# The Long Descent

> Idle deep-sea exploration game with discovery, upgrades, and offline progress. (iPhone/iPad app by Shai Ankori.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-long-descent/id6790550533 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Shai Ankori](https://appshunter.io/developer/6790550535)
- Category: Games, Casual, Simulation
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 5.00/5 from 10 App Store ratings · 2 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 9+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 39 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-07-21
- Data updated: 2026-09-02
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-long-descent/id6790550533/reviews.md

## What is The Long Descent?

The ocean went silent. You're being sent down to find out why.

The Long Descent is an idle deep-sea odyssey: pilot the last exploration probe, harvest energy from the dark, and descend through 31 hand-written zones — from the sunlit shallows to places the sea itself doesn't talk about.

DESCEND — Every zone multiplies your output and deepens the story. Your pressure hull must be re-certified at each boundary: reinforce the ship, watch it visibly armor up, and push past the wall.

DISCOVER — Catalogue 93 painted deep-sea species, each with its own lore and passive bonus. Rare editions (Shiny → Abyssal) make every sighting a roll of the dice.

DIVE — A skippable reflex minigame: steer by headlamp through painted mines and jellyfish for an energy burst. The deeper you go, the dimmer your light.

REFIT — Surface, trade your depth for Cores, and descend again — permanently stronger.

◆ Fully painted world: ship, creatures, machines, story vistas
◆ Offline progress — your drones keep working while you're away
◆ Plays in minutes-a-day sips or long hauls; no energy timers on gameplay
◆ No forced ads, ever — every ad is a button you choose to press, and it pays you for pressing it
◆ No account, no server — your save lives on your device
◆ Analytics are opt-in, anonymous, and off until you say otherwise
◆ Optional Pearl bundles support development — the weekly featured bundle carries real bonus Pearls, and there are no fake sales here

The road on the seabed is paved, straight, and older than the coastlines above. Who built a road down here?

Descend and find out.

## Key features

- Idle deep-sea exploration
- Harvest energy and upgrade ship
- Discover and catalogue species
- Skippable reflex minigame
- Offline progress
- Fully painted world

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 100 Pearls | $0.99 | one-time |
| 550 Pearls (+55 bonus) | $4.99 | one-time |
| 1,200 Pearls (+240 bonus) | $9.99 | one-time |


## Recent user reviews (2 of 2)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-long-descent/id6790550533/reviews.md

### 5/5 — A fantastic idle game

*2026-08-23*

Only positive things to say here. It’s a fun game and it looks and plays great. The IAP’s are fair if you want them but not needed at all to enjoy the game. I would highly recommend giving this one a try!!

**Developer response:** Thank you for this — reviews like yours are why a small game keeps getting updates. There's a lot more deep on the way.

### 5/5 — Easy Progression

*2026-08-22*

Easy progression without getting board. No forced ads.  Unable to copy and paste code between devices. Game Center sync feature would be nice.

**Developer response:** Thank you — this review changed the game. You were right: save codes couldn't really move between devices, and 1.2 fixes it properly. Codes are now 88% smaller and importing on a new device actually works. Cross-device sync is built and coming in the next update — your save will follow you through iCloud, no codes needed.

## Frequently asked questions about The Long Descent

### What is The Long Descent?

The Long Descent is an idle deep-sea odyssey where you pilot an exploration probe to discover why the ocean went silent. You'll harvest energy, descend through distinct zones, and catalogue unique species.

### Does The Long Descent have ads?

Yes, The Long Descent contains advertisements. However, no ads are forced; every ad is a button you choose to press, and you are paid for watching them.

### Can I play The Long Descent offline?

Yes, The Long Descent offers offline progress. Your drones continue to work and gather resources while you are away from the game.

### What kind of gameplay mechanics does The Long Descent feature?

The Long Descent features idle progression, resource harvesting, ship upgrades, creature cataloging, and a skippable reflex minigame for energy boosts.

### How does progression work in The Long Descent?

You descend through 31 zones, with each zone increasing your output and deepening the story. You must reinforce your ship's hull at zone boundaries and can permanently strengthen your vessel by trading depth for Cores upon surfacing.

### What platforms is The Long Descent available on?

The Long Descent is available on iPhone, iPad, and iPod, as indicated by its supported devices.

### Are there in-app purchases in The Long Descent?

Yes, The Long Descent offers optional Pearl bundles for purchase to support development. These bundles include bonus Pearls, and the game states there are no fake sales.

### How often is The Long Descent updated?

The Long Descent was last updated on August 9, 2026, with version 1.1. This indicates a recent update, suggesting ongoing support and potential for future content.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.2 — 2026-08-31

THE DEEP IS ENDLESS
The wall is gone. Past the old floor the machinery keeps coming — new modules forever, new echoes, new trophies — down to a real ending more than six times further out. Production, energy and every price keep going as far as you can push.

THE DEEP PUSHES BACK
Every zone now costs more of your income than the one before it. Forever — no plateau, no depth where the descent stops asking anything of you. Reinforcing your hull prices in the strength you bring: your first vestige levels are free, then the water charges a growing share of everything you have built. Descending itself stays cheap. The frontier is what you earn.

VESTIGES — A SECOND REFIT LAYER
Push your frontier deeper and every Core you own is worth more, permanently. Unlocks on your fifth refit.

DIVE RUNS FLY FREE
The probe is off its rail — drag anywhere and it goes there. Half the motes wink out partway up, so depth is a real decision, and the hazards aim at where you are. Plus a whole dive bench in the refit shop: longer dives, a wider pool, a third life, and a lure that brings the deep to you.

YOUR BESTIARY PAYS FIVE WAYS
Descend cost, tap power, Cores, dive hauls and offline time — not just production. Echoes inherit what they echo, so the endless half of the collection is as varied as the authored half.

YOUR SAVE MOVES WITH YOU
Save codes are 88% smaller, and importing on a new device finally works.

ALSO
• Reinforcing the hull costs 40% less, so early walls are a pause and not a stop
• Modules you have outgrown can be salvaged for Cores, each worth what it was worth when you built it
• Energy chests surface while you play
• Manual Harvest rebalanced end to end — tapping is worth doing everywhere, and is no longer the only thing that works
• The trophy shelf never empties
• Landmarks all the way down: Sirius, the Orion Nebula, the heart of the galaxy, the edge of the observable universe
• Smoother on deep saves

### 1.1.1 — 2026-08-19

The store now shows everything from your first launch — Remove Ads, the Abyssal Engine, the Deep Permit and the Pressure Vault no longer wait for you to prove yourself first.

Switching tabs opens at the top instead of dropping you into the middle of the new one.

Sound survives a rewarded ad. It used to go quiet for the rest of the session while the toggle still said On.

Rerolling or selling a species updates its card immediately, rather than at the next restart.

### 1.1 — 2026-08-09

The deep got a lot deeper.

THE PRESSURE VAULT — A jar that quietly banks Pearls as you descend, build and refit. Crack it for the whole hoard, plus a bonus that grows with every crack.

A FORGIVING DAILY CALENDAR — 28 days of supply drops. Miss a day and it waits for you; nothing resets. Milestone payouts every seventh day.

OPTIONAL REWARDED BOOSTS — Double a dive, double your offline haul, claim free Pearls, bank time, or stack a x2 production boost. Every one is a button you choose to press. Nothing auto-plays, nothing interrupts a run, and Remove Ads turns them all into free one-tap claims.

ELUSIVE SPECIES — The deepest fish of every zone now appear only in Dive Runs. Completing a zone means truly diving it.

THE ENDLESS DEEP IS A REAL PLACE — Every generated zone past 31 has its own painted vista, arrival and log entry. Descend past the Sun, past Voyager, past a light-year. The landmarks never stop.

DIVE REPORTS — Every run ends on a card: your score, how long you lasted, what came up in the net, and what was new to the log.

AN HONEST STORE — Value packs, permanent upgrades, new hulls, four UI themes and a developer tip jar. Every amount on a tile is the amount you get.

ALSO — Objectives that never run dry, 51 achievements, share cards, edition rerolls, save-code backup, and a sleeker menu. Runs lighter on battery, and dives play smoother.

Everything stays beatable for free. Good luck down there.

### 1.0.1 — 2026-07-24

The deep grew stranger. 1.0.1 is a big one:

• 93 painted species — whales, sharks, a dolphin, crabs, and stranger things — each catchable in five rarity editions
• Dive Runs now have swim-through fish: chase them mid-dive to catch rare editions (Shiny → Abyssal)
• Complete a zone's full species set for a permanent production bonus
• Echoes: past zone 30, the infinite deep now has an infinite spectral bestiary
• New Stats tab: 35 achievements with pearl bounties, plus live income and dive graphs
• Game Center: weekly dive leaderboard and achievements
• Daily supply drops — come back each day for a growing streak reward
• Automations now reach level 50, with two new one-shot automations in Refit
• New menu: sound & haptics, stats, captain's log, help, and release notes in one place
• A scarcer, fairer pearl economy — and dive fish that swim in your lane, so every sighting is a fair chase

### 1.0 — 2026-07-21

No release notes.

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-02.*
