Recursion vs Parallel Experiment
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Recursion
Embark on a mind-bending puzzle adventure where you're trapped in a repeating time loop. Use your wits and a special device to solve mysteries, find clues, and shut down a machine before the loop resets. This compact mystery game offers challenging puzzles and a unique narrative.
- Time-loop mechanic
- First-person point and click adventure
- Mystery and puzzle solving
- Clue finding
- Hint system
- Immersive soundtrack and sound effects
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Enter a mind-bending first-person puzzle adventure. Explore mysterious rooms, solve glitches, and navigate a time loop to uncover the truth. Something is wrong. All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again. Explore a strange, glitch-filled facility and uncover the secrets hidden within Recursion. Features: • Immersive first-person escape room gameplay • Mind-bending riddles, hidden clues, and layered mysteries • The Glitch Camera — capture details and reveal secrets others miss • Intuitive controls for a smooth, engaging experience • No ads, no interruptions — just pure puzzle adventure Can you escape the glitch? Download Recursion now and dive into a sci-fi puzzle adventure unlike any other! From Glitch Games, a small indie team crafting unique memory puzzles, point-and-click mysteries, and immersive story experiences. Follow us for updates, news, and behind-the-scenes content: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlitchGames/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/glitch.games Newsletter: https://glitch.games/newsletter Twitter: https://x.com/GlitchGames Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theglitchgames/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GlitchGames
Parallel Experiment
A cooperative puzzle game where two players, separated with different clues, must communicate to solve escape room-style challenges. Features a noir-inspired comic book art style and over 80 collaborative puzzles.
- Two Player Co-Op
- Challenging Collaborative Puzzles
- Retro-Inspired Mini-Games
- Cooperative Dialogues
- Comic Book Storytelling
- In-Game Notebook for Notes
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IMPORTANT: "Parallel Experiment" is a 2-player cooperative puzzle game with escape room-like elements. Each player must have their own copy on either mobile, tablet, PC or Mac (cross-platform play is supported). In the game players take on the roles of two detectives who are often separated, each with different clues, and must work together to solve puzzles. Internet connection and voice communication are essential. Need a Player Two? Join our community on Discord! ABOUT THE GAME Parallel Experiment is a noir-inspired adventure with a comic book art style, featuring detectives Ally and Old Dog. While following the trail of the dangerous Cryptic Killer, they suddenly become his targets and are now unwilling participants in his twisted experiment. This is the second standalone chapter in the “Cryptic Killer” cooperative point-and-click puzzle game series. You can play Unboxing the Cryptic Killer first, if you want to learn more about our detectives and their nemesis, but Parallel Experiment can be enjoyed without prior knowledge. KEY FEATURES - Two Player Co-Op In Parallel Experiment, players must rely on their communication skills as they’re separated and must each discover unique clues that are vital for solving puzzles on the other end. Teamwork is essential to crack the Cryptic Killer’s codes. - Challenging Collaborative Puzzles There are over 80 puzzles striking the perfect balance between challenging yet fair. But you're not facing them on your own! Communicate with your partner on how to best proceed, solve a puzzle on your end that unlocks the next step for them and discover a wide variety of puzzles from redirecting water flows, finding computer passwords and unlocking intricate locks, to deciphering cryptic ciphers, soldering electronic components, and even waking up a drunk! - Two Can Play That Game Looking for a break from the main investigation? Dive into a variety of retro-inspired mini-games designed with a fresh cooperative twist. Challenge each other to darts, Three in a Row, Match Three, Claw Machine, Push and Pull, and more. Think you know these classics? We’ve reinvented them for a whole new co-op experience - Cooperative Dialogues Uncover vital clues through collaborative conversations. NPCs respond dynamically to each player, offering new layers of interaction that only teamwork can unravel. Some conversations are puzzles in themselves that you need to solve together! - A story told in panels Our love for comic books shines in Parallel Experiment. Every cutscene is presented as a beautifully crafted comic book page, immersing you in a gripping, noir-inspired narrative. How many pages did we create to tell the story? Almost 100 pages! Even we were surprised by how much it took, but every panel was worth it to deliver a story that keeps you on edge until the very last frame. - Draw on… Everything! Every detective needs a notebook. In Parallel Experiment, players can jot down notes, sketch solutions, and interact with the environment in creative ways. But we all know what you're going to draw first… - Annoy Each Other This is a key feature? Yes. Yes, it is. Each level will have some way for players to annoy their co-op partner: knock on a window to distract them, poke them, make their screens shake. You already know you'll be doing this just by reading it, right? Parallel Experiment has a variety of mind-twisting challenges that push the boundaries of cooperative puzzle design, offering situations never seen before in other games.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Recursion at 4.2 against Parallel Experiment's 3.2. Recursion also leads on price ($3.99 vs $6.99) and ratings volume (68 vs 9). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Recursion costs $3.99 and Parallel Experiment $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Recursion holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Recursion has 68 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Recursion's written reviews are positive against 57% of Parallel Experiment's.
Recursion ships an update every 2 weeks, Parallel Experiment every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Recursion | Parallel Experiment |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $6.99 |
| Rating | 4.2 (68 ratings) — better | 3.2 (9 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 64.7% of reviews — better | 57.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 68 — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 550 MB | 1.2 GB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Glitch Games | Eleven Products Sp. z o.o. |
Customer experience
Recursion
Parallel Experiment
Bugs and requests
Recursion
Reported bugs
4 issues- Lift doors in chapter 3 wouldn't open
- Wireless controller doesn't appear
- Game crashes on start-up
- Stuck in the elevator (potential bug)
Requested features
6 requests- Add a setting to remove the time loop
- Option to disable the timer
- Longer game duration
- Richer story content
- More variety in game environments (less industrial)
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- Sequels to previous games (Veritas, All That Remains)
Parallel Experiment
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Recursion
No in-app purchases
Parallel Experiment
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Recursion free?
Is Parallel Experiment free?
Which has better reviews, Recursion or Parallel Experiment?
Do Recursion or Parallel Experiment have ads?
Which is updated more often, Recursion or Parallel Experiment?
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