Comparison

Whispering Willows vs Second Best

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

Head to head
About

Whispering Willows

Embark on a harrowing journey as Elena Elkhorn to find her missing father and uncover the secrets of Willows Mansion. Utilize a unique amulet for astral projection to communicate with the dead, solve puzzles, and help lingering souls in a beautifully hand-drawn 2D world.

Highlights
  • Astral projection to communicate with the dead
  • Solve mansion tricks and puzzles
  • Help lingering souls
  • Explore a hand-drawn 2D world
  • Immersive haunting music and sound effects
  • Unlock puzzling secrets
Features
Read full description

Young Elena Elkhorn embarks on a harrowing journey to find her missing father and discover the secrets of the Willows Mansion. Aiding her journey is a unique amulet, she received from her father, which allows her to astral project her spirit into a ghostly-realm and communicate with the dead. Play as Elena to find her missing father, use your astral projection to solves the mansion’s tricks and puzzles, help the lingering souls and discover so much more in Whispering Willows. Game Features: • Immerse yourself in a beautifully hand-drawn 2-D world as you traverse the Mansion grounds • Allow the haunting music and chilling sound effects to send goosebumps across your neck. • Let the history of the Willows Mansion draw you into a plot full of twists and betrayal. • Explore the vast Mansion and unlock its puzzling secrets as you search for your missing Father. Awards: • First Place- Seattle Indie Game Competition • Best Story- Casual Connect Indie Prize • Most Immersive- OUYA CREATE Game Jam • Successfully Funded Kickstarter • Winner- Cerebral Indie Developer Grant Supports: • Most wireless bluetooth controllers • 20 achievements • 720 and 1080p resolutions If your device crashes or has issues while running the game, please contact "support [at] nightlightint [dot] com" and we'll do our best to help you!

About

Second Best

Continue an absurd mystery adventure filled with unexpected twists and whimsical humor. Solve clever puzzles and explore a world brought to life with charming hand-drawn visuals. Uncover the truth about your identity and escape a perilous journey.

Highlights
  • Absurd mystery adventure
  • Interactive story with twists
  • Classic point and click gameplay
  • Solve zany puzzles
  • Hand-drawn visuals
  • Colorful characters
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The excitement CONTINUES. You're a LONGER way from home than you ever thought possible. And the more you learn about your IDENTITY, the less you seem to KNOW. It's not easy being BEST. Welcome back to the world of COLBIES and OPIES, where nothing is what you think, not even your OWN PAST … WHEN WE LAST LEFT OFF IN BESTED You had just been spirited away by a gang of SUPERHUMAN meanies. WHY are they doing this, and can you get a better stateroom for the JOURNEY? Find the answers to these questions and more, and try not to get tangled up in too many MURDERS along the way. FEATURES • Absurd Mystery Adventure – A comedy-filled interactive story with unexpected twists, whimsical humor, and a genuinely complex but curious plot. • Classic Point and Click Gameplay – Tap around, poke things, collect clues, and talk your way out of (and into) trouble. • Zany Puzzles – Solve clever puzzles that are unique and satisfying, the MysteryCaper way! • Hand-Drawn Visuals – Explore a world brought to life with charming art created by hand. Human hand. • Colorful Characters – From a puzzling ally to ship crew to tricky villains, everyone's got something to hide. – MysteryCaper. It's COMEDY SOLVED.

Screenshots

Whispering Willows4 screens
Second Best4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Second Best at 100% against Whispering Willows's 51%. Second Best also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and chart position (#194 vs unranked). Whispering Willows's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 3 months) and price ($4.99 vs $5.99). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Whispering Willows costs $4.99 and Second Best $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Second Best holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 20 and 31 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 51% of Whispering Willows's written reviews are positive against 100% of Second Best's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Whispering Willows ships an update every 6 weeks, Second Best every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Whispering Willows versus Second Best: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWhispering WillowsSecond Best
Price$4.99 — better$5.99
Rating4.6 (20 ratings)5.0 (31 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2031 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank—#194 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS6.0 — better11.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.5 GB340 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperAkupara GamesMysteryCaper, LLC

Customer experience

Whispering Willows

All ratings20 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews77 reviews
Positive50.6%
Neutral19.5%
Negative29.9%

Second Best

All ratings31 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Whispering Willows

Reported bugs

20 issues
  • Game crashes frequently
  • Black screen on loading
  • Status bar not disappearing
  • Long loading times
  • Trophies not registering without manual login
Show 15 more
  • No screen size support for iPhone X
  • Game won't load on iPad
  • Game crashes when entering mansion
  • Game closes after starting credits
  • Game crashes when changing screens
  • Controls are poorly rendered and cumbersome
  • Joystick control scheme is bad
  • Game crashes when walking down a new passage
  • UI is bugged and ugly
  • Game closes on second chapter
  • Text in bubbles exceeds screen
  • Character movement is slow and clunky
  • Ghost movement is sluggish
  • Buttons are too large and insensitive
  • Game crashes on older iPads

Requested features

8 requests
  • Update the game
  • Make controls more responsive
  • Add more chapters/content
  • Improve UI
  • Add a task list or map
Show 3 more
  • Make puzzles more challenging
  • Full screen support for newer devices
  • Make cinematics illustrations more professional

Second Best

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Whispering Willows

No in-app purchases

None

Second Best

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Whispering Willows free?
Whispering Willows costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Second Best free?
Second Best costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Whispering Willows or Second Best?
Second Best is rated higher. Whispering Willows averages 4.6 out of 5 from 20 ratings, while Second Best averages 5.0 from 31 ratings.
Do Whispering Willows or Second Best have ads?
Neither Whispering Willows nor Second Best shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Whispering Willows or Second Best?
Whispering Willows ships an update every 6 weeks, and Second Best every 3 months. Most recently, Whispering Willows was updated on September 19, 2026 and Second Best on September 18, 2026.

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