Matching Story - Merge & Match vs Royal Cooking

How do Matching Story - Merge & Match and Royal Cooking compare on difficulty, ad pressure, in-app-purchase pressure and what real reviewers say? A side-by-side look, grounded in App Store data.

	Matching Story - Merge & Match	Royal Cooking
Genre	Casual	Casual
Price	Free	Free
Difficulty	hard	hard
Ad intensity	medium	high
In-app-purchase pressure	high	high
Typical session	long	medium
Rating	4.9 / 5	4.7 / 5
Ratings count	163,051	172,052
Reviews say	What players like Addictive and engaging match-3 gameplay No ads during play (ad-free experience) Responsive developers who fix bugs Common complaints False advertising - ads show mother/child storyline not in actual game Excessive monetization pressure - 900 diamonds for 5 tries, only 25 earned per win Confusing mechanics with no tutorial explaining tools and cards	What players like Colorful graphics and charming visuals Fun and addicting early gameplay Strategic resource management with upgrades Common complaints Ads before each round and after every level; aggressive ad monetization Coin rewards insufficient to progress without paying; coin-gated progression Pay-to-win design forces purchases to advance past difficult levels

Matching Story - Merge & Match — A relaxing match-3 puzzle game with story progression and merge mechanics, but be aware ads don't match the actual gameplay. (rated hard difficulty, medium ad pressure) Royal Cooking — A colorful cooking simulation where you prepare meals and upgrade your restaurant, but face mounting paywalls as you progress. (rated hard difficulty, high ad pressure)

Data: Apple App Store, as of 2026-09-02. Last updated 2026-09-02.