Comparison

Machinarium vs BADLAND

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Robot protagonist
  • Story-driven adventure
  • Puzzle solving
  • Unique robot city setting
  • Award-winning visuals
Features
Read full description

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

About

BADLAND

Navigate a mysterious forest filled with traps and obstacles in this award-winning action-adventure. Control a forest dweller to uncover the forest's secrets and survive its dangers. Features innovative physics-based gameplay and an immersive audiovisual experience.

Highlights
  • Atmospheric side-scrolling action-adventure
  • Innovative physics-based gameplay
  • 100+ unique single-player levels
  • Local multiplayer for up to 4 players
  • Level editor for creating and sharing levels
  • Intuitive one-touch controls
Features
Read full description

Fly and survive through the Game of the Year -winning action adventure BADLAND. Over 100 MILLION players and counting! App Store iPad GAME OF THE YEAR! WINNER of the Apple Design Award! Apple Editors' Choice worldwide! 5/5 - AppSmile - "A standout game" 4/4 - Slide to Play - "A must-download" 5/5 - AppSpy - "An absolute treat to play" 5/5 - Apple’N'Apps - "One of the best games" 9/10 - Destructoid - "A hallmark of excellence" 4.5/5 - TouchArcade - "Easy to recommend" “BADLAND is a standout game that we can’t stop playing.” -- AppSmile “BADLAND’s unique gameplay and atmosphere make it a must-download.” -- Slide to Play “BADLAND doesn’t simply look pretty, it’s an absolute treat to play.” -- AppSpy “One of the best experiences on iOS.” -- Apple’N'Apps “A hallmark of excellence.” -- Destructoid App Store iPad GAME OF THE YEAR WINNER of the Apple Design Award WINNER of the Nordic Indie Sensation Award at Nordic Game WINNER of the Best Project at Game Connection Europe WINNER of the SCEE Award at Game Connection Europe WINNER of the Best Game - Arcade & Action at the Tabby Awards Selected Indie Game at PAX 10 Editors' Choice in Macworld BADLAND is an award-winning atmospheric side-scrolling action adventure platformer set in a gorgeous forest full of various inhabitants, trees and flowers. Although the forest appears to be right out of a beautiful fairy tale, there’s something terribly wrong. The player controls one of the forest dwellers to find out what’s going on, and discovers an astonishing number of imaginative traps and obstacles on the way. BADLAND takes side-scrollers to the next level with its innovative physics-based gameplay combined with stunning, atmospheric graphics and audio. BADLAND also features a highly original local multiplayer mode for up to four players on the same device, where the name of the game is survival of the fittest with no rules. It’s totally OK to push your rivals in front of spinning circular saws to survive. Or, if that's too rough for you, you can also cooperate with your friends and play the modified single player campaign with up to four players. - SINGLE PLAYER campaign with 100+ truly unique levels - VERSUS mode for up to four players on the same device in 30+ levels - COOPERATIVE mode for up to four players -- Survive the modified single player campaign with your friends - LEVEL EDITOR: Create levels, share & play! -- Start from scratch or modify the official levels - LEVEL WORLD: New levels to play all the time -- Discuss with the other level makers, share tips and watch level making tutorials at http://forum.badlandgame.com - Intuitive one-touch controls combined with innovative level design - Supports 3D Touch -- Super precise flying using touch -- Quick actions added to home screen icon to quickly access single player and editor - Highly immersive audiovisual gaming experience - iCloud support (player's game progress is synced with all linked iOS devices) - Game Controller support Follow us: Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/badlandgame Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/badlandgame Blog - http://www.badlandgame.com

Screenshots

Machinarium4 screens
BADLAND4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: BADLAND at $0.99 against Machinarium's $9.99. BADLAND also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (80% vs 69%). On ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Machinarium costs $9.99 and BADLAND $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BADLAND holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1K and 1.9K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of Machinarium's written reviews are positive against 80% of BADLAND's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Machinarium ships an update every 5 weeks, BADLAND every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Machinarium versus BADLAND: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMachinariumBADLAND
Price$9.99$0.99 — better
Rating4.5 (1K ratings)4.7 (1.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews69.3% of reviews79.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1K1.9K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#109#52 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TViPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV
Requires iOS12.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size302 MB224 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperAmanita Design s.r.o.HypeHype Oy

Customer experience

Machinarium

All ratings992 ratings
Positive84.4%
Neutral4.1%
Negative11.5%
Written reviews475 reviews
Positive69.3%
Neutral9.9%
Negative20.8%

BADLAND

All ratings1,893 ratings
Positive92.7%
Neutral1.8%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews475 reviews
Positive79.8%
Neutral4.2%
Negative16.0%

User reviews

Machinarium

From 1K App Store ratings

What 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

BADLAND

From 1.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 👍 Beautiful graphics and atmosphere
  • 🤩 Addictive and challenging
  • 💰 Good value for money
  • 🎮 Fun multiplayer experience

Room to improve

  • 🤯 Extremely difficult later levels
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🚫 Lack of online features and community support
  • ⏱️ Repetitive and monotonous at times

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

BADLAND

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • Level editor freezes and crashes
  • Inconsistent save/load functionality

Requested features

4 requests
  • More levels and content updates
  • Improved level search and discovery
  • Ability to customize character and visuals
  • Online leaderboards and multiplayer

In-app purchases

None

Machinarium

No in-app purchases

None

BADLAND

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Machinarium free?
Machinarium costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is BADLAND free?
BADLAND costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Machinarium or BADLAND?
BADLAND is rated higher. Machinarium averages 4.5 out of 5 from 1K ratings, while BADLAND averages 4.7 from 1.9K ratings.
Do Machinarium or BADLAND have ads?
Neither Machinarium nor BADLAND shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Machinarium or BADLAND?
Machinarium ships an update every 5 weeks, and BADLAND every 6 weeks. Most recently, Machinarium was updated on November 5, 2026 and BADLAND on November 1, 2026.
Which is more popular, Machinarium or BADLAND?
Machinarium currently peaks at #109 in the App Store charts, and BADLAND at #52. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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