Prune vs Human Resource Machine
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Prune
Cultivate a digital tree in a hostile world by guiding its growth towards sunlight. Uncover a hidden story and bring life to a forgotten landscape with this meditative and beautiful game.
- Grow and shape trees
- Minimalist art and interface
- Meditative music and sound
- No in-app purchases or monetization
- Share tree creations
- iCloud progress synchronization
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~ Apple Game of the Year 2015 ~ ~ TIME Magazine Game of the Year 2015 ~ Prune is a love letter to trees. A game about the beauty and joy of cultivation. With a swipe of a finger, grow and shape your tree into the sunlight while avoiding the dangers of a hostile world. Bring life to a forgotten landscape and uncover a story hidden deep beneath the soil. • A unique digital plant for your pocket • Beautiful, minimalist art and a super clean interface—it's just you and the trees • Meditative music and sound design for you to zen out to • No IAP, no monetization strategy, no currencies • Share screenshots of your unique tree creations with friends • Synchronize progress across all your devices using iCloud ----- RECEPTION ----- "Unlike anything I've played before... the kind of experience I want to pull out to show my friends." - The Verge "Wildly creative, totally addictive, and oddly soothing" - Entertainment Weekly "Prune is a gorgeous and unique experience." - 5/5 TouchArcade "Prune is an awe-inspiring work of digital poetry that transcends its initial subject material to explore a much larger, much more complex theme, in an articulate and powerfully moving manner" - 10/10 Pocket Gamer "A collaboration that feels more like a dance than puzzle-solving." - Kill Screen ----- AWARDS ----- • Winner - Best Upcoming Game - 11th International Mobile Gaming Awards • Finalist - IndieCade Festival 2015 • Official Selection - Brazil's FILE Festival • Runner-Up - IndiePlus "Make Something Great" Contest • Official Selection - Out of Index Experimental Games Festival
Human Resource Machine
Solve puzzles by programming office workers to automate tasks. Progress through levels by successfully completing jobs and getting promoted. This game makes programming accessible and fun for everyone, even those new to coding.
- Program office workers
- Solve logic puzzles
- Automate tasks
- Progress through levels
- Learn programming concepts
- Extra challenges for experts
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Program little office workers to solve puzzles. Be a good employee! The machines are coming... for your job. - Included in the 'App Store Best of 2016'. - A worldwide App Store Editors’ Choice. - Winner of Excellence in Innovation by the International Mobile Gaming Awards. Human Resource Machine is a puzzle game for nerds. In each level, your boss gives you a job. Automate it by programming your little office worker. If you succeed, you'll be promoted up to the next level for another year of work in the vast office building. Congratulations! Don't worry if you've never programmed before - programming is just puzzle solving. If you strip away all the 1's and 0's and scary squiggly brackets, programming is simple, logical, beautiful, and something that anyone can understand and have fun with! Are you already an expert? There will be extra challenges for you. From the creators of World of Goo and Little Inferno. Have fun! Management is watching. REVIEWS: “Amidst the trend of instant gratification that the internet and gaming as a whole has perpetuated, having a game that both excels in its puzzles and also challenges your wider perception of it is commendable, and makes Human Resource Machine exponentially essential.” - Touch Arcade 5/5 “Sometimes a game catches you by surprise. Be it with its ingenuity, its style, or its sense of humor. Other times a game catches you with all three, like Human Resource Machine.” - Gamezebo 9/10 "Human Resource Machine Could Be The App Of The Year” - Mobile n’ Apps
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Human Resource Machine at 4.5 against Prune's 4.3. Human Resource Machine also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 66%) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 11.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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
Prune costs $4.99 and Human Resource Machine $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Human Resource Machine holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 568 and 416 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of Prune's written reviews are positive against 80% of Human Resource Machine's.
Prune ships an update every 6 weeks, Human Resource Machine every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Prune | Human Resource Machine |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.3 (568 ratings) | 4.5 (416 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.2% of reviews | 80.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 568 — better | 416 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #45 — better | #68 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 | 8.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 123 MB | 133 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Joel McDonald LLC | Experimental Gameplay Group |
Customer experience
Prune
Human Resource Machine
User reviews
Prune
From 568 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌳 Beautiful, elegant design
- 🕹️ Relaxing, meditative gameplay
- 🎶 Calming, atmospheric soundtrack
- 🌟 Unique, artistic experience
- 👍 Simple and intuitive controls
Room to improve
- ⏱️ Levels can feel too time-sensitive
- 🤔 Unclear objectives and mechanics
- 🕰️ Game is too short for the price
- 🐛 Performance issues on older devices
Human Resource Machine
From 416 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Challenging puzzles
- 👍 Engaging gameplay
- 💡 Teaches programming concepts
- 🎨 Quirky visuals and humor
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bugs in certain levels
- 🔁 Repetitive gameplay
- 🔇 No option to play own music
- 🔀 Issues with screen rotation
Bugs and requests
Prune
Reported bugs
2 issues- Progress reset after updates
- Unresponsive controls at times
Requested features
4 requests- More levels and content updates
- Zen mode with no time constraints
- Level editor and sharing capabilities
- Improved tutorials and explanations
Human Resource Machine
Reported bugs
3 issues- Level 20 expecting incorrect output
- Scrolling issues causing commands to move
- Crashing on iOS 14 update
Requested features
3 requests- More levels and challenges
- Ability to save progress across devices
- Hints or solution guides for stuck players
In-app purchases
Prune
No in-app purchases
Human Resource Machine
No in-app purchases









