Pocket Galaxy vs Evolution
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pocket Galaxy
Design and simulate your own solar systems and galaxies with realistic physics. Customize planets, stars, and orbits, then share your creations. Features smooth 3D graphics and a user-friendly interface.
- 3D galaxy sandbox
- Realistic physics simulation
- Planet and star customization
- Smooth 3D graphics
- User-friendly interface
- Shareable creations
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Drop a planet into empty space and watch gravity take hold of it. Pocket Galaxy is a 3D gravity sandbox where you place planets, stars and moons and then watch them orbit under real, physics-based simulation. Arrange a solar system exactly how you like it, then take it apart: heat worlds until they glow, freeze them solid, hurl asteroids, fire solar rays and set off chain reactions. There are no levels and no timers. The sandbox is the whole game, and the only clock is the one gravity keeps. What you can do • Sculpt entire solar systems from a near-infinite variety of worlds • Tune each world's gravity, size and orbit, even flip gravity to repulsive • Reach for cosmic tools: asteroid storms, solar rays, ice rays and explosions • Unlock new world and star types as you experiment • Discover procedural worlds, gas giants and glowing stars • Track your creations, and how life develops, in the Planet Journal • Save, load and screenshot your universe to share Relaxing and powerful at once, Pocket Galaxy turns real orbital mechanics into a toy box. Build a calm, life-bearing system, or smash it to particles; there is no wrong way to play it. This is the full paid version. No ads, no in-app purchases, no interruptions. Pay once and own the whole universe.
Evolution
Design and build unique creatures using joints, bones, and muscles. Witness their learning and improvement through evolutionary algorithms and neural networks as they tackle tasks like running, jumping, and flying. Share your creations with friends.
- Creature design with joints, bones, muscles
- Neural network learning
- Evolutionary algorithm improvement
- Tasks: running, jumping, climbing, flying
- Share simulation saves and creature designs
- View source code
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Use joints, bones and muscles to build creatures that are only limited by your imagination. Watch how the combination of neural networks and an evolutionary algorithm can enable your creatures to learn and improve at their given tasks all on their own. The tasks include running, jumping, climbing and flying. Can you design the ultimate creature that is good at all of the tasks? The latest update allows you to easily share your simulation saves and creature designs with your friends. Note that this is more of a simulation than a game. There are no real objectives. But there is a lot to learn if you are interested in the basics of machine learning and neural networks. You can even look at the source code if you want. There is also a Mac & PC version available for download and a browser version for you to try out on the main project website (keiwando.com/evolution).
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Pocket Galaxy at 4.8 against Evolution's 4.4. Pocket Galaxy also leads on ratings volume (10K vs 551) and review sentiment (95% vs 84%). Evolution's advantage is price ($1.99 vs $3.99) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Pocket Galaxy costs $3.99 and Evolution $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Pocket Galaxy holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pocket Galaxy has 10K ratings behind it against 551, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 95% of Pocket Galaxy's written reviews are positive against 84% of Evolution's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 2, 2026.
| Parameter | Pocket Galaxy | Evolution |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (10K ratings) — better | 4.4 (551 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 95.3% of reviews — better | 83.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 10K — better | 551 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #134 — better | #178 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 125 MB | 67 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pocket Labs UK | Keiwan Donyagard |
Customer experience
Pocket Galaxy
Evolution
User reviews
Pocket Galaxy
From 10K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Good game
- 👍 Fun and relaxing
- ⭐ Great for space enthusiasts
- 💎 Awesome for creating solar systems
- 🌟 Incredible graphics and physics
Room to improve
- 🐛 Glitchy orbits and collisions
- 🐛 Planets disappearing or resetting
- 🐛 Laggy performance with many objects
- 🔧 Difficult to control planet orbits
- 🔧 Limited customization options
Evolution
From 551 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great game
- 🚀 Addictive and fun
- 💡 Interesting concept of AI-driven evolution
- 👍 Unique and creative
- 👍 Enjoyable to watch creatures evolve
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Glitches and bugs
- 🐛 Creatures behave erratically
- 🐛 Difficulty creating functional creatures
Bugs and requests
Pocket Galaxy
Reported bugs
5 issues- Planets not staying in orbit
- Satellites and black holes causing UI issues
- Textures disappearing in planet selection
- Saved universes not loading correctly
- Inconsistent planet/star coloring after reloading
Requested features
5 requests- Add more celestial bodies (neutron stars, pulsars, etc.)
- Improve life simulation and terraforming mechanics
- Allow custom planet/star creation and editing
- Implement surface view and spaceship exploration
- Add more advanced simulation features (galaxy formation, etc.)
Evolution
Reported bugs
4 issues- Creatures re-appear after being deleted
- Horizontal distance not recorded properly
- Simulation screen turns white
- Creatures get stuck in a looping state
Requested features
8 requests- Add swimming and flying modes
- Ability to customize creature body parts
- Option to speed up or pause evolution
- Save and load creature designs
- More task types (e.g. grabbing, throwing)
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- Multiplayer or competition modes
- Improved camera controls
- Ability to create obstacles or terrain
In-app purchases
Pocket Galaxy
No in-app purchases
Evolution
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Pocket Galaxy free?
Is Evolution free?
Which has better reviews, Pocket Galaxy or Evolution?
Do Pocket Galaxy or Evolution have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pocket Galaxy or Evolution?
Which is more popular, Pocket Galaxy or Evolution?
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