Comparison

Her Story vs ArcEmu

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

Head to head
About

Her Story

Step into the role of a detective and unravel a real-life crime story. Search through a police database of video clips to piece together a woman's testimony about her missing husband and uncover the truth.

Highlights
  • Interactive true crime documentary
  • Police database of live-action video footage
  • Searchable video clips
  • Piece together a narrative
  • Starring Viva Seifert
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

A real life crime story where you play detective. ** Winner of 3 Bafta Awards, 2 IGF Awards, 3 GDC Awards, Best Narrative & Best Performance at The Game Awards 2015, The Grand Jury Award at IndieCade, Polygon's Game of the Year, SXSW Mobile Game of the Year, Webby Award for Best Mobile Game, 5 IMGA Awards and more! ** "Her Story is one of the most entrancing experiences you can hope to find on mobile" 9/10, Pocket Gamer "It’s a murder case where you’re in the detective’s chair, a mystery where you make the running, and an engrossing experience from start to finish. With this we should consign the term “interactive movie” to history’s dustbin, because movies can’t dream of offering audiences a narrative structure as intimate and involving as this: they’re just moving pictures. Her Story points to the future" 5/5, The Guardian Her Story is the critically acclaimed mystery game from Sam Barlow. Playing like an interactive true crime documentary, the game lets you go hands on with a police database full of live action video footage. It stars Viva Seifert, actress and one half of the band Joe Gideon and the Shark. How does it work? Her Story sits you in front of a mothballed desktop computer and logs you into a police database. Search through hundreds of video clips that cover seven interviews from 1994 in which a British woman is interviewed about her missing husband. Explore the database by typing search terms, watch the clips where she speaks those words and piece together her story. "Her Story is a beautiful amalgam of the cinema and video game formats... a remarkable achievement..." 90, The Washington Post "Profound, gripping live-action drama… sure to be discussed for years to come" 5/5, Digital Spy Unlike anything you've played before, Her Story is an involving and moving experience. One that asks you to listen.

About

ArcEmu

Experience retro gaming on your Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad. This emulator supports Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges. Enjoy features like multiplayer, cheats, and customizable controls.

Highlights
  • Game Boy, GBC, GBA emulation
  • Multiplayer support
  • Cheat codes
  • Customizable on-screen controls
  • Save State sharing
  • iCloud support
Features
Read full description

Turn your Apple Watch into a retro game console. Play Game Boy, NES, SNES, Genesis, and more on your wrist, with multi-touch controls and the Digital Crown. ArcEmu also runs on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. ▸ SUPPORTED CONSOLES Included for free: - Game Boy - Game Boy Color - Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Available through in-app purchases: - Game Boy Advance - Pokémon Mini - Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) - Atari 2600 - Sega Mega Drive / Genesis - Sega Master System - Sega Game Gear - Sega SG-1000 ▸ MULTIPLAYER AND LINK CABLE Play home-console games online and locally with friends, or link Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games over the internet. Game Link Cable supports up to four players in compatible games. Online play requires a Game Center account. ▸ SHARE ROMs WITH A CODE Import your ROMs on iPhone, keep them in iCloud, and download them directly to Apple Watch or Apple TV. Share them through iCloud using a code, including with an Apple Watch configured with Family Setup. ▸ SCREEN AND CONTROLS Move and resize the game screen, choose an LCD or CRT filter, and set up the controls the way you like them. On Apple Watch, use multi-touch controls, customize the control layout, and assign actions to the Digital Crown. On iPhone and iPad, adjust button positions and transparency, and play in any orientation. Connect a controller and customize its button mappings, or use a second controller on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. ArcEmu also supports iPhone Duo. ▸ MORE FEATURES - Accurate, high-performance emulation - Fast-forward at 2×, 4×, or maximum speed - Slow motion at 0.5× speed - Cheat codes with a built-in database of popular codes - Touch-based light gun controls for NES and SNES - Custom Game Boy color palettes - Button hold/sustain - Accelerometer support - Gyroscope support on iPhone and iPad, with Digital Crown input on Apple Watch - Haptic feedback on iPhone ▸ YOUR ROMs AND SAVES Keep your collection organized with per-console folders, sorting, and search. Import ROMs from ZIP and 7-Zip archives, use automatic saving, and share save states between devices. Both ROMs and save states can be stored in iCloud. ▸ APPLE WATCH COMPATIBILITY - Apple Watch Series 4 or later - Apple Watch SE or later - Apple Watch Ultra or later ArcEmu does not include any games or ROMs. ▸ GAMES FEATURED IN THE SCREENSHOTS - Acorn Grove: https://gibbongl.itch.io/acorn-grove - Big2Small: https://mdsteele.itch.io/big2small - Hauntsfield: https://alliemackie.itch.io/hauntsfield - µCity Advance: https://skylyrac.itch.io/ucity-advance Cheat codes may cause unexpected behavior or affect game stability and save data. ArcEmu is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo, Sega, or Atari. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Screenshots

Her Story4 screens
ArcEmu4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ArcEmu at Free against Her Story's $2.99. ArcEmu also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.1) and review sentiment (95% vs 61%). Her Story's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and chart position (#14 vs unranked). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads 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

ArcEmu is free to download; Her Story costs $2.99 up front. ArcEmu sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Her Story asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ArcEmu holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 572 and 1.4K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of Her Story's written reviews are positive against 95% of ArcEmu's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Her Story ships an update every 3 weeks, ArcEmu every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Her Story versus ArcEmu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHer StoryArcEmu
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.1 (572 ratings)4.9 (1.4K ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.9% of reviews94.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5721.4K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#14 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS7.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.8 GB234 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperSam BarlowRaffaele D'Amato

Customer experience

Her Story

All ratings573 ratings
Positive75.9%
Neutral5.8%
Negative18.3%
Written reviews284 reviews
Positive60.9%
Neutral11.3%
Negative27.8%

ArcEmu

All ratings1,333 ratings
Positive98.3%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews533 reviews
Positive94.6%
Neutral2.8%
Negative2.6%

User reviews

Her Story

From 572 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Unique and engaging story
  • 👍 Compelling acting performance
  • 💡 Innovative non-linear gameplay
  • 🤔 Thought-provoking mystery

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional technical issues (screen orientation, crashes)
  • 🤷‍♀️ Unclear objectives or lack of guidance
  • ⏱️ Short playtime for the price
  • 🤔 Unsatisfying or ambiguous ending

ArcEmu

From 1.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fully functional
  • 🚀 Impressive emulation on Apple Watch
  • 👍 Great emulator for both phone and watch
  • 👍 Seamless save state transfer between devices
  • 👍 Customizable controls and layout

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Compatibility issues with some games
  • 🐛 Audio quality problems on certain games
  • 👎 Limited functionality on Apple Watch
  • 👎 Difficult controls for action-heavy games on watch

Bugs and requests

Her Story

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Upside-down screen orientation on iPad
  • Inability to delete or manage saved video clips

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to view videos in sequential order
  • More interactive elements beyond just searching
  • Clearer progression or sense of completion

ArcEmu

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Occasional crashes
  • Graphical glitches with certain ROMs
  • Save data not transferring properly between devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add cheat/GameShark support
  • Improve volume controls
  • Implement fast forward/slow motion options
  • Allow multiple save slots per game
  • Improve Game Boy Color support
Show 1 more
  • Add joystick/button support for Apple Watch

In-app purchases

None

Her Story

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

ArcEmu

One-time10
  • Unlock All (Upgrade 4)$0.99
  • Game Boy Advance$0.99
  • SNES$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Pokémon Mini$0.99
  • Atari 2600$0.99
  • Mega Drive / Genesis$0.99
  • Game Gear$0.99
  • Master System$0.99
  • SG-1000$0.99
  • Unlock All (Upgrade 3)$1.99

Questions

Is Her Story free?
Her Story costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ArcEmu free?
ArcEmu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Her Story or ArcEmu?
ArcEmu is rated higher. Her Story averages 4.1 out of 5 from 572 ratings, while ArcEmu averages 4.9 from 1.4K ratings.
Do Her Story or ArcEmu have ads?
Neither Her Story nor ArcEmu shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Her Story or ArcEmu?
Her Story ships an update every 3 weeks, and ArcEmu every 2 weeks. Most recently, Her Story was updated on November 11, 2026 and ArcEmu on November 12, 2026.

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