Mountain vs Universal Paperclips™
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Existential nature simulation
- Generate a unique mountain
- Observe growth and decay
- Time moves forward
- Nature expresses itself
- No DLC
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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
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.
- AI paperclip maximization
- Idle management gameplay
- Strategy simulation
- Empire building
- Full gameplay
- No ads
- No in-app purchases
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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
Verdict
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
Mountain costs $0.99 and Universal Paperclips™ $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
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.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. Both last shipped on September 30, 2026.
| Parameter | Mountain | Universal Paperclips™ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 3.4 (113 ratings) | 4.5 (303 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 46.4% of reviews | 66.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 113 | 303 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #47 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 186 MB | 73 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | David O'Reilly | Everybody House Games, LLC |
Customer experience
Mountain
Universal Paperclips™
User reviews
Mountain
From 113 App Store ratingsWhat 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 ratingsWhat 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
Mountain
No in-app purchases
Universal Paperclips™
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Mountain free?
Is Universal Paperclips™ free?
Which has better reviews, Mountain or Universal Paperclips™?
Do Mountain or Universal Paperclips™ have ads?
Which is updated more often, Mountain or Universal Paperclips™?
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