Prune vs Hidden Folks
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
Read full descriptionHide full description
~ 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
Hidden Folks
Explore charming, hand-drawn worlds to find hidden characters. Interact with the environment by opening doors, cutting bushes, and more to reveal them. Unlock new areas as you discover enough targets.
- Hand-drawn interactive landscapes
- Hundreds of targets to find
- Unique environmental interactions
- Multiple color modes
- iMessage stickers
- Community-translated languages
Read full descriptionHide full description
Game of the Year (2017) on the App Store! Search for hidden folks in hand-drawn, interactive, miniature landscapes. Unfurl tent flaps, cut through bushes, slam doors, and poke some crocodiles! Rooooaaaarrrr!!!!! A strip of targets shows you what to look for. Tap a target for a hint, and find enough to unlock the next area. ------/ Game Features /------ - 32 hand-drawn areas - 300+ targets to find - 2000+ mouth-originated sound effects - 500+ unique interactions - 3 color modes: normal, sepia, and night mode - 100+ iMessage stickers - iCloud synchronisation - 22 languages (translated by the community) ------/ Need help? /------ You can always email game designer Adriaan de Jongh: support@hiddenfolks.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Hidden Folks at 4.9 against Prune's 4.3. Hidden Folks also leads on review sentiment (93% vs 66%) and ratings volume (13K vs 568). Prune's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). On price, 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
Prune costs $4.99 and Hidden Folks $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Hidden Folks holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hidden Folks has 13K ratings behind it against 568, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of Prune's written reviews are positive against 93% of Hidden Folks's.
Prune ships an update every 6 weeks, Hidden Folks every 2 months. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Prune | Hidden Folks |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.3 (568 ratings) | 4.9 (13K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.1% of reviews | 93.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 568 | 13K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #39 | #15 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 123 MB | 247 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Joel McDonald LLC | Hidden Folks B.V. |
Customer experience
Prune
Hidden Folks
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
Hidden Folks
From 13K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Charming, quirky art style
- 👍 Engaging, interactive gameplay
- 👍 Clever, humorous sound effects
- 👍 Relaxing, no-pressure experience
- 👍 Highly detailed, layered scenes
Room to improve
- 🔍 Some objects too small/hard to find
- 🔍 Difficulty level can be inconsistent
- 🔍 Lack of ability to zoom out on larger maps
- 💰 Paid updates/expansions required
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
Hidden Folks
Reported bugs
2 issues- Conveyor belt issue on factory level
- Certain hidden objects not appearing
Requested features
4 requests- More levels/content updates
- Ability to save/resume progress
- Customizable hint system
- Randomized/procedurally generated levels
In-app purchases
Prune
No in-app purchases
Hidden Folks
No in-app purchases
