Machinarium vs Meridian 157
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Machinarium
Embark on an adventure as a robot named Josef to rescue his girlfriend, Berta, who has been kidnapped by a criminal gang. Explore a unique robot city and solve puzzles to achieve your goal.
- Robot protagonist
- Story-driven adventure
- Puzzle solving
- Unique robot city setting
- Award-winning visuals
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Machinarium is the award-winning independent adventure game developed by the makers of Samorost series, Botanicula and CHUCHEL. Help Josef the robot to save his girlfriend Berta kidnapped by the Black Cap Brotherhood gang. "Absolutely Fantastic" - TouchArcade 4/4 - USA TODAY 4/4 - SlideToPlay 9/10 - Pocket Gamer Awards: - IGF, Excellence in Visual Art Award - Gamasutra, Best Indie Game Of The Year - VGChartz.com, Best Indie Game Of The Year
Meridian 157
Embark on a thrilling point-and-click adventure as a forensic meteorologist trapped on a mysterious island. Solve intricate puzzles and uncover secrets to escape a dangerous underground environment. This installment features immersive visuals, custom music, and a logical hint system.
- Interactive point-and-click puzzles
- Intriguing storyline across chapters
- Immersive environments and high-quality visuals
- Item combine feature
- Logical hint system
- Multi-language support
- Color blind mode
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In both a figurative and literal sense, forensic meteorologist David Zander has hit rock bottom. Trapped deep underground on a lost and forgotten island, David’s priority shifts from finding answers about the mystery surrounding him, to surviving the crisis he now finds himself trapped in. It’s now up to you to find an escape from the madness of meridian 157, but be warned, as escape may not come so easily. Will David find the answers he searched so hard for, or will his efforts all be in vain? Meridian 157 is a point and click adventure series involving interactive puzzles and an intriguing storyline taking place over a long series of chapters. Built using state of the art rendering technology, this installment focuses on immersing players in unique and frightening environments, while allowing them to enjoy notable puzzles and engaging interactions. Try out the fully free prologue to get a taste for what the Meridian series has to offer! Features: • Custom written music to compliment the high quality visuals • All new item combine feature, supporting many different styles of play • Latest episode continuing a spooky and thrilling storyline • Challenging but • A logical hint system for some of the most difficult riddles • Available in 8 languages, including English, French, Russian, German, Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Japanese! • New colour blind mode available for people who might have trouble with colour based puzzles Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to receive all the latest news! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NovaSoftInteractive/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/novasoftint
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Meridian 157 at $2.99 against Machinarium's $9.99. Meridian 157 also leads on review sentiment (94% vs 69%) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and chart position 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
Machinarium costs $9.99 and Meridian 157 $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Meridian 157 holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1K and 4.2K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of Machinarium's written reviews are positive against 94% of Meridian 157's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Machinarium | Meridian 157 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | $2.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (1K ratings) | 4.8 (4.2K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 69.3% of reviews | 93.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1K | 4.2K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #155 | #70 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 302 MB | 326 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Amanita Design s.r.o. | NovaSoft Interactive Ltd |
Customer experience
Machinarium
Meridian 157
User reviews
Machinarium
From 1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Beautiful artwork and graphics
- 🎶 Excellent soundtrack and sound design
- 🤖 Cute and engaging main character
- 🧠 Challenging and rewarding puzzles
- 👍 Immersive and atmospheric game world
Room to improve
- 🔍 Difficulty in seeing small details on mobile screens
- 🕹️ Clunky or unresponsive touch controls
- 🤔 Puzzles can be overly obscure or unintuitive
- 🕰️ Repetitive gameplay in some areas
- 💤 Slow pacing can feel tedious at times
Meridian 157
From 4.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Engaging story
- 👍 Challenging but fair puzzles
- 🎨 Beautiful graphics and atmosphere
- 🔍 Intriguing mystery
- 📷 Useful camera feature
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional glitches or bugs
- 🔍 Some puzzles lack clear logic
- ⏱️ Chapters can be short
- 🔍 Hints sometimes too revealing
Bugs and requests
Machinarium
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes or freezes on certain devices
- Glitches preventing progress in key areas
- Inconsistent responsiveness of interactive elements
Requested features
4 requests- Difficulty settings or customization options
- Ability to skip or bypass certain mini-games
- Improved save/resume functionality
- Expanded story or sequel content
Meridian 157
Reported bugs
3 issues- Red drawer not opening with key
- Sound turning off when device locked
- Pipe puzzle clues not clear
Requested features
4 requests- More chapters/episodes
- Ability to revisit past diary entries
- More varied puzzle types
- Panning/zooming camera controls
In-app purchases
Machinarium
No in-app purchases
Meridian 157
No in-app purchases









