Comparison

Lifeline... vs Beholder

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

Head to head
About

Lifeline...

Experience a gripping, real-time survival story where your choices shape the fate of a stranded astronaut. Receive notifications throughout your day and make life-or-death decisions directly from your phone or smartwatch. Multiple endings and a bonus epilogue await.

Highlights
  • Playable branching story
  • Real-time notifications
  • Apple Watch integration
  • Multiple endings
  • Bonus story epilogue
  • Offline play
Features
Read full description

“[A] surprising iPhone and Apple Watch bestseller is pushing the boundaries of fiction” - boingboing.net “This is the best game on the Apple Watch” - Time.com Lifeline is a playable, branching story of survival against all odds. Using your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, you will help Taylor make life or death decisions, and face the consequences together. Acclaimed writer Dave Justus (Fables: The Wolf Among Us) weaves a gripping interactive story through the aftermath of a crash landing on an alien moon. Taylor is stranded, the rest of the crew are dead or missing, and Taylor’s communicator can only reach you. Lifeline pioneered a new narrative experience enabled by modern devices. This story plays out in real time as Taylor works to stay alive, notifications deliver new messages throughout your day. Keep up as they come in, or catch up later when you’re free. You can even respond to Taylor directly from your Apple Watch or your iPhone lock screen, without launching into the app. Or, dive in and jump back to earlier points in the story, and see what happens when you make a different choice. Simple actions can have a profound effect. Complete any single path to restart the story and unlock this mode. Lifeline is a deep, immersive story of survival and perseverance, with many possible outcomes. Taylor is relying on YOU. You can play Lifeline in any of these languages: - English - French - German - Russian - Simplified Chinese - Japanese - Spanish - Korean NEW in version 1.8: Stick around after the game for a special story epilogue from Dave Justus. For players who have already finished the game, the Bonus Story becomes available under the game options. Witness the events leading up to Lifeline: Silent Night. Internet connection not required. No in-app purchases and no ads. Praise for Lifeline: “I’ve played many games that I find engrossing, but Lifeline may be one of the first that changed the way I thought about my daily routine, which leapt off the screen and became a part of my lived experience.” - Eli Cymet, Gamezebo “I felt an immediate attachment to a fictional character pinging me from a strange galaxy to my wearable.” - Luke Hopewell, Gizmodo Australia “[P]laying it on the Apple Watch makes you truly feel like you’re exchanging messages with an astronaut via a futuristic transmitter.” - Michael Andronico, Tom’s Guide “For a few brief hours I cared – really cared – about the fate of a completely fictional character. I don’t think any other game I’ve played has made me feel that way before.” - Matt Thrower, PocketGamer Lifeline was created by: Dave Justus Mars Jokela Dan Selleck Colin Liotta Jason Nowak Ben “Books” Schwartz

About

Beholder

In a totalitarian state, you manage an apartment building while secretly spying on tenants. Your choices impact their lives and the unfolding story, leading to multiple endings. Explore a grim future where privacy is a luxury and every decision has consequences.

Highlights
  • Moral choice-driven narrative
  • Tenant surveillance and profiling
  • Multiple story endings
  • Character personality development
  • Apartment management simulation
  • Additional story content available
Features
Read full description

Welcome to a grim dystopian future. A totalitarian State controls every aspect of private and public life. Laws are oppressive. Surveillance is total. Privacy is dead. You are the State-installed manager of an apartment building. Your daily routine involves making the building a sweet spot for tenants, who will come and go. However, that is simply a facade that hides your real mission. The State has appointed you to SPY ON YOUR TENANTS! Your primary task is to covertly watch your tenants and eavesdrop on their conversations. You must BUG their apartments while they're away, SEARCH their belongings for whatever can threaten the authority of the State, and PROFILE them for your superiors. You must also REPORT anyone capable of violating the laws or plotting subversive activities against the State to the authorities. Beholder is all about making choices - choices that matter! What will you do with the information you collect? Will you report the suspicious activities of a father and orphan his children? Or will you withhold the details about his illegal activities and give him a chance to make things right? You may also choose to blackmail him to acquire the money your family desperately needs. Features: - You decide what happens: Every decision you make affects the way the story unfolds. - People aren't just objects: Each character you meet will have a thoroughly developed personality with his or her own past and present. - No decision is easy: If you are given the power to destroy the privacy of another person, should you? Or should you treat those on which you are spying the way they deserve? - You don't know where you'll end up: "Beholder" is a game of multiple endings. "Blissful Sleep" additional story is already available!** The Ministry of Introductions is honored to introduce Hector, the ex-landlord succeeded by Carl Shteyn. The time has come to tell the stories of: - the one who has fallen a victim to a horrifying mistake, and is now desperately seeking for salvation; - the ones who broke the law to find happiness and are now facing the consequences; - the one who risked his life for the State but has been left behind; - the one who had everything but lost it all; - the one who mews! Return to Krushvice 6 and serve the State and Wise Leader well! ** Available through in-app purchase • 3D Touch. Force touch will open the characters interaction menu. • iCloud. Synchronize your game across all your devices. • iMessage Stickers. Owning Beholder gives access to free pack of stickers. Meet other Beholder fans at: https://beholder-game.com https://www.facebook.com/BeholderGame https://twitter.com/Beholder_Game

Screenshots

Lifeline...4 screens
Beholder4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Lifeline... at none against Beholder's 1. Lifeline... also leads on review sentiment (78% vs 69%) and price ($2.99 vs $4.99). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence 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

Lifeline... costs $2.99 and Beholder $4.99 up front. Beholder sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Lifeline... asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Lifeline... against 4.8 for Beholder. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.5K and 1.7K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of Lifeline...'s written reviews are positive against 69% of Beholder's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lifeline... ships an update every 6 weeks, Beholder every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Lifeline... versus Beholder: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLifeline...Beholder
Price$2.99 — better$4.99
Rating4.7 (4.5K ratings)4.8 (1.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.3% of reviews — better69.2% of reviews
Number of ratings4.5K — better1.7K
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#70 — better#110
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.011.0
Further details — not scored
Size76 MB770 MB
Age rating9+12+
Developer3 Minute Games, Inc.CM Games OU

Customer experience

Lifeline...

All ratings4,510 ratings
Positive91.8%
Neutral2.6%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews1,965 reviews
Positive78.3%
Neutral8.2%
Negative13.5%

Beholder

All ratings1,654 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral1.8%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews455 reviews
Positive69.2%
Neutral11.2%
Negative19.6%

User reviews

Lifeline...

From 4.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Unique and immersive gameplay
  • 👍 Engaging story and characters
  • ⏱️ Real-time gameplay adds to the experience
  • 🎨 Atmospheric music and sound design

Room to improve

  • ⏳ Slow pacing and long wait times between responses
  • 🤔 Limited choices and lack of meaningful impact on the story
  • 🙄 Protagonist can be annoying or unrealistic at times
  • 🔍 Lack of visual elements or graphics

Beholder

From 1.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great game mechanics
  • 🚀 Engaging and addictive gameplay
  • 💡 Interesting moral dilemmas
  • 🎨 Excellent visuals and atmosphere
  • 🕹️ Unique and challenging gameplay

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches
  • 🔁 Repetitive gameplay
  • 💰 High price for the content
  • 🕹️ Difficult and unforgiving at times
  • 🔍 Limited replayability

Bugs and requests

Lifeline...

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions or devices
  • Notifications not working as expected

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to skip or speed up wait times
  • More branching storylines and meaningful choices
  • Option to change the protagonist's personality or background
  • Integration with Apple Watch or other wearable devices

Beholder

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Game freezing during tutorial or conversations
  • Inability to progress past certain points
  • Inconsistent language settings
  • Tenants not appearing as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • More randomized events and content
  • Additional locations and apartments to manage
  • Ability to delete save files
  • Improved cloud save functionality
  • Optimization for newer devices

In-app purchases

None

Lifeline...

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Beholder

One-time1
  • Blissful Sleep DLC$2.99

Questions

Is Lifeline... free?
Lifeline... costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Beholder free?
Beholder costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Lifeline... or Beholder?
Beholder is rated higher. Lifeline... averages 4.7 out of 5 from 4.5K ratings, while Beholder averages 4.8 from 1.7K ratings.
Do Lifeline... or Beholder have ads?
Neither Lifeline... nor Beholder shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lifeline... or Beholder?
Lifeline... ships an update every 6 weeks, and Beholder every 2 months. Most recently, Lifeline... was updated on October 17, 2026 and Beholder on October 16, 2026.
Which is more popular, Lifeline... or Beholder?
Lifeline... currently peaks at #70 in the App Store charts, and Beholder at #110. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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