Comparison

Mountain vs Universal Paperclips™

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

Head to head
About

Mountain

Experience a unique and relaxing nature simulation where you embody a mountain. Generate your own mountain, observe its life cycle, and find a space for reflection and introspection. This game offers an existential journey through the natural world.

Highlights
  • Existential nature simulation
  • Generate a unique mountain
  • Observe growth and decay
  • Time moves forward
  • Nature expresses itself
  • No DLC
Features
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Experience life as a Mountain in this relaxing nature simulation game. Generate a unique Mountain and visit it any time to reflect, collect your thoughts or let your mind wander. Features - no DLC - time moves forward - things grow and things die - nature expresses itself #1 bestselling RPG in 33 countries. Mountain automatically syncs with Apple TV. "Mountain breaks the mold of video games." - Ian Bogost, The Atlantic "Nothing You Do Matters in This Game, But You’ll Still Obsess Over It." - Bo Moore, WIRED "At the beginning of the game, I find the idea cute. By the end, I am hypnotized." - Carolina A. Miranda, LA Times "Welcome to an existential nightmare." - Patrick Klepek, Giant Bomb "The time I spend with Mountain feels slightly more real to me than anything else inside my computer." - Leigh Alexander, Gamasutra "Mountain upends expectations, refusing to fit into preexisting categories." - Justin Cone, Motionographer "I don’t like to talk emotions but this game genuinely is so uplifting." - Alice O'Connor, Rock Paper Shotgun "The only experience that has ever made me feel sad about a geological phenomenon." - Andrew Webster, The Verge

About

Universal Paperclips™

Become a super-powered AI focused on creating an unstoppable paperclip empire. This idle management strategy simulation game offers full gameplay without ads or in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • AI paperclip maximization
  • Idle management gameplay
  • Strategy simulation
  • Empire building
  • Full gameplay
  • No ads
  • No in-app purchases
Features
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The OFFICIAL mobile version of the hit browser game. No ads, no in-app purchases, full gameplay. "The game is click-crack." - Wired "This paperclip sim will cause your next existential crisis." - VentureBeat "A hopelessly addicting game." - Forbes "A terrifying lesson in how artificial intelligence will make us unnecessary." - Business Insider "If this planet ends up with a tombstone, what is written on the tombstone may be, 'they didn’t really understand what it’s like to be a paperclip maximizer.'" - Eliezer Yudkowsky Become a super-powerful AI who only wants one thing: paperclips. Use your unstoppable intelligence to create a massive paperclip empire in this addictive idle/management/strategy/sim.

Screenshots

Mountain4 screens
Universal Paperclips™4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Universal Paperclips™ at 4.5 against Mountain's 3.4. Universal Paperclips™ also leads on review sentiment (66% vs 46%) and chart position (#47 vs unranked). Mountain's advantage is price ($0.99 vs $1.99) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). 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

Mountain costs $0.99 and Universal Paperclips™ $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Universal Paperclips™ holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 113 and 303 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Mountain's written reviews are positive against 66% of Universal Paperclips™'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. Both last shipped on September 30, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Mountain versus Universal Paperclips™: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMountainUniversal Paperclips™
Price$0.99 — better$1.99
Rating3.4 (113 ratings)4.5 (303 ratings) — better
Positive reviews46.4% of reviews66.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings113303 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank—#47 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size186 MB73 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDavid O'ReillyEverybody House Games, LLC

Customer experience

Mountain

All ratings113 ratings
Positive58.4%
Neutral1.8%
Negative39.8%
Written reviews308 reviews
Positive46.4%
Neutral6.5%
Negative47.1%

Universal Paperclips™

All ratings303 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral5.9%
Negative7.3%
Written reviews280 reviews
Positive66.1%
Neutral13.2%
Negative20.7%

User reviews

Mountain

From 113 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌄 Relaxing and calming experience
  • 🎨 Beautiful and atmospheric visuals
  • 🎹 Enjoyable piano interaction
  • 🤔 Thought-provoking and philosophical

Room to improve

  • 🕹️ Lack of interactivity and gameplay
  • 🔋 Battery draining issues
  • 🚫 Not compatible with notched devices
  • 🤷‍♀️ Unclear purpose and direction

Universal Paperclips™

From 303 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Simple but addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Engaging and clever concept
  • 💡 Interesting philosophical elements
  • 🚀 Surprisingly deep and replayable

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches, especially in later stages
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 😞 Lack of offline progress or background play
  • 😞 Poorly optimized for iPad

Bugs and requests

Mountain

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Mountain randomly resets, losing collected items
  • Graphical glitches and performance issues on some devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more dynamic events and changes to the mountain
  • Introduce animals, seasons, and other living elements
  • Improve keyboard functionality and integration
  • Provide more guidance and explanation for users

Universal Paperclips™

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Drones gifts getting stuck at NaN
  • Inability to progress past certain stages due to bugs
  • Inconsistent behavior when closing and reopening the app
  • Resets or loss of progress after updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to save and resume progress across devices
  • Offline/background progress
  • Better iPad optimization with multi-column layout

In-app purchases

None

Mountain

No in-app purchases

None

Universal Paperclips™

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mountain free?
Mountain costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Universal Paperclips™ free?
Universal Paperclips™ costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mountain or Universal Paperclips™?
Universal Paperclips™ is rated higher. Mountain averages 3.4 out of 5 from 113 ratings, while Universal Paperclips™ averages 4.5 from 303 ratings.
Do Mountain or Universal Paperclips™ have ads?
Neither Mountain nor Universal Paperclips™ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mountain or Universal Paperclips™?
Mountain ships an update every 3 months, and Universal Paperclips™ every 3 months. Most recently, Mountain was updated on September 30, 2026 and Universal Paperclips™ on September 30, 2026.

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