Prune

About

Prune is a single player casual simulation game. It was developed by Joel McDonald LLC and was released on July 23, 2015. It received positive reviews from players.

Prune is a serene mobile game where you grow and shape trees by swiping on the screen, with a focus on beauty, meditation, and narrative. With no IAP or monetization, players can enjoy the unique, addictive, and soothing experience, share their tree creations, and sync progress with iCloud. Critics have praised it as "unlike anything I've played before," "wildly creative," and "a gorgeous and unique experience."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 879 reviews

graphics35 positive mentions

optimization4 negative mentions

Beautifully crafted with stunning visuals and a calming soundtrack, creating a relaxing experience.
Innovative gameplay that combines simplicity with challenge, making it engaging and enjoyable.
Offers a unique and meditative experience, allowing players to feel a sense of accomplishment while pruning trees.

The game is relatively short, with many players finishing it in under two hours, leading to a feeling of being overpriced.
Controls can be frustrating, particularly with the auto-zoom feature that disrupts precision cutting.
Lacks clear instructions or tutorials, leaving players confused about objectives and mechanics in later levels.

graphics
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
39%
5%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beauty, simplicity, and calming aesthetic, often compared to other visually stunning titles like Monument Valley. Players appreciate the harmonious blend of visuals and sound, creating a relaxing atmosphere that enhances the gameplay experience. However, some users noted performance issues on certain devices and expressed a desire for more variety in the graphics as the game progresses.
- “This is a stunning game with beautiful graphics and a peaceful soundtrack.”
- “The graphics are clean and the game is engaging.”
- “Beautiful graphics and very relaxing.”
- “My phone may not be the greatest (Alcatel Idol 3), but the framerate for such simple graphics should not be so low.”
- “However, a game with simple graphics like this should perform at a higher frame rate.”
- “Really poor graphical performance on the Nexus 6P.”
music
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
37%
5%
The music in the game is widely praised for its calming and beautiful qualities, enhancing the overall experience with a soothing soundtrack that complements the stunning visuals and gameplay. Many reviewers highlight the music's ability to create a meditative atmosphere, making it a significant aspect of the game's appeal. While some note occasional repetitiveness, the overall consensus is that the soundtrack is a standout feature that elevates the game's emotional depth and immersive quality.
- “Gorgeous music, mechanics, and storyline.”
- “The music is calming and a work of art.”
- “Beautiful soundtrack, visuals and gameplay flow.”
- “The reason I am giving this 4 stars is that I felt its soundtrack/music is similar to Monument Valley.”
- “It's more like a high frequency noise and the noise for the music is different from the one for the sound.”
- “No piano music in the game, why?”
gameplay
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
35%
6%
The gameplay is characterized by its intuitive mechanics, beautiful minimalist design, and relaxing atmosphere, making it a soothing and enjoyable experience for players. While many appreciate the artistic elements and emotional storytelling, some express disappointment over the game's short duration and limited replay value. Overall, it offers a unique and engaging puzzle experience, though some players find certain mechanics confusing or the controls less than ideal.
- “The usage of aesthetically pleasing mechanics provides a silent story of growth, perseverance, and hope that makes this game an emotional masterpiece among other puzzle games like Monument Valley.”
- “Original gameplay, great stylized graphics, and relaxing gameplay.”
- “The subtle storyline is engrossing, the tree growth looks and feels natural, and the gameplay is challenging but not hard!”
- “Calling it a game is stretching it, especially when the mechanics of winning a level are intentionally confusing.”
- “My only gripe is the lack of any real explanation of the later growth mechanics.”
- “Maybe an hour of gameplay, max.”
story
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
53%
20%
The game's story is often described as subtle and emotionally resonant, conveyed through its mechanics and aesthetics rather than traditional narrative elements. While some players find it deeply engaging and reflective of themes like growth and perseverance, others feel it lacks a clear storyline, leading to mixed opinions on its depth and progression. Overall, the storytelling is appreciated for its unique, wordless approach that invites personal interpretation.
- “The usage of aesthetically pleasing mechanics provides a silent story of growth, perseverance, and hope that makes this game an emotional masterpiece among other puzzle games like Monument Valley.”
- “Absolutely gorgeous...and what a wonderful way of telling a story.”
- “Excellent little story told through gameplay alone about how, no matter what, life goes on.”
- “Very boring and repetitive, no real storyline and the levels don't get progressively harder really.”
- “There is no story everyone speaks so highly about?”
- “I thought there was supposed to be an underlying story.”
replayability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
Overall, the game is noted for its strong replayability despite its short completion time, with many players appreciating the value it offers within a few hours of gameplay. While some express a desire for longer content or additional replay mechanisms, features like a new game+ mode and creative exploration contribute positively to the replay experience. Many users feel that the game is worth the investment, even if they wish for more content.
- “It's short (completed within a few hours) but has a lot of replay value; still would love to see more!”
- “Starts simple and has a storyline that is told without words... the new game + mode (blue stars / flowers) adds replay value.”
- “Definite replay value, buy this now.”
- “I do wish it was longer or had more replay value, but if you approach it as a finite interactive artwork and immerse yourself for the hour or two of gameplay it'll take to complete, then it's definitely worthwhile.”
- “It's an amazing game, perfectly built with a mellow tone and simplistic graphics; however, the shortness of it gave me only a few hours of playtime before I finished it, and it has little replay value.”
- “The addition of some mechanism to provide replay value would solve this, maybe an OCD mode or similar.”
optimization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
30%
40%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with users reporting poor performance, choppy frames, and audio stuttering across various devices, including high-end phones. Many players express frustration over the lack of options to adjust graphical settings for improved performance, indicating that the game struggles to run smoothly even on capable hardware. Overall, better optimization is urgently needed to enhance the gaming experience.
- “Good game... but performance is poor on the Nexus 5X, weird since the more complex Monument Valley or faster-paced Super Hexagon are as smooth as silk.”
- “At least give the options to disable anti-aliasing and filters to get better performance.”
- “This is a brand new phone, so I hope it's just some weird optimization issue because I'd love to play this in full.”
- “Should be more optimized; it lags on a beast of a phone.”
- “Good game... but performance is poor on the Nexus 5X, which is weird since the more complex Monument Valley or faster-paced Super Hexagon are as smooth as silk.”
- “Really poor graphical performance on the Nexus 6P.”
monetization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The game features a straightforward monetization model with a one-time upfront cost and no ads or in-app purchases, which players appreciate for its lack of pressure and distractions. Users find this approach refreshing and worth the price, enhancing the overall relaxing experience of the game.
- “No ads or in-app purchases!”
- “Worth every penny and no microtransactions or other nonsense.”
- “Worth every penny and no microtransactions or other bs.”
- “No in-app purchases, just the upfront cost of the game, and that's it!”
- “It also has no in-app purchases and never once asked me to rate it, even after I beat it.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
29%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its relaxing and meditative qualities, enhanced by beautiful graphics and atmospheric music. Players find the combination of engaging gameplay and a zen-like environment to be both challenging and immersive, making the experience feel moreish and enjoyable. Overall, the game's design and intuitive mechanics contribute to a captivating and atmospheric experience.
- “Beautiful, intuitive, well designed, accompanied by atmospheric music, creative concept.”
- “The zen atmosphere made even the easier early levels feel moreish, and now working on the blue stars I am starting to dread the approaching end of the game.”
- “A wonderful little game for challenging puzzles and a meditative atmosphere.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its elegant and minimalist design that evokes strong emotions through its aesthetic mechanics and ambient elements. Despite the absence of dialogue or characters, it conveys a powerful narrative of growth and hope, enhanced by a soothing soundtrack and stunning visuals, making it a standout emotional experience in the puzzle genre.
- “It’s elegant, relaxing, and surprisingly emotional for such a minimalist experience.”
- “The usage of aesthetically pleasing mechanics provides a silent story of growth, perseverance, and hope that makes this game an emotional masterpiece among other puzzle games like Monument Valley.”
- “It will make you feel emotional despite no words being said and no characters as a medium.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is generally well-received for its content, but users report significant stability issues, citing frequent bugs and persistent login prompts for Google Play accounts as major drawbacks.
- “Good game, but too buggy.”
- “Game is nice, but very buggy.”
- “Buggy and constantly asking me to log in to my Google Play account.”