Blackbox vs Empty.
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Blackbox
This puzzle game challenges you to solve intricate problems without touching the screen. It utilizes minimalistic visual cues, sonic interfaces, and haptic feedback to guide you through unique challenges that require thinking outside the box. Discover a new way to interact with your device and prove your cleverness.
- Touchless gameplay
- Minimalistic visual clues
- Sonic interfaces
- Haptic feedback
- External puzzle solving
- Easter eggs
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So you think you understand this thing you’re holding? Think again. Stop tapping. Stop swiping. In fact, stop touching the screen at all. To crack Blackbox’s puzzles you’ll need to find solitude and stillness, climb mountains, call on friends, get in tune with the cosmos, and think outside the box. Minimalistic visual clues make for incredibly satisfying “Aha!” moments, while sonic interfaces provide an extra level of guidance and nuance that makes Blackbox accessible with or without vision. Thoughtful haptic feedback, Easter eggs on Easter eggs, and solutions that can’t be found beneath the glass of your screen redefine what a puzzle can be. You’ll never see your device the same way again. Think you’re clever? Prove it. (Blackbox is a living game under active development by Ryan McLeod. When not eating burritos or drinking coffee, he’s busy designing and developing new Blackbox challenges.) ■
Empty.
A relaxing puzzle game designed to help you unwind and appreciate simplicity. Rotate rooms to clear them using intuitive one-touch controls. Enjoy a peaceful experience with a beautiful soundtrack and over 25 handcrafted levels.
- Unique room rotation puzzles
- One-touch controls
- No ads or paid content
- Accessible for all ages
- 25+ handcrafted levels
- Original soundtrack
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A relaxing puzzle game to unwind with. Each level teaches you to value simplicity in life. ‣ Unique puzzle mechanics — clear the room by rotating it! ‣ One-touch controls — play with one hand! ‣ No ads. No paid content. Supported by donations. ‣ Accessible for players of all ages. ‣ 25+ beautiful hand-crafted levels. ‣ Original soundtrack - a full length album. Learn the timeless concept — that less is more — that will contribute to your wellbeing in addition to simply joyfully passing time.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Empty. at none against Blackbox's 10. Empty. also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.6). Blackbox's advantage is ratings volume (109K vs 2.4K) and update cadence (every 9 days vs monthly). On price, rating, review sentiment 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
Both are free to download. Blackbox sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Empty. asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Blackbox against 4.8 for Empty.. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Blackbox has 109K ratings behind it against 2.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 93% and 93% positive.
Blackbox ships an update every 9 days, Empty. monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Blackbox | Empty. |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (109K ratings) | 4.8 (2.4K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 92.6% of reviews | 92.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 109K — better | 2.4K |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #40 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 209 MB | 88 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Shapes and Stories LLC | Maksym Dzitsiuk |
Customer experience
Blackbox
Empty.
User reviews
Blackbox
From 109K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Unique and creative gameplay
- 🤔 Challenges users to think outside the box
- 😄 Humorous and witty comments
- 🔑 Utilizes phone features in innovative ways
Room to improve
- 🤯 Extremely challenging puzzles
- 💰 Expensive for additional content
- 🤖 Concerns about app accessing device permissions
- 🚗 Puzzles requiring travel/location are inaccessible for some
Empty.
From 2.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌙 Calming and relaxing
- 👍 Simple and intuitive gameplay
- 🎨 Beautiful color palette and aesthetics
- 🔒 No ads or in-app purchases
- 💡 Unique and innovative concept
Room to improve
- 🕰️ Game is too short
- 🤔 Some levels require precise alignment
- 🔇 No option to turn off background music
Bugs and requests
Blackbox
Reported bugs
2 issues- Hints not working as expected
- Progress reset after app update
Requested features
4 requests- Add ability to earn hint credits through watching ads
- Include more free puzzles
- Improve accessibility for users with limited mobility
- Provide better guidance and instructions for puzzles
Empty.
Reported bugs
2 issues- Certain objects not disappearing as expected
- Glitches on specific levels
Requested features
3 requests- More levels and content
- Difficulty settings or options
- Ability to save progress
In-app purchases
Blackbox
- Tiny Hint Pack$1.19
- Small Hint Pack$2.39
- Erudite Pack$2.99
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- Push Pack$2.99
- Coffee for Ryan$4.49
- Basic Pack$4.99
- Medium Hint Pack$5.00
- All Knowing Pack$7.99
- Large Hint Pack$10.00
- Extra Large Hint Pack$20.00
Empty.
No in-app purchases








