Utsuro’s diary vs Flat Machine
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Utsuro’s diary
Engage in a chilling diary exchange with an obsessive girlfriend. What begins as a popular trend quickly escalates into a terrifying nightmare for the main character.
- Diary exchange gameplay
- Obsessive girlfriend narrative
- Socialable high school student protagonist
- Nightmare escalation
- Interactive story
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Scary diary exchange with an obsessive girlfriend. Main character 「Hataro」has a girlfriend and is a socialable regular high school student It’s a diary exchange. It’s popular these days Hataro-kun. Don’t you know? Everyone’s doing it. The girlfriend 「Utsuro」’s idea to start the popular diary exchange. The slightest trigger was the beginning of a nightmare...
Flat Machine
Control a limbless robot tasked with defending a settlement in a post-apocalyptic world. Engage in simple, timing-based battles against various threats and make choices that influence the game's multiple endings. Discover the mystery of your own identity.
- Simple, timing-based battles
- Item combination system
- Respond to various visitors
- Multiple endings based on choices
- Daily events and encounters
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■ Story In the not-so-distant future, a world on the brink of ruin. Awakening in the wasteland is a single robot—with no limbs and no memories. You become the settlement's "gatekeeper," fending off the strange visitors who arrive day after day. Can you protect the settlement through its final days? And what is the true nature of the Flat Machine...? ■ Features [1] Easy, satisfying defense battles—just tap! Tap with the right timing to repel the enemies closing in. Simple to play, yet endlessly strategic through gear and item combinations. Build your own ultimate defense style. [2] Your "choices" change the future—multiple endings Not everyone at the gate is an enemy. Help a struggling mutant, or coldly turn it away? Your decisions steer the story to its ending in this rich sci-fi adventure. [3] Charming pixel art and a wistful apocalyptic world Lovable yet lonely characters brought to life in beautiful retro pixel art. An original atmosphere, deepened by a carefully crafted soundtrack. ■ Perfect for players who love - Pixel-art (retro) games - Dystopian, sci-fi, and apocalyptic worlds - Story-driven indie games - Quick, pick-up-and-play sessions - Tower defense, idle games, and RPGs - Playing free to the end, at your own pace, with no stamina Step into the "everyday apocalypse" woven by an amnesiac gatekeeper robot and the inhabitants of a dying world.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Flat Machine at every 5 days against Utsuro’s diary's every 5 weeks. Flat Machine also leads on review sentiment (94% vs 77%) and rating (4.9 vs 4.7). Utsuro’s diary's advantage is ratings volume (440 vs 68) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). 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. Utsuro’s diary sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Flat Machine sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Flat Machine holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Utsuro’s diary has 440 ratings behind it against 68, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of Utsuro’s diary's written reviews are positive against 94% of Flat Machine's.
Utsuro’s diary ships an update every 5 weeks, Flat Machine every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Utsuro’s diary | Flat Machine |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (440 ratings) | 4.9 (68 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 76.8% of reviews | 93.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 440 — better | 68 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 5 days — 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 | 9.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 266 MB | 118 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | YANASE GAMES, INC. | zxima.LLC |
Customer experience
Utsuro’s diary
Flat Machine
User reviews
Utsuro’s diary
From 440 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Beautiful art style and character designs
- 🎤 Great voice acting quality
- 📖 Engaging story with plot twists
- 😱 Effective psychological horror elements
- 💰 Affordable pricing
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes
- 📝 Poor English translation and grammar
- 🎭 Unclear dialogue attribution (talking vs thinking)
- 💸 High pricing for additional story endings
- 📱 Compatibility issues with older devices
Flat Machine
From 68 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Highly engaging gameplay
- 💖 Compelling characters and story
- 💡 Multiple endings and replayability
- ✨ Unique post-apocalyptic world
- 🎮 Satisfying progression and strategy
Room to improve
- 🐛 Ad issues (app store redirection)
- 🐛 Ads sometimes break BGM
- ⚖️ Endless mode can feel like pure luck
- ❓ Some events seem to have limited interactions
- 🚫 Lack of Chinese translation
Bugs and requests
Utsuro’s diary
Reported bugs
6 issues- App crashes when starting new story or day
- Game crashes on iPhone 6 with iOS 12.5.1
- Blank message on day three blocks progression
- App closes itself after recent updates
- Save data lost upon game reinstallation
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- Crashes when opening story on certain devices
Requested features
7 requests- Auto-read/text-to-speech functionality
- Player character gender customization
- Improved dialogue clarity indicators
- Better save data persistence across reinstalls
- Reduced ad frequency
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- More affordable pricing for all story endings
- Improved English localization and proofreading
Flat Machine
Reported bugs
4 issues- Ads redirect to app store and prevent item rewards
- Ad BGM continues playing after ad ends
- Ad BGM persists even after restarting app
- Agoda ads prevent continuing the game
Requested features
6 requests- Add Chinese translation
- Add Vietnamese translation
- Add Spanish translation
- Option for one-time purchase to remove ads
- More interactions with certain characters (e.g., training robot)
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- Consider adding taxi or bakery characters in future works
In-app purchases
Utsuro’s diary
- Akari, Utsuro happy ending$4.99
- Natsuna and Utsuro route$7.99
- Kokoro and Utsuro route$7.99
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- Utsuro date$11.99
- All Edition All Stories$15.99
Flat Machine
- AD removal$2.99
- Donation(S)$3.99
- Donation(M)$14.99
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- Donation(L)$34.99
Questions
Is Utsuro’s diary free?
Is Flat Machine free?
Which has better reviews, Utsuro’s diary or Flat Machine?
Do Utsuro’s diary or Flat Machine have ads?
Which is updated more often, Utsuro’s diary or Flat Machine?
Other comparisons
