Comparison

Garden Eel AR/VR vs Inshore by Virtual Regatta

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

Head to head
About

Garden Eel AR/VR

Experience garden eels in a virtual sea or your own environment. Explore six viewing modes, including AR and VR, and interact with eels by adding them to detected planes or having them follow faces. Synchronize with other devices and capture images.

Highlights
  • AR and VR viewing modes
  • Six distinct viewing options
  • Place eels on detected planes in AR
  • Eels follow detected faces
  • Synchronize across multiple devices
  • Capture screen images
  • Download custom eels via iCloud
Read full description

"Garden Eel AR/VR" is the AR/VR version of "Garden Eel". It provides a realistic experience of viewing garden eels in the virtual sea through your iOS device. There are six viewing modes and can be switched by tapping switch view icon(right bottom of the screen): 1) single view mode 2) front camera mode 3) back camera mode 4) side by side mode(for iPhone/iPod touch with VR viewing box) 5) 3D lens mode(for iPhone/iPod touch with 3D lens attachment and VR viewing box) 6) 360 degree rendering mode 7) AR mode In AR mode, white circles appears on detected planes and you can add garden eels on these planes by tapping them. You can adjust VR parameters by VR menu(left bottom icon). You can capture screen image by tapping right-top corner of the screen(camera icon). You can synchronize display contents between multiple iOS devices by tapping synchronize icon at the same timing. By tapping right-middle of the screen in camera mode(face detection icon), you can turn on face detection. Garden eels will follow faces!! Switching face detection mode to garden eel overlay mode, garden eels will appear on top of faces detected by camera. This is for portrait photo. You can grow garden eels via another app "Garden Eel". Then you can download your own garden eels via iCloud by tapping left top corner(iCloud icon).

About

Inshore by Virtual Regatta

Experience realistic inshore yacht racing with a fleet of advanced boats. Compete in short-format races mirroring real-world events and earn points to upgrade your vessels. Join a massive community of sailors and vie for the virtual sailing world champion title.

Highlights
  • Realistic inshore yacht racing
  • Fleet of advanced boats
  • Short-format competitive races
  • Virtual umpire with official rules
  • Boat upgrades with earned points
  • World Sailing Association recognized title
Features
Read full description

Your fleet of inshore yachts includes ultra-fast foiling catamarans, dinghies or cutting-edge monohulls. The short format of racing is identical to the one used for real life competitions, such as the America’s Cup and the Star Sailors League, with a unique virtual umpire who applies the official rules of sailing. Upgrade your boats with the points earned in each regatta, and compete for the official virtual sailing world champion title, awarded by the World Sailing Association. Virtual Regatta Inshore: the best online sailing simulation since Virtual Skipper! THE VIRTUAL REGATTA COMMUNITY When sailing with Virtual Regatta, you become part of the world’s largest sailing community with more than one million active players. Sail against the best: Virtual Regatta games are recognized by the greatest international skippers! The largest virtual races bring together hundreds of thousands players: Vendee Globe, Volvo Ocean Race, America’s Cup, Star Sailors League, Transat Jacques Vabre, Route du Rhum, Barcolana, Cowes Week, Sydney Hobart, Fastnet, Tour de France à la voile, Spi Ouest France, Giraglia, Key West Race Week, Extreme Sailing Series, RC44 VIP MEMBERSHIP • VIP membership is a subscription available for a period of 3, 6 or 12 months (autorenewable) • VIP membership gives access to bonus features ingame • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period • Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user’s Account Settings after purchase • In case of subscription cancelation, the package will still be available until the end of the paid period TERMS OF USE https://click.virtualregatta.com/?li=4952 PRIVACY POLICY https://static.virtualregatta.com/ressources/PrivacyPolicyVRApps.htm?v=201807

Screenshots

Garden Eel AR/VR4 screens
Inshore by Virtual Regatta4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Garden Eel AR/VR at none against Inshore by Virtual Regatta's 9. Garden Eel AR/VR also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 41%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). Inshore by Virtual Regatta's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.1 vs 3.7). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Inshore by Virtual Regatta sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Garden Eel AR/VR asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Inshore by Virtual Regatta holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Inshore by Virtual Regatta has 733 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of Garden Eel AR/VR's written reviews are positive against 41% of Inshore by Virtual Regatta's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Garden Eel AR/VR ships an update every 3 months, Inshore by Virtual Regatta monthly. The most recent releases landed on June 9, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Garden Eel AR/VR versus Inshore by Virtual Regatta: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGarden Eel AR/VRInshore by Virtual Regatta
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (3 ratings)4.1 (733 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews — better41.3% of reviews
Number of ratings3733 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB278 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKENSHI DOIVirtual Regatta

Customer experience

Garden Eel AR/VR

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral66.7%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

Inshore by Virtual Regatta

All ratings733 ratings
Positive76.7%
Neutral8.9%
Negative14.5%
Written reviews666 reviews
Positive41.3%
Neutral18.5%
Negative40.2%

Bugs and requests

Garden Eel AR/VR

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Inshore by Virtual Regatta

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when receiving notifications
  • Incorrect start line and mark rounding calls
  • Boat controls becoming unresponsive
  • Desync issues causing position changes
  • Inconsistent performance across devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • More boat options and classes
  • Customizable courses and race settings
  • Improved wind and weather simulation
  • Replay and analysis features
  • Better communication and community tools

In-app purchases

None

Garden Eel AR/VR

No in-app purchases

9 purchases

Inshore by Virtual Regatta

Subscriptions1
  • VIP Membership Subscription$8.991 Month
One-time8
  • Pack 397 credits$2.99
  • Promo pack$3.99
  • Pack 1000 credits$4.99
Show 5 more
  • Promo pack$8.99
  • Pack 2300 credits$11.99
  • Pack 5000 credits$22.99
  • Pack 10400 credits$44.99
  • Pack 21600 credits$89.99

Questions

Is Garden Eel AR/VR free?
Garden Eel AR/VR is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Inshore by Virtual Regatta free?
Inshore by Virtual Regatta is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Garden Eel AR/VR or Inshore by Virtual Regatta?
Inshore by Virtual Regatta is rated higher. Garden Eel AR/VR averages 3.7 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Inshore by Virtual Regatta averages 4.1 from 733 ratings.
Do Garden Eel AR/VR or Inshore by Virtual Regatta have ads?
Garden Eel AR/VR shows ads; Inshore by Virtual Regatta does not.
Which is updated more often, Garden Eel AR/VR or Inshore by Virtual Regatta?
Garden Eel AR/VR ships an update every 3 months, and Inshore by Virtual Regatta monthly. Most recently, Garden Eel AR/VR was updated on June 9, 2026 and Inshore by Virtual Regatta on September 22, 2026.

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