Beach Defender vs John Bottom
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Beach Defender
Experience a retro 8-bit arcade shooter inspired by classic fantasy games. Defend the beach in an adventure where the whole world counts on you. Compete with friends on leaderboards and enjoy haptic feedback.
- Retro 8-bit pixel art
- Simple one-touch gameplay
- GameCenter leaderboards
- Infinite arcade mode
- Haptic feedback
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Defend the beach in this retro 8-bit arcade shoot’em up! Your fellow villagers, your friends and even your own mother are counting on you… in fact, the whole world is. You are the Guardian of the Beach, and it’s adventure time! Handcrafted pixel art and 8-bit sound effects pay tribute to the classic handheld adventures of the 90s. Easy to pick up, hard to put down. FEATURES • One-touch controls: simple to learn, hard to master • Endless waves of sea creatures: octopuses, sea urchins, jellyfish, crabs that dig out of the sand and turtles whose shells bounce your shots back • A wooden palisade protects the village: an enemy that breaks a plank opens the way for the next one • Game Center leaderboard: challenge your friends and beat their scores • Optional “Remove Ads” purchase • Haptic feedback • Retro pixel art and sound
John Bottom
Experience classic retro arcade action as you guide John to escape the Bottom and reach the Top. Clear levels, defeat monsters, and uncover John's story in this challenging and fun game for all ages.
- Classic retro arcade action
- Level clearing
- Defeat cute monsters
- Compete for best score
- Multiple difficulty levels
- Old school graphics with TV filters
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John Bottom is classic retro inspired arcade action at its best! Help John escape the Bottom and reach the Top. Clear levels, defeat the cute monsters and read John's story. - Free for ever - Fast paced - Challenging - Fun for all ages - Compete for the best score against the world - 4 different difficulty levels - Old school graphics with multiple old school TV filters
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: John Bottom at 100% against Beach Defender's 43%. John Bottom also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On price 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
Both are free to download. Beach Defender sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. John Bottom asks for nothing beyond the download.
Beach Defender ships an update every 10 days, John Bottom every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Beach Defender | John Bottom |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (34 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 42.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 34 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 126 MB | 111 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Florian Brochard | Marios Karagiannis |
Customer experience
Beach Defender
John Bottom
In-app purchases
Beach Defender
- Remove Ads$2.99
John Bottom
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Beach Defender free?
Is John Bottom free?
Do Beach Defender or John Bottom have ads?
Which is updated more often, Beach Defender or John Bottom?
Other comparisons
