Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Johnny Trigger vs Kick the Buddy

Johnny Trigger 4.8★ · Free + IAP 70
Winner Johnny Trigger
Kick the Buddy 4.6★ · Free + IAP 55

Johnny Trigger is the better choice for players seeking a more traditional action game experience with less severe technical issues, despite its pervasive ad problem.

Full reviews: Johnny Trigger · Kick the Buddy

Both Johnny Trigger and Kick the Buddy are free-to-play games plagued by excessive ads, but Johnny Trigger offers more engaging gameplay and fewer critical bugs. Kick the Buddy suffers from frequent crashes, especially with its 'tank' feature, and a more aggressive monetization strategy.

Head to head

Gameplay & Features edge: Johnny TriggerR2R8R26R32
Johnny Trigger Johnny Trigger offers engaging action gameplay, with users enjoying weekly challenges, weapon variety, and a sense of progression through many levels R2R32R26. Some find it gets repetitive after a while, with similar levels and no increasing difficulty R8.
Kick the Buddy Kick the Buddy is praised for its stress-relief aspect, variety of weapons, and funny character quotes . However, many users report significant bugs, particularly with the 'tank' feature causing game crashes R63R65R67. Some also find the game boring or too toxic .
Ads & Monetization tieR7R9R12R13
Johnny Trigger Johnny Trigger is heavily criticized for an overwhelming number of long, unskippable ads, often appearing after every single level R7R9R12R13. Some users who paid to remove ads report the purchase did not work or stopped working after a short period R24R52.
Kick the Buddy Kick the Buddy also has a severe ad problem, with ads appearing every few seconds or after every action, making the game unplayable for many R64R66R67R73. Users also complain about high prices for in-game items and a costly premium subscription to remove ads R73.
Reliability & Performance edge: Johnny TriggerR10R37R39R47
Johnny Trigger Johnny Trigger users report occasional bugs, such as being stuck on certain boss levels R37R39 or issues with aiming speed R47. One user also reported losing all game progress R10. Some users experience lagging .
Kick the Buddy Kick the Buddy has significant reliability issues, with frequent game crashes, especially when trying to use the 'tank' item R63R65R67. Users also report loading screen freezes, no sound, and general glitchiness R69.
User Experience & Satisfaction edge: Johnny TriggerR1R2R4R5
Johnny Trigger Many Johnny Trigger players find the game fun, addictive, and a good way to pass time, especially offline or during travel R2R5. However, the overwhelming ad frequency significantly detracts from the experience for many R7R9R13R15. Some feel the game is not like its ads R1R4.
Kick the Buddy Kick the Buddy is appreciated by some for its stress-relieving qualities and variety . However, the constant ads and game-breaking bugs, particularly the tank crash, lead to widespread frustration and make the game unplayable for many R64R66R67R73. The high cost of in-game items and ad removal also contributes to dissatisfaction R73.
Pick Johnny Trigger if

you want a straightforward action game that can be played offline and are willing to tolerate frequent ads, or potentially play with internet off R2.

Pick Kick the Buddy if

you are looking for a stress-relief game with a variety of destructive tools and can overlook significant technical issues and aggressive monetization .

Evidence note: Both apps are free with in-app purchases and are heavily criticized for excessive ads. The negativity for both largely stems from this free-tier friction. Kick the Buddy's reviews also highlight more severe and game-breaking bugs compared to Johnny Trigger.

Frequently asked

Are there too many ads in Johnny Trigger?
Yes, many users report an excessive number of long ads, often appearing after every single level, which significantly hinders the gameplay experience R7R9R13R15.
Does Kick the Buddy have a lot of ads?
Yes, Kick the Buddy is heavily criticized for having too many ads, with users reporting them appearing every few seconds, after every action, or making the game unplayable R64R66R67R73.
Are there bugs in Kick the Buddy?
Yes, Kick the Buddy has significant bugs, with many users reporting game crashes, especially when trying to use the 'tank' item, as well as issues with loading, sound, and general glitchiness R63R65R67R69.
Can you remove ads in Johnny Trigger by paying?
Some users who paid to remove ads in Johnny Trigger reported that the purchase did not work or only worked for a short period before ads reappeared R24R52.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R2] Johnny Trigger 5/5 · US I love this game!: This game doesn’t require internet. The weekly challenges are great!I get all the weapons and I’m at level 1000
  2. [R8] Johnny Trigger 4/5 · US Good game but…: It’s an amazing game that’s very fun but it gets boring after a couple hours so I think they should add a ranked and it should be like first to finish the level wins
  3. [R26] Johnny Trigger 5/5 · US Im too sweaty: I’m at level 1788 and I got the master chief skin and his gun if u know you know how to get it and i almost got Harry Potter and his wand and completed all the weekly prizes yea just know im better than you in every game son
  4. [R32] Johnny Trigger 5/5 · US Best game I played: This game is very fun. I love how you can get different cool guns.
  5. [R7] Johnny Trigger 1/5 · US Adds: Since when did y’all need to give us over 1 minute long ads, im not trying to get another app just play yours. And the ads are so long that I’m literally watching the ad twice in one sitting. Im just gonna delete at this point cause of how disrespectful that feels.
  6. [R9] Johnny Trigger 3/5 · US Fun game way too many ads: Fun game too many ads
  7. [R12] Johnny Trigger 3/5 · US advertising: too much advertising
  8. [R13] Johnny Trigger 1/5 · US TOO MANY ADS!: Long ads! Everytime you try and restart a level
  9. [R10] Johnny Trigger 2/5 · US LOST ALL PROGRESS: PLEASE RESTORE ALL MY PROGRESS NOW NOW NOW NOW
  10. [R37] Johnny Trigger 1/5 · GB Stupid: I’m stuck on level 120 on this AWFUL game because for some reason when I can’t shoot the boss can just somehow shoot me without me being able to do anything and if I could I would give it 0 stars
  11. [R39] Johnny Trigger 3/5 · GB BUGS: At lvl 120 boss fight before I can shoot the boss kills me fix this
  12. [R47] Johnny Trigger 4/5 · US Speed: When I want to shoot him in the head, it takes too long to get to the aiming thing to reach his head
  13. [R1] Johnny Trigger 1/5 · US Trash: Is not like the ads 🤮🤮😡🤬🤬🤬😤
  14. [R4] Johnny Trigger 1/5 · US 67: It is the same over and over the add is fake it’s light to win
  15. [R5] Johnny Trigger 5/5 · US Y: Awesome
  16. [R15] Johnny Trigger 3/5 · US Great game Terrible Ads: I like this game a lot it is good and fun but the amount of ads is insane. I would love this game way more if there were less ads because there is at least one every level.
  17. [R64] Kick the Buddy 1/5 · US READ THIS: I played for about 30 seconds and while i was attempting to kilI buddy i got an ad just for hitting him. this happened the whole 4 minutes i played it for. this game was good when i was young but it sucks now
  18. [R66] Kick the Buddy 3/5 · US Adds: The adds just make the game unplayable great game though but is unplayable with how many adds their are
  19. [R67] Kick the Buddy 2/5 · US Okay: It crashed my game when I unlocked the tank and I can’t find a way to fix it 2 stars and there’s too many adds
  20. [R73] Kick the Buddy 2/5 · US Incredible potential, blinded by greed: This game could be so much more. But they want you to buy everything and there are micro transactions in every corner, and even worse that that is the ads. The amount of ads are so bad that most of the time they can’t even wait till after you KO, it will literally just give you a 30 second unskipable ad in the middle of the game. But there are also great ups
  21. [R63] Kick the Buddy 3/5 · US Tank: I just unlock the tank and so every time I click on it I just get teleported back to home screen so pls fix that
  22. [R65] Kick the Buddy 5/5 · US I dont know: Whenever I press on tank the game crashes
  23. [R69] Kick the Buddy 3/5 · US Horrible: The lags HORRIBLE!!!!! Get arrived of it
  24. [R24] Johnny Trigger 3/5 · US Spent 3 bucks for nothing: DOnt get me wrong, this game is amazing; one problem. I spent 3 bucks to get rid of ads and it DID NOT GET RID OF THEM. Maybe devs could hit me up and actually get rid of them? Love the game but this might hurt be a problem
  25. [R52] Johnny Trigger 1/5 · GB No ads purchased: I have bought the no ads purchase and it worked for a while but after 2 weeks I got continually bombarded by ads please fix this or give me a refund 😡

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store