Don't Touch The Spikes: New season is a casual arcade game for mobile users, structured around tap-to-fly reflex challenges.
Product velocity
Dormant
Daily rank 🇺🇸
—
Games
Sentiment
3.1
529k reviews
Nemesis
Don't Touch The Spikes
The App DNA
What makes this app unique?
Users hire this app for low-stakes, high-score-focused arcade sessions, but the current ad-heavy experience forces them to seek alternatives that respect their time.
For Casual mobile gamers seeking short, repetitive, high-score-focused arcade challenges.
What does it look like?
Key features
Tap-to-fly control scheme requiring precise timing to navigate between spikes on screen edges.
Collection of 10 distinct bird visual styles available for player selection.
Integration of interstitial and banner advertisements within the game flow.
How much does it cost?
Monetization relies on ad-supported gameplay and in-app purchase inventory to extract value from a large casual user base.
Velocity
Dormant developmentopaqueShow more...
The development history shows a significant period of inactivity, with no releases between July 2017 and October 2025. The most recent update in late 2025 was a minor bug fix, indicating the app is in a maintenance or legacy state. There is no evidence of active development, live operations, or feature expansion in the observed data. The cadence is effectively non-existent, categorizing the app as a zombie project.
Who built it?
TapBrain
13+ apps tracked · Games
Word Relax - Zen Puzzle Games
Word Vistas- Stack Word Search
Word Cross: Zen Crossword Game
Word guess: A daily word game
Figure it - Cryptogram Games
Word Tour: Trip Puzzle Game
Mots Cookies!
Zen Solitaire Word Association
World of Wonders - Word Search
Brain IQ Test - Tricky Games
Zenscapes Zen Puzzle Word Game
Merge Houses! Make a Town!User Sentiment
What do users think recently?
Fresh user feedback skews frustrated. Users appreciate simple and fast-paced gameplay mechanics provide an addictive experience for quick gaming sessions and challenging difficulty levels offer a rewarding skill progression for dedicated long-term players, but report aggressive ad frequency post-update disrupts the core gameplay loop and renders the experience unplayable.
How are ratings & reviews evolving?
What users say, by theme
- Simple and fast-paced gameplay mechanics provide an addictive experience for quick gaming sessions
- Challenging difficulty levels offer a rewarding skill progression for dedicated long-term players
- Aggressive ad frequency post-update disrupts the core gameplay loop and renders the experience unplayable
100 of 101 recent reviews analyzed · high confidence · Frustrated overall
Read the full review analysisUnlock 2 more frustration themes and 1 user request, each backed by review evidence.
Access the full report for freeCompetition
Competitive landscape for Don't Touch The Spikes: New season
How's the Games market?
The app maintains a high volume of Android ratings (528,788) but suffers from a low 3.11 rating, signaling that the current ad-monetization strategy is failing to convert scale into user satisfaction.
Read the market outlookThe rivals identified
By Ketchapp
This is the original, high-scale version of this app's core mechanic, sharing the exact same thematic niche and gameplay loop.
- Maintains a massive, established user base that creates a significant barrier to entry for clones
- Leverages the Ketchapp publishing network to maintain visibility and consistent, long-term player retention
- Provides a standardized, polished experience that defines the genre's expectations for casual players
Unlock the head-to-head verdict: where this rival wins, and where it loses.
Access the full report for freeThe Analyst's Read
Key takeaways for Don't Touch The Spikes: New season
Where is it heading?
The casual arcade market is consolidating around titles that balance monetization with player-friendly progression, leaving this app exposed. The current update cadence focuses on maintenance rather than feature expansion, which will accelerate user migration to modern competitors by next quarter.
- Aggressive ad frequency post-update disrupts the core gameplay loop, which drives high churn among the casual base.
- Broken ad-free purchase status for legacy users erodes brand trust, leading to negative sentiment and rating drag.
The SWOT
- Core loop drives high session frequency
- Simple controls lower entry barriers
- Implement premium ad-free toggle
- Introduce seasonal live-ops
Next best moves
Restore legacy ad-free purchase status because users report it is no longer honored → reduce churn
+ 1 more prioritized moveThe counter-intuitive read
The app's high Android install scale is a liability, not an asset…
Read the full takeFeature gaps
Real-time multiplayer (available in Drive Ahead!) +1
Since the last report: The app transitioned to a freemium model with aggressive ad density, resulting in severe negative sentiment and a shift to zombie development status.
Bottom line
The app retains a strong core loop but is actively destroying its user base through aggressive ad frequency and broken legacy purchases, so the PM must prioritize restoring purchase recognition to stabilize the rating baseline.
Unlock 3 critical frictions, 2 market threats, 1 more prioritized move and the analyst’s take.
Access the full report for freeReport last updated