Comparison

swipe vs ArcEmu

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

Head to head
About

swipe

Navigate a white circle through challenging mazes to collect blue coins. This minimalist puzzle game offers intuitive gameplay with a modern, colorful design and a level editor for creating and sharing your own challenges.

Highlights
  • Minimalist puzzle gameplay
  • Level editor with share function
  • Intuitive controls
  • Modern, colorful design
  • 100 challenging levels
  • 10 optional themes
  • Customizable themes
Features
Read full description

swipe the white circle through a maze of barriers to collect the blue coins • minimalist puzzle game • level editor with share function • intuitive gameplay • modern, colorful design • 100 tricky, varying levels • 10 optional themes to change the appearance • personalise your own theme • 120 Hz support for new devices • optimal for OLED screens

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

ArcEmu brings retro game emulation to Apple Watch. It also works on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, delivering a seamless gaming experience across your Apple devices. Supported Consoles - Game Boy (.gb) - Game Boy Color (.gbc) - Game Boy Advance (.gba) - Pokémon Mini (.min) - Nintendo Entertainment System (.nes) - Super Nintendo Entertainment System (.sfc and .smc) - Atari 2600 (.a26 and .bin) Main Features - Accurate, high-performance emulation powered by the mGBA and Ares cores - Game Link Cable support with online multiplayer for up to four players* - Cheat-code support with a built-in database of popular codes** - Frame-independent emulation at 30 or 60 FPS - Multi-touch and Digital Crown support on Apple Watch - Support for all screen orientations on iPhone and iPad - Precise, thoughtfully designed on-screen controls - Customizable control position and transparency on iPhone and iPad - Fast-forward at 2×, 4×, or maximum speed - Slow motion at 0.5× speed - Touch-based light gun controls for NES and SNES - Custom color palettes for Game Boy games - Button hold/sustain feature - Accelerometer support - Gyroscope support on iPhone and iPad, with Digital Crown input on Apple Watch - Haptic feedback on iPhone - Game controller support with customizable button mappings - ZIP archive support - Automatic saving - Save-state sharing between devices - iCloud support for ROMs and save states - ROM sharing through iCloud using share codes - Support for Apple Watch devices configured with Family Setup - ROM sorting and search 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. You can import compatible ROM files from your iPhone and store them in iCloud. Your Apple Watch can then download them directly from iCloud. On an Apple Watch configured with Family Setup, ROMs can be downloaded from iCloud using share codes. Games Featured in the Screenshots - Acorn Grove: https://gibbongl.itch.io/acorn-grove - Anguna: https://gauauu.itch.io/anguna - Hauntsfield: https://alliemackie.itch.io/hauntsfield - µCity Advance: https://skylyrac.itch.io/ucity-advance * Requires a Game Center account. ** Cheat codes may cause unexpected behavior or affect game stability and save data. ArcEmu is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo. Nintendo and the names of its game systems are trademarks of Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Screenshots

swipe4 screens
ArcEmu4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: swipe at Free against ArcEmu's $1.99. swipe also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.5). ArcEmu's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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

swipe is free to download; ArcEmu costs $1.99 up front. swipe sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. ArcEmu asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ArcEmu holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.4K and 1.3K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 90% of swipe's written reviews are positive against 95% of ArcEmu's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

swipe ships an update every 4 months, ArcEmu every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
swipe versus ArcEmu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterswipeArcEmu
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.7 (2.4K ratings)4.9 (1.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews89.8% of reviews94.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.4K — better1.3K
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Apple Watch
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB172 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBriegers GbRRaffaele D'Amato

Customer experience

swipe

All ratings2,342 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral3.3%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews147 reviews
Positive89.8%
Neutral3.4%
Negative6.8%

ArcEmu

All ratings1,304 ratings
Positive98.2%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews528 reviews
Positive94.5%
Neutral2.8%
Negative2.7%

User reviews

swipe

From 2.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Smooth gameplay
  • 🎮 Great on Apple Watch
  • 🎨 Simplistic and modern design
  • 🔓 No ads or data harvesting
  • 💡 Unique gesture-based controls

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Limited number of hints
  • 🤯 Some levels are very difficult
  • 🔧 Level editor could be improved
  • 🔊 Sound issues on certain devices

ArcEmu

From 1.3K 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

swipe

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Level editor crashes
  • Hints not always working as expected

Requested features

4 requests
  • More levels and content
  • Ability to reverse moves
  • Syncing progress across devices
  • Customizable themes and visuals

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

4 purchases

swipe

One-time4
  • 2 hints$0.99
  • Themes$1.99
  • 5 hints$1.99
Show 1 more
  • 10 hints$2.99
None

ArcEmu

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is swipe free?
swipe is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ArcEmu free?
ArcEmu costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, swipe or ArcEmu?
ArcEmu is rated higher. swipe averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.4K ratings, while ArcEmu averages 4.9 from 1.3K ratings.
Do swipe or ArcEmu have ads?
Neither swipe nor ArcEmu shows ads.
Which is updated more often, swipe or ArcEmu?
swipe ships an update every 4 months, and ArcEmu every 2 weeks. Most recently, swipe was updated on October 20, 2026 and ArcEmu on October 19, 2026.

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