Candy Crush Saga vs Hole Stars: Puzzle Game

How do Candy Crush Saga and Hole Stars: Puzzle Game compare on difficulty, ad pressure, in-app-purchase pressure and what real reviewers say? A side-by-side look, grounded in App Store data.

	Candy Crush Saga	Hole Stars: Puzzle Game
Genre	Puzzle	Puzzle
Price	Free	Free
Difficulty	hard	medium
Ad intensity	high	high
In-app-purchase pressure	high	medium
Typical session	variable	short
Rating	4.7 / 5	4.8 / 5
Ratings count	3,988,014	24,983
Reviews say	What players like Addictive core match-3 gameplay with escalating difficulty Free to play with offline support Daily rewards and time-limited events for engagement Common complaints Aggressive ad placement and hard-to-close ad windows causing accidental clicks Pay-to-win mechanics with removed ad-based rewards after updates Technical bugs including crashes, freezing, and broken iPad UI	What players like Addictive and fun gameplay Satisfying visuals and ASMR sound effects Simple controls with strategic depth Common complaints Forced ads after every single level Difficulty spike makes progression feel unfair Low coin rewards versus high boost costs

Candy Crush Saga — Match-3 puzzle game where you blast candies through thousands of levels while navigating aggressive monetization and intrusive ads. (rated hard difficulty, high ad pressure) Hole Stars: Puzzle Game — Guide a growing black hole through timed puzzle levels, sucking up colorful objects and obstacles for a satisfying, relaxing experience. (rated medium difficulty, high ad pressure)

Data: Apple App Store, as of 2026-08-24. Last updated 2026-08-24.