Comparison

Punch Kidd vs Stranger Things

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

Head to head
About

Punch Kidd

Experience a retro 8-bit platformer with frantic action, challenging puzzles, and ghostly enemies. Explore 16 epic levels with blocky pixel art and chiptune soundtracks, designed for a nostalgic gaming experience without interruptions or ads.

Highlights
  • Frantic air punches
  • Ghostly enemies
  • Miracle puzzles
  • 16 epic levels
  • Blocky pixel-art
  • Chirpy chiptune soundtracks
  • No ads or popups
Features
Read full description

▶ What are people saying about "Punch Kidd"?◀ [5/5] "App is awesome and brings back memories." -AUS [5/5] "I used to love the Mario and sonic games. I'm delighted to find an app that rivals their fun factor!" -U.K [5/5] "surprisingly true to the original." -AUS [5/5] "Brought back loads of childhood memories." -U.K [5/5] "...controls that work better than expected!" -USA [5/5] "The newest version of this game is totally cute and works perfectly." 5/5 -CA [4/5] "…very good and once you get the hang of the controls easy" - NZ "[The] controls are spot on!" -------------------------------------------- Punch Kidd lets you re-live your favourite game as a kid, complete with frantic air punches, ghostly enemies and miracle puzzles. Master a world of 16 epic, challenging and diverse levels. Blocky pixel-art and chirpy chiptune soundtracks of 80's consoles will bring this world to life - in your hand, all running natively and fullscreen on iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch! Punch Kidd respects your time and will never interrupt you with annoying notifications asking you to play it. Punch Kidd contains absolutely NO ADS or popups - just pure fun on your terms. Hope you all love it :-) Notify me of any suggestions and/or bugs on Twitter @timtupman.

About

Stranger Things

Embark on a retro-inspired adventure set in the world of Stranger Things. Explore familiar locations, solve puzzles using character-specific abilities, and collect hidden items to unlock new content. Relive the magic of 80s action-adventure games.

Highlights
  • 80s-inspired retro adventure gameplay
  • Explore Hawkins and surrounding areas
  • Solve puzzles with unique character abilities
  • Collectibles like Eggos and gnomes
  • Discover new and familiar locations
Read full description

Join Hopper and the kids for bruising missions around Hawkins — and the Upside Down — in this stylized retro adventure filled with collectibles. • It's 1984 all over again. Experience an action adventure game just like the ones our heroes would have played back in the day. • Explore Hawkins and its surroundings. See your favorite locations like Mirkwood Forest and Hawkins Lab. Uncover exciting areas you've never seen before! • Solve puzzles with the unique abilities of each character. Lucas can nail anything with his Wrist Rocket. Nancy has an entire collection of bats to swing this time. • Collect all the Eggos and gnomes you can lay your hands on. You never know what they might unlock.

Screenshots

Punch Kidd4 screens
Stranger Things4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Stranger Things at Free against Punch Kidd's $1.99. Stranger Things also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 16 months) and ratings volume (884 vs 130). Punch Kidd's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 3.9) and review sentiment (66% vs 46%). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Stranger Things is free to download; Punch Kidd costs $1.99 up front. Punch Kidd sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Stranger Things sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $19.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Punch Kidd holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Stranger Things has 884 ratings behind it against 130, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of Punch Kidd's written reviews are positive against 46% of Stranger Things's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Punch Kidd ships an update every 16 months, Stranger Things every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Punch Kidd versus Stranger Things: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPunch KiddStranger Things
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (130 ratings) — better3.9 (884 ratings)
Positive reviews66.1% of reviews — better46.1% of reviews
Number of ratings130884 — better
Update frequencyEvery 16 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS11 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB517 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperTim WebsterNetflix, Inc.

Customer experience

Punch Kidd

All ratings131 ratings
Positive87.8%
Neutral3.8%
Negative8.4%
Written reviews177 reviews
Positive66.1%
Neutral10.2%
Negative23.7%

Stranger Things

All ratings876 ratings
Positive72.0%
Neutral4.3%
Negative23.6%
Written reviews603 reviews
Positive46.1%
Neutral8.3%
Negative45.6%

User reviews

Punch Kidd

From 130 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💎 Nostalgic retro game experience
  • 👍 Faithful recreation of the original Alex Kidd game
  • 🎮 Fun and addictive gameplay
  • 🕹️ Responsive controls (for some users)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitches, crashes, and freezing issues
  • 🎮 Unresponsive or inaccurate controls
  • 💰 Requirement to pay for extra levels/coins
  • 🔇 Lack of original soundtrack

Stranger Things

From 884 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Fun retro gameplay
  • 🎨 Nostalgic pixel art style
  • 🎯 Challenging but rewarding
  • 💯 100% completion is satisfying
  • 🔍 Lots of hidden details to discover

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Requires Netflix account to play
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches
  • 💾 Inconsistent save progress
  • 🎮 Lack of controller support
  • 🧭 Unhelpful in-game map

Bugs and requests

Punch Kidd

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game freezing or crashing
  • Inability to turn around or move backwards
  • Inconsistent behavior on different devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Save game progress feature
  • Option to adjust sound/music volume
  • Inclusion of original Janken (rock-paper-scissors) mini-game
  • Controller support

Stranger Things

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Levels/areas resetting after exiting game
  • Character movement/collision issues
  • Crashes and freezes on certain devices
  • Inability to progress past certain points

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for newer Stranger Things seasons
  • Improve save/load functionality
  • Implement controller compatibility
  • Provide more detailed in-game map

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Punch Kidd

One-time5
  • 100 Coins$0.99
  • Five Hundred Coins$1.99
  • Stage 2 Levels$1.99
Show 2 more
  • Thousand Coins$2.99
  • 10,000 Coins$9.99
1 purchases

Stranger Things

Subscriptions1
  • Netflix Standard Plan$19.991 Month

Questions

Is Punch Kidd free?
Punch Kidd costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Stranger Things free?
Stranger Things is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Punch Kidd or Stranger Things?
Punch Kidd is rated higher. Punch Kidd averages 4.5 out of 5 from 130 ratings, while Stranger Things averages 3.9 from 884 ratings.
Do Punch Kidd or Stranger Things have ads?
Neither Punch Kidd nor Stranger Things shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Punch Kidd or Stranger Things?
Punch Kidd ships an update every 16 months, and Stranger Things every 3 months. Most recently, Punch Kidd was updated on October 24, 2026 and Stranger Things on October 25, 2026.

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