Comparison

Pocket Galaxy vs Evolution

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 3D galaxy sandbox
  • Realistic physics simulation
  • Planet and star customization
  • Smooth 3D graphics
  • User-friendly interface
  • Shareable creations
Features
Read full description

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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Currently charting
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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

Pocket Galaxy4 screens
Evolution4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Pocket Galaxy costs $3.99 and Evolution $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 2, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Pocket Galaxy versus Evolution: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocket GalaxyEvolution
Price$3.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.8 (10K ratings) — better4.4 (551 ratings)
Positive reviews95.3% of reviews — better83.6% of reviews
Number of ratings10K — better551
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#134 — better#178
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size125 MB67 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPocket Labs UKKeiwan Donyagard

Customer experience

Pocket Galaxy

All ratings9,965 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral3.2%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews1,239 reviews
Positive95.3%
Neutral2.2%
Negative2.5%

Evolution

All ratings549 ratings
Positive85.8%
Neutral4.4%
Negative9.8%
Written reviews195 reviews
Positive83.6%
Neutral5.1%
Negative11.3%

User reviews

Pocket Galaxy

From 10K App Store ratings

What 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 ratings

What 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)
Show 3 more
  • Multiplayer or competition modes
  • Improved camera controls
  • Ability to create obstacles or terrain

In-app purchases

None

Pocket Galaxy

No in-app purchases

None

Evolution

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pocket Galaxy free?
Pocket Galaxy costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Evolution free?
Evolution costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pocket Galaxy or Evolution?
Pocket Galaxy is rated higher. Pocket Galaxy averages 4.8 out of 5 from 10K ratings, while Evolution averages 4.4 from 551 ratings.
Do Pocket Galaxy or Evolution have ads?
Neither Pocket Galaxy nor Evolution shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pocket Galaxy or Evolution?
Pocket Galaxy ships an update every 2 months, and Evolution every 2 months. Most recently, Pocket Galaxy was updated on November 2, 2026 and Evolution on November 2, 2026.
Which is more popular, Pocket Galaxy or Evolution?
Pocket Galaxy currently peaks at #134 in the App Store charts, and Evolution at #178. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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