Comparison

Recursion vs Aurora Hills

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Time-loop mechanic
  • First-person point and click adventure
  • Mystery and puzzle solving
  • Clue finding
  • Hint system
  • Immersive soundtrack and sound effects
Features
Read full description

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

About

Aurora Hills

Embark on a chilling point-and-click puzzle adventure as a park ranger investigating disappearances in a remote mountain community. Uncover dark secrets and solve intricate puzzles to find a missing colleague before nightfall.

Highlights
  • Point-and-click puzzle gameplay
  • Investigate mysterious disappearances
  • Explore remote national park
  • Solve challenging puzzles
  • Atmospheric soundtrack and sound effects
  • Hint system for difficult riddles
  • Color blind mode
Features
Read full description

The morning of October 6, 1981, began like any other: waking up from a restless sleep, preparing for the day ahead of you and driving to the ranger station where you've worked for the past 11 years. Aurora Hills was once a tranquil community nestled within the mountains of Appalachia, but a series of disappearances have all but shattered the serene atmosphere. Only a feeling of desolation permeates the surrounding as you drive through the now dilapidated small town. Jen wasn't at the ranger station when you arrived that morning. Being the only other park ranger, she likes to get an early start to the day and by the time you arrived, she had driven to one of the many closed off hiking trails to start searching for the missing people. Following her trail of notes, you make your way off the main trail to meet up with her to explore the remote parts of the national park. When you find her camp however, your worst fears are realized: The site's been ransacked, her equipment strewn across the campsite, her tent's been torn up, and Jen is nowhere to be seen. There's no time to turn back now, it's already midday and the sun sets early this time of year. The only thing worse than wandering into the forest alone is braving it at night. You can't abandon Jen now, not when the trail is so fresh. Now you have no choice but to venture deeper into the uncharted parts of the national park, the parts mythologized into local urban legends by frightened townsfolk. You'd better leave soon, you may never get a better chance to uncover the dark history of Aurora Hills... Developed by the creators of Meridian 157, Aurora Hills: Chapter 2 is the second part in a series of point and click puzzle adventure games. Based in the year 1981 in a small West Virginian community, Aurora Hills follows the journey of Ethan Hill, a park ranger tasked with investigating strange disappearances from the region. Explore the rolling hills of West Virginia, find clues of the whereabouts of the missing people and solve intriguing puzzles to solve the mystery of Aurora Hills! Features: • Custom soundtrack and sound effects designed for a creepy in-game atmosphere • Challenging and clever puzzles • A logical hint system for some of the most difficult riddles • Available in 9 languages, including English, French, Russian, German, Chinese (Simplified), Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Japanese! • New colour blind mode available for people who might have trouble with colour based puzzles • Has a hard mode, for those who want to enjoy even more challenging puzzles! Follow us to receive all the latest news! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NovaSoftInteractive/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/novasoftint Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/novasoftint/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NovaSoftInteractive

Screenshots

Recursion4 screens
Aurora Hills4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Aurora Hills at 4.9 against Recursion's 4.2. Aurora Hills also leads on review sentiment (95% vs 65%) and chart position (#61 vs unranked). Recursion's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 weeks) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Recursion costs $3.99 and Aurora Hills $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Aurora Hills holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Aurora Hills has 590 ratings behind it against 67, 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 95% of Aurora Hills's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Recursion ships an update every 2 weeks, Aurora Hills every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Recursion versus Aurora Hills: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRecursionAurora Hills
Price$3.99$3.99
Rating4.2 (67 ratings)4.9 (590 ratings) — better
Positive reviews64.7% of reviews95.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings67590 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank—#61 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size550 MB837 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperGlitch GamesNovaSoft Interactive Ltd

Customer experience

Recursion

All ratings67 ratings
Positive76.1%
Neutral7.5%
Negative16.4%
Written reviews51 reviews
Positive64.7%
Neutral11.8%
Negative23.5%

Aurora Hills

All ratings590 ratings
Positive99.2%
Neutral0.5%
Negative0.3%
Written reviews124 reviews
Positive95.2%
Neutral3.2%
Negative1.6%

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)
Show 1 more
  • Sequels to previous games (Veritas, All That Remains)

Aurora Hills

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Recursion

No in-app purchases

None

Aurora Hills

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Recursion free?
Recursion costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Aurora Hills free?
Aurora Hills costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Recursion or Aurora Hills?
Aurora Hills is rated higher. Recursion averages 4.2 out of 5 from 67 ratings, while Aurora Hills averages 4.9 from 590 ratings.
Do Recursion or Aurora Hills have ads?
Neither Recursion nor Aurora Hills shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Recursion or Aurora Hills?
Recursion ships an update every 2 weeks, and Aurora Hills every 4 weeks. Most recently, Recursion was updated on September 20, 2026 and Aurora Hills on September 23, 2026.

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