Project Makeover has gotten more expensive with recent updates and the ad load has crept up. These match-3 meta-games offer similar gameplay with fairer monetization, deeper storylines, or more generous free progression — including the genre's most polished and highest-grossing titles.
Each app below addresses a specific gap in Project Makeover's offering. We picked them based on real user review patterns and feature differentiation.
Homescapes wraps match-3 levels around home renovation, the same hybrid format as Project Makeover. Playrix has been refining this formula since 2017 and the game has the best production values, character writing, and story depth in the category. A direct upgrade for Project Makeover players who want a more mature version of the same gameplay.
Explore Homescapes data →Gardenscapes is Homescapes' slightly older sibling and uses the same core loop — solve match-3 levels to earn coins, spend coins to restore a garden. Huge user base, regular events, and a more forgiving early-to-mid game than Project Makeover. If you're not sure which Playrix game to try first, Gardenscapes is the more welcoming option.
Explore Gardenscapes data →Matchington Mansion combines match-3 with mansion decoration — you pick furniture, wallpapers, and decor choices to restore rooms. The tuning is slightly more casual than Project Makeover and the decoration choices are more varied. A solid alternative for players who prefer design choices over story-driven makeover sequences.
Explore Matchington Mansion data →Lily's Garden from Tactile Games has the strongest narrative in the category — witty dialogue, recurring characters, and romance arcs that give the match-3 grind a meaningful reason to continue. Cleaner monetization than Project Makeover and the difficulty curve is friendlier.
Explore Lily's Garden data →Royal Match has overtaken Candy Crush as the highest-grossing match-3 game globally. The puzzles are slightly more forgiving than genre average and the meta-game (restoring King Robert's castle) gives you a meaningful reason to keep playing. If you want the most polished match-3 core loop on mobile, this is the pick.
Explore Royal Match data →If your love of Project Makeover is really about the styling and makeover moments, Covet Fashion from Crowdstar is the dedicated fashion dress-up game with real luxury brand partnerships. No match-3 levels between styling — just pure fashion gameplay with voting and rewards.
Explore Covet Fashion data →We found these alternatives by analyzing review patterns across casual and match-3 games, with attention to Project Makeover's most common churn drivers: rising in-game prices, gameplay bugs, and difficulty spikes. The apps below address at least one of those friction points directly.
Gardenscapes and Homescapes are the most generous match-3 meta-games from Playrix. Lily's Garden is a close third with particularly strong writing. All three have friendlier free-to-play economies than Project Makeover's recent tuning changes.
Lily's Garden is widely regarded as having the best narrative and character writing in the match-3 meta-game category. Homescapes is a strong second — its story arc with Austin the butler is longer and more developed than Project Makeover's.
Reviews flag that recent updates tightened the coin economy and added new premium-only content. This is a common pattern with established freemium games — as active player bases age, studios tune monetization to extract more revenue from loyal players. Alternatives like Homescapes and Gardenscapes have been more stable on their free-to-play economies over time.
App Vulture uses AI-powered review intelligence to analyze what real users say about apps — their pain points, feature requests, and reasons for switching. We identified these alternatives by analyzing review patterns across casual and match-3 games and validated each candidate against the source app's most common churn reasons.
Match-3 & Puzzle Games alternatives.
Racing Games alternatives.
Sports Games alternatives.
Education alternatives.