Cooped Up vs Combo Critters
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cooped Up
Navigate a vibrant sanctuary as a new exotic bird, flinging yourself upwards while avoiding obstacles and other quirky birds. Snack on tasty insects along the way and use boosts to ascend further. Compete with friends via Game Center.
- Intuitive twanging fling gameplay
- Simple pick up and play
- Game Centre support
- Collect and eat insects
- In-game boosts
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You are the latest addition in the exotic bird sanctuary. The other older birds have been Cooped Up a little too long and are a branch short of a perch! Ahhemmm... they is a bit crazy! Fling yourself up up and away but watch out, there's more than just birds that you must avoid. However don't be afraid to snack on the way... ...and don't let the other birds laughing at you get you down! Pick yourself up and twang twang twang again! Features: - Intuitive twanging fling gameplay. - Simple pick up and play for all! - Full game centre support to compete with friends and foes - Eat worms, spiders and flies! Hmmm yummy!!! - Boost you way up like a steam train! Important information This game contains third party advertising which can be removed via a one time IAP. This game contains coins which can be collected within the game for free, bought with real money or via earned via promotions. This game contains cross promotion for other Nitrome games and this is not removed with the IAP for removal of ads.
Combo Critters
Combine creatures to evolve them and conquer the universe. Explore planets, battle quirky inhabitants, and collect over 100 unique critters. Engage in a casual RPG battle system and test your strength against friends.
- Combine critters to evolve
- Explore 9 planets
- Collect over 100 critters
- Casual-RPG battle system
- Battle friends' profiles
- Pixel art graphics
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Combine to evolve your critters and get ready to conquer the universe! Explore planets to discover quirky inhabitants, and courageously go into battle against them. Collect these cute critters and get stronger by mashing them up in the combine-machine. Features: • Explore 9 planets to collect more than 100 critters • Casual-RPG battle system • Battle against your friends’ social media profiles • Gorgeous colorful pixel art • Groovy tunes by Maxo For best performances we recommend iPhone 5 or higher.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Combo Critters at every 2 months against Cooped Up's every 17 months. Combo Critters also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (88% vs 71%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Cooped Up sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Combo Critters sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Combo Critters holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Combo Critters has 1.5K ratings behind it against 84, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Cooped Up's written reviews are positive against 88% of Combo Critters's.
Cooped Up ships an update every 17 months, Combo Critters every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cooped Up | Combo Critters |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (84 ratings) | 4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 70.7% of reviews | 88.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 84 | 1.5K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 17 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 157 MB | 153 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nitrome | Lucky Kat Studios |
Customer experience
Cooped Up
Combo Critters
User reviews
Cooped Up
From 84 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎮 Highly addictive gameplay mechanics
- 🎨 Charming and unique pixel art style
- 😄 Quirky humor and entertaining animations
- 🎵 Catchy banjo music and sound design
- ⚡ Fast-paced and responsive controls
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezing issues
- 🐛 Screen flickering after watching ads
- 🐛 Game incompatibility with iPad
- 🐛 Upside-down screen glitches
- 📺 Excessive and repetitive ads
Combo Critters
From 1.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Addictive and fun gameplay
- 👍 Unique critter fusion system
- 🎨 Charming pixel art style
- 🎶 Great soundtrack
Room to improve
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 💰 Grindy progression, need to watch ads for coins
- 🔍 Difficulty finding final boss in each world
Bugs and requests
Cooped Up
Reported bugs
13 issues- Game crashes on launch or during gameplay
- Screen flickering and glitching after ads
- Upside-down screen display
- Phone freezing or requiring restart
- Jump mechanics not responding
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- Achievement notifications not displaying
- Trophy/score button unresponsive
- Invincibility frames missing after bug collection
- Screen rotation causing control issues
- Frame rate drops during star animations
- Black screen on startup
- Incompatibility with iPad devices
- Pixelated app icon on iPhone 6
Requested features
12 requests- Unlockable characters and skins
- New maps and backgrounds
- Additional enemy types and difficulty levels
- In-game currency and upgrade system
- Customizable bird options
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- Story mode or narrative elements
- Different game modes (rush mode, challenge mode)
- Tutorial for new players
- Leaderboard functionality improvements
- Power-ups and special abilities
- Bird care mechanics (feeding, washing, growing)
- Mute settings that persist between sessions
Combo Critters
Reported bugs
3 issues- Audio cuts out sometimes
- In-app purchases not working properly
- Freezing during special attacks
Requested features
4 requests- More worlds and critters to collect
- Ability to trade or sell critters
- Online multiplayer battles
- Critter stats and evolution history tracking
In-app purchases
Cooped Up
- Remove Ads$1.99
Combo Critters
- Coin Pack 1$0.99
- Coin Pack 2$1.99
- Remove Ads$1.99
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- Coin Pack 3$2.99
- Coin Pack 4$3.99
- Coin Pack 5$5.99
- Coin Pack 6$9.99
