Magic Research vs Magic Research 2
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Magic Research
Lead a new magic institution to discover the secrets of magic and achieve fame. Research spells, build your campus, manage staff, and uncover hidden storylines to win the Tournament of Magic. Enjoy a complete game experience with no ads.
- Cast over 100 spells
- Research magic in various schools
- Build and manage campus
- Manage researchers and apprentices
- Discover hidden features and storylines
- Retirement bonuses for faster progress
Read full descriptionHide full description
In Magic Research, you are the headmaster of a newly-created institution of Magic with one goal: to learn as much as possible about this power and get enough fame to be able to compete, and win, the prestigious competition of schools: the Tournament of Magic. But what will you discover along the way? * Cast over a hundred different spells with various effects * Research magic in various magical schools to discover new, surprising ways to use this power * Accumulate resources and build the school campus * Manage a team of researchers and apprentices to lead your school to fame * Discover tons of hidden new features - when will you unlock the next one? * Find over eight dozen secret storylines with permanent, game-altering effects * Restart the game and make faster progress each time with retirement bonuses * Optimized both for iPhone and iPad * No ads! This is the full, complete game. You can transfer save data from the demo by using the Export / Import Save feature available in both the demo and in the full game.
Magic Research 2
Embark on a magical quest as a rookie wizard to find or create the Philosopher's Stone. Utilize over 120 spells, transmute hundreds of items, and lead a team of wizards in a semi-automated combat system. Explore dozens of areas, uncover secrets, and experience over 60 hours of gameplay.
- Over 120 distinct spells
- Transmute over 250 items
- Control a team of wizards
- Semi-automated combat system
- Explore dozens of areas
- Discover secrets and storylines
- Retirement bonuses for faster progress
Read full descriptionHide full description
Experience the long-awaited sequel to Magic Research! In Magic Research 2, you are a rookie wizard with a single ambition: to find or create the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary magical item that is said to be able to cure any illness. As you do so, you will learn more than you ever imagined about Magic and about the world around you. What kinds of adventures await you? * Use your arsenal of more than 120 distinct spells to make progress * Study the Elements! Learn new ways to use Magic in your path to mastery * Transmute (magically craft) over 250 different items to help you on your journey * Control a team of Wizards that will cast Spells for you * Enjoy a deep, semi-automated combat system as you make your way through dozens of areas to explore * Discover tons of secrets - many of which will change the way you play the game! * Encounter over a hundred distinct Storylines with powerful bonuses along your journey * Restart the game and make progress faster each time with retirement bonuses * Over 60 hours of addictive gameplay - with a clear ending! (Or perhaps more than one...?) * Optimized both for phones and tablet devices You do not need to have played Magic Research in order to enjoy Magic Research 2!
Screenshots
Verdict
Magic Research and Magic Research 2 both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 95% of Magic Research's written reviews are positive against 82% of Magic Research 2's. Magic Research 2's advantage is chart position (#15 vs #136) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Magic Research costs $3.99 and Magic Research 2 $4.69 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Magic Research against 4.8 for Magic Research 2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 188 and 115 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of Magic Research's written reviews are positive against 82% of Magic Research 2's.
Magic Research ships an update every 4 days, Magic Research 2 every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Magic Research | Magic Research 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $4.69 |
| Rating | 4.7 (188 ratings) | 4.8 (115 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 95.1% of reviews — better | 82.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 188 — better | 115 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #136 | #15 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Matias Ezequiel Colotto | Matias Ezequiel Colotto |
Customer experience
Magic Research
Magic Research 2
User reviews
Magic Research
From 188 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great idle/incremental game
- 💡 Deep and complex systems
- 🚀 Well-paced progression
- 💰 Worth the price
- ✨ No ads or microtransactions
Room to improve
- 🐛 UI layout issues
- 🐌 Can be grindy
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🐛 Text running off page/scrolling issues
- 🐛 Wood resource bug
Magic Research 2
From 115 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fantastic sequel, better than the first
- 👍 Incredible sense of progression
- 💡 Fun build types, best in genre
- 👍 Incremental masterclass, gold standard
- 👍 True semi-idle masterpiece
Room to improve
- 🐛 Extremely complicated, tedious timers
- 🐛 UI is absolutely atrocious
- 🐛 Time pieces cap out at 100k
- 🐛 UI issues, not easy to navigate
- 🐛 Sorting doesn't sort exactly as wanted
Bugs and requests
Magic Research
Reported bugs
8 issues- On new iPhones, switching away and back causes UI unresponsiveness
- Text running off the page, preventing interaction with buttons
- Wood resource counting backwards
- Becoming stunned for a full minute, unable to act
- Bosses running away from fights
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Exploration difficulty jump
- UI layout issues on iPad Pro (long scrolling panels, cut-off inventory views, difficult spell favorite scrolling, useless event panel)
- Text pages not scrolling, making discoveries unreadable
Requested features
12 requests- Add background music
- Add Chinese language support
- Make monsters pixelated
- Adjustable times for apprentice auto-casting
- Display monstium collection counter during exploration
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Allow apprentices to auto-craft potions
- Make the game accessible to the blind
- Add a way to start further into dungeons
- Automate crafting
- Improve quality of crafted items (armor, weapons)
- Add a 'Magic Smithing' school
- Allow players to avoid or cure silence effects
Magic Research 2
Reported bugs
6 issues- App instantly crashes on open
- Game crashes on startup
- App started rapidly pushing buttons on its own
- Overheating phone
- Lags and gets choppy in the late game
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Compendium doesn't unlock for bosses unless already beat
Requested features
9 requests- DLC or sequel news
- macOS version
- Better automation and convenience features
- Tweak familiar search time down
- Release the next one
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- More Please
- Auto fight boss button
- Compendium unlocks bosses before beating them
- Less dialogue and descriptions, more functional text
In-app purchases
Magic Research
No in-app purchases
Magic Research 2
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Magic Research free?
Is Magic Research 2 free?
Which has better reviews, Magic Research or Magic Research 2?
Do Magic Research or Magic Research 2 have ads?
Which is updated more often, Magic Research or Magic Research 2?
Which is more popular, Magic Research or Magic Research 2?
Other comparisons
