9 for Upstream Struggle. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.7K and 9.7K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 94% of Seashine's written reviews are positive against 87% of Upstream Struggle's.
Seashine ships an update monthly, Upstream Struggle every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Seashine | Upstream Struggle |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (4.7K ratings) | 4.9 (9.7K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 93.5% of reviews — better | 86.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4.7K | 9.7K — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 217 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Patrick Ellis | Jack LaLonde |
Customer experience
Seashine
Upstream Struggle
User reviews
Seashine
From 4.7K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌟 Beautiful graphics and atmosphere
- 🎶 Calming and immersive soundtrack
- 🕹️ Unique and challenging gameplay
- 🔍 Interesting creature discoveries
- 📚 Detailed creature encyclopedia
Room to improve
- 🕹️ Difficult controls
- ⏱️ Light meter drains too quickly
- 🐲 Aggressive enemy encounters
- 🔁 Repetitive gameplay after discovery
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
Upstream Struggle
From 9.7K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Simple and fun concept
- 🚀 No forced ads
- 💡 Potential for improvements
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches
- 🔁 Repetitive gameplay
- 🎨 Basic graphics and animations
Bugs and requests
Seashine
Reported bugs
3 issues- Occasional crashes or freezes
- Disappearing collectibles or progress loss
- Inconsistent enemy spawn patterns
Requested features
5 requests- 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
Upstream Struggle
Reported bugs
3 issues- Getting stuck in the waterfall at the start
- Crashes and freezes, especially at higher levels
- Issues with the bird/flying obstacle
Requested features
4 requests- Add more variety to levels and obstacles
- Improve controls and jumping mechanics
- Implement a leaderboard or competitive mode
- Introduce new fish skins and customization options
In-app purchases
Seashine
- 40 Stars$0.49
- 100 Stars$0.99
- 200 Stars$1.89
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- 400 Stars$2.99
- Star Doubler$3.99
- 800 Stars$4.99
Upstream Struggle
No in-app purchases
