Mini Metro vs Hydro Loops
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mini Metro
Design and manage a subway system for a growing city. Draw lines, start trains, and adapt your network as new stations open. Strategically use limited resources to keep the city moving and achieve the highest score.
- Design subway maps
- Draw lines between stations
- Manage train routes
- Adapt to random city growth
- Utilize limited resources
- Over two dozen real-world cities
- Variety of upgrades
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Mini Metro, the sublime subway simulator, now on iPhone and iPad. • Included in the App Store Best of 2016 • Mac Game of the Year in over 30 countries • BAFTA-nominated • IGF award-winning • IGN Mobile Game of the Year nominee • Included in Gamespot's Best Mobile Games of 2016 Mini Metro is a game about designing a subway map for a growing city. Draw lines between stations and start your trains running. As new stations open, redraw your lines to keep them efficient. Decide where to use your limited resources. How long can you keep the city moving? • Random city growth means each game is unique. • Over two dozen of real-world cities to test your planning skills. • A variety of upgrades so you can tailor your network. • Normal mode for quick scored games, Endless to relax, or Extreme for the ultimate challenge. • Build your metro exactly how you want to with the Creative mode. • Compete against the world every day in the Daily Challenge. • Colorblind and night modes. • Responsive soundtrack created by your metro system, engineered by Disasterpeace. "If you love the city-planning aspect of Sim City but can't handle the pressure of playing god, then you may have just found your new favorite time-waster." - Ashley Feinberg, Gizmodo "Take my word for it that a game about mass-transit system design can be a tense, white-knuckle thriller." - Owen Faraday, Pocket Tactics "Mini Metro: fun game simulates planning and running public transit system." - Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing
Hydro Loops
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The pocket water game you remember - now in your phone. Press the two buttons, send jets of water swirling through the tank, and land every ring on its peg. Easy to pick up, stubbornly hard to master - exactly like the handheld toy from childhood. Only this tank sits in a sunken steampunk city: hand-painted brass and coral, fish drifting past the glass, and a crab that squats on your pegs until you deal with him. WHAT YOU GET • Two buttons, endless practice - a left jet, a right jet, and a tank full of drifting rings • Compete - timed rounds, ring combos, and a score worth chasing • Free Play - no timer, no pressure, just you and the water • The crab - deploy a shrimp to distract him before he scrambles your pegs • Leaderboards - global, by country, and private groups you open with a code and share with friends • A fresh start every Monday - weekly boards reset at midnight, so the top spot is always back within reach PLAY YOUR WAY Pick your own name and flag, or keep your country hidden. Sign in with Apple to carry your scores to another device - or don't, and everything still works right here. No subscription, no energy timers. One optional purchase removes the ads for good. Music by mum, game by dad.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Hydro Loops at Free against Mini Metro's $3.99. Hydro Loops also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 months). Mini Metro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On 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
Hydro Loops is free to download; Mini Metro costs $3.99 up front. Hydro Loops sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Mini Metro asks for nothing beyond the download.
Mini Metro ships an update every 2 months, Hydro Loops every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mini Metro | Hydro Loops |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.9 (32K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 88.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 32K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Best chart rank | #21 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 191 MB | 122 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dinosaur Polo Club | OLDRICH KUCINA |
Bugs and requests
Mini Metro
Reported bugs
3 issues- Leaderboard issues with daily challenges
- Crashes and compatibility problems on certain devices
- Unexpected behavior when trains skip stations
Requested features
5 requests- Undo/redo functionality
- Ability to create branching lines
- More detailed statistics and analytics
- Additional game modes (e.g. career, scenarios)
- Integration with real-world transit data
Hydro Loops
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Mini Metro
No in-app purchases
Hydro Loops
- Remove Ads Forever$2.99









