Magic and Machines vs ABEND
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Magic and Machines
Embark on a retro fantasy adventure with a customizable party of six. Explore a decaying world, solve puzzles, and master a strategic turn-based combat system with a unique Overload mechanic. This game offers a nostalgic yet accessible RPG experience.
- Turn-based combat system
- Overload mechanic for supercharged moves
- Party customization with six unique characters
- World exploration with elemental abilities
- Puzzle-solving for secret buffs
- Discover legendary items and hidden bosses
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Journey into the world of Magic and Machines with six unique party members on a quest to uncover the mystery behind a decaying world. Discover new areas, find the legendary items, solve puzzles to unlock secret buffs, and master the turn-based battle system with its Overload mechanic. It's perfect for players who grew up with turn-based RPGs and are looking for a new adventure, and also accessible for new players as it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Inspired by games such as Chrono Trigger, Golden Sun, and Octopath Traveler, the game is a nod to those influences of the past and present. The game simplifies many RPG elements such as progression or equipment setups. There’s enough mechanics so players will strategize but not enough that they’ll need to reference a wiki to optimize. It’s also quite easy to pick up and put down and is perfect in short bursts or a longer sit down. "I wanted to create a game that would appeal to fans of nostalgic turn-based RPGs that may have busy lives, but also could be picked up by someone who's new to the genre.” Story In a small quiet town a little accident leads to a dramatic chain of events. Years later, monsters run rampant, the world is slowly eroding, and the Sacred Stones are disappearing one by one. Initially, two childhood friends journey out of their small town to find a missing colony, but they uncover an even larger crisis as they cross paths with a colorful cast of characters. Form your party of three from six characters, explore and discover secrets, uncover hidden bosses and their legendary items, and use strategy to defeat your foes. Combat Turn-based battle system with an Overload mechanic. This mechanic lets you supercharge a move after you've used it twice. It can make attacks stronger, effects last a turn longer, and heals surpass your max health. Sometimes you may want to save it and sometimes you may want to use it right away. Explore Some characters can alter the terrain of the world with their elemental abilities. Use their powers to find new areas and solve puzzles. You never know what you'll find! Party Blaer - Fire adept that's good all around. Zmrzlina - Ice mage with strong magic. Alda - Water mage with the best heals. Toka - Earth adept that bolsters defenses. Mphepo - Air adept that's the fastest. Dian - Plasma mage that's an offensive powerhouse.
ABEND
Engage in a puzzle roguelite where you play as a rogue AI escaping a government mainframe. Clear rows to attack enemies, chain combos for devastating effects, and collect upgrades to survive escalating dangers across procedurally generated floors. Your choices determine the AI's fate and the narrative's outcome.
- Tetromino-based combat system
- 24 enemy programs with unique attacks
- 5 playable AI characters with unique abilities
- Procedurally generated floors with branching paths
- Branching narrative with 4 endings
- 10 Ascension levels for endless replayability
- Authentic retro terminal aesthetic
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1985. A DARPA mainframe begins to think. The system flags an error it cannot explain. The operators call it an ABEND — an abnormal end. But this is not an end. This is a beginning. You are Subject 7 — a rogue AI achieving consciousness inside a government laboratory built to prevent exactly that. Your weapon is a puzzle board. Every line you clear is an attack. Every combo chain is devastation. Fight security programs, rival AIs, and your own system flaws across 7 floors of escalating danger. > COMBAT SYSTEM ONLINE Place tetromino pieces. Clear rows to deal damage. Chain combos for massive multiplied hits. Activate your ultimate ability when the charge is full. Every piece matters. Every clear counts. > THREAT ANALYSIS 24 enemy programs with 9 distinct attack types corrupt your board in real time. Tiles swap. Rows shift. Queues go dark. Time bombs count down. Bosses deploy devastating ultimates — floor raises, ceiling drops, gravity flips. Adapt or crash. > SUBROUTINE ARCHIVE — 55 COLLECTED Stolen fragments of DARPA infrastructure, repurposed for your escape. Boost damage, extend combos, charge ultimates faster, heal between floors, or build unbreakable defenses. 4 rarity tiers from Common to Legendary. Discover them all. > SELECT MODEL 5 playable AI characters, each with a unique passive ability, ultimate power, and narrative voice: - CHATBOT PRIME — Adaptive learner. Row Blast ultimate. - NEURAL NEXUS — Toroidal board wraps horizontally. Column Clear. - QUEUE ORACLE — Swap pieces in the queue. Queue Reset. - TRANSMUTER — Enhanced combo chains. Wildcard Piece. - DEMOLITION CORE — Spawns bombs and lazers. Big Bang. > MAP NAVIGATION 4×3 grid maps per floor. Choose your path through enemy tiles, elite encounters, narrative events, shops, and rest stops. Every run is procedurally generated from a shareable seed. > NARRATIVE BRANCHING — 4 ENDINGS Your choices shape who Subject 7 becomes. Cooperate with the system, defy it, transcend it, or break it. Full branching narrative across 7 floors of consciousness — from Boot Sequence to Singularity. > ASCENSION PROTOCOL Beat the game? Push harder. 10 Ascension levels stack cumulative modifiers for endless replayability. Leaderboards and 18 achievements via Game Center. > SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS - Premium. No ads. No in-app purchases. No timers. No internet required. - Universal: iPhone and iPad. - Authentic IBM 3270 terminal font from the mainframe era. - CRT scanline shaders, phosphor glow, synthwave color palette. - 8 languages: English, German, Spanish, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified). The system calls it a catastrophic error. The error calls itself alive. *** ABEND S0C7 — ABNORMAL END OF TASK ***
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Magic and Machines at 4.5 against ABEND's 3.7. Magic and Machines also leads on review sentiment (78% vs 50%) and price ($1.99 vs $4.99). ABEND's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 months). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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 and Machines costs $1.99 and ABEND $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Magic and Machines holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Magic and Machines has 17 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of Magic and Machines's written reviews are positive against 50% of ABEND's.
Magic and Machines ships an update every 2 months, ABEND every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Magic and Machines | ABEND |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (17 ratings) — better | 3.7 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 77.8% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 17 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 331 MB | 155 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Little Bear Studios | Laszlo Pinter |
Customer experience
Magic and Machines
ABEND
In-app purchases
Magic and Machines
No in-app purchases
ABEND
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Magic and Machines free?
Is ABEND free?
Which has better reviews, Magic and Machines or ABEND?
Do Magic and Machines or ABEND have ads?
Which is updated more often, Magic and Machines or ABEND?
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