Skyward vs Griddie Islands
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Skyward
Embark on a serene journey through Escher-style labyrinths with simple one-tap controls. Test your reflexes in a challenging hardcore mode or aim for high scores to unlock new patterns and compete globally.
- Escher-style labyrinths
- One-tap controls
- Endless gameplay
- Dark hardcore mode
- Unlockable patterns
- Leaderboard
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A great journey to the sky starts with a single step. Through dynamic Escher-style labyrinths you will reach your inner peace in this endless one-tap-one-step game. Or push your patience and reflexes to the limit in a brand new dark hardcore mode! Tap on the screen at the right time, when the circle is above the tile, to make a step. Get higher scores to unlock new patterns and beat everyone in the leaderboard!
Griddie Islands
Place quirky beings on tiny islands to attract fleas that produce money. Merge beings to discover higher levels and increase production in this lively idle merger game. Explore over 50 unique levels.
- Place beings on islands
- Fleas produce money
- Merge beings to level up
- Discover 50+ levels
- Idle production mechanics
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Welcome to the world of Griddies! A world where tiny islands are inhabited by even tinier fleas and quirky beings called Griddies! Place griddies on the islands and watch as the fleas start to jump around in excitement and produce money! Use it to buy more griddies to attract more fleas. Same-level Griddies can also be merged into higher level ones, and the higher the level the more they produce! Merge every Griddie to discover the 50+ levels, each with its own look and personality. Merge, level up, and try to keep the islands filled in this lively idle merger!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Skyward at none against Griddie Islands's shown. Skyward also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs monthly) and review sentiment (82% vs 68%). Griddie Islands's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.4). 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
Both are free to download. Skyward sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Griddie Islands sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Griddie Islands holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.7K and 1.1K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 82% of Skyward's written reviews are positive against 68% of Griddie Islands's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Skyward ships an update every 8 days, Griddie Islands monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Skyward | Griddie Islands |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (3.7K ratings) | 4.7 (1.1K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 81.5% of reviews — better | 68.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3.7K — better | 1.1K |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 5.1.1 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 30 MB | 179 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ketchapp | Pomelo Games |
Customer experience
Skyward
Griddie Islands
User reviews
Skyward
From 3.7K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Challenging and addictive gameplay
- 👍 Simple and relaxing design
- 💡 Unique 3D perspective mechanic
- 🎨 Beautiful and dynamic visuals
Room to improve
- 🔍 Unclear gameplay instructions
- 🔋 Frequent ads disrupt gameplay
- 🐛 Reported performance issues and glitches
- 🤔 Concerns about similarity to Monument Valley
Griddie Islands
From 1.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💫 Charming and clever design
- 🎨 Unique and fun Griddie designs
- 👍 Simple and easy to pick up
- 🕰️ Relaxing and addictive gameplay
- 💰 No excessive monetization
Room to improve
- 🐢 Slow progression after early levels
- 🔁 Repetitive Griddie designs after level 50
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🔍 Difficulty merging Griddies
- 📺 Inconsistent ad rewards
Bugs and requests
Skyward
Reported bugs
3 issues- Game freezing or crashing on some devices
- Ads causing lags and disrupting gameplay
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
Requested features
4 requests- Add a pause button
- Provide an option to remove ads
- Improve onboarding and tutorial
- Introduce more gameplay modes and challenges
Griddie Islands
Reported bugs
3 issues- Screen going black when placing Griddies
- Inventory getting stuck with no way to clear
- Inconsistent in-app purchase functionality
Requested features
5 requests- More islands and Griddie designs
- Prestige system or other progression mechanics
- Option to sell or discard unwanted Griddies
- Ability to rotate Griddies
- In-game notes or planning tools
In-app purchases
Skyward
- Remove Ads$0.99
Griddie Islands
- Cubes 10 pack2 variants$0.99
- Cubes 60 pack2 variants$4.99
- Cubes 200 pack$9.99
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- Cubes 600 pack$19.99
- Cubes 2100 pack$49.99
- Cubes 5800 pack$99.99
