DESERTOPIA vs Tuana
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
DESERTOPIA
Transform a barren desert island into a thriving habitat at your own pace. Care for the island, restore wildlife, and make choices that influence its development. Enjoy a therapeutic idle simulator with beautiful art and evolving music.
- Storybook-style art
- 100+ animals and 25+ terrain types
- Weather and water evaporation mechanics
- Multi-layered, evolving music
- Interactive events influencing island development
- Collect trash to clean the environment
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///// Achievements ///// ・2018 Tokyo Game Show | Official Selection ・2018 Kyoto BitSummit Vol.6 | Official Selection ・2018 Kyoto BitSummit Vol.6 | Indie Megabooth Selection ・2017 IMGA Global | Nominee ・2017 IMGA SEA | Nominee ・App Store Earth Day 2018, 2019, 2020 | Featured “A simple game with a deep meaning.” — INSIDE “Experience the role humans play in the ecosystem, and understand that we cannot take whatever we want from Mother Nature without repercussion. Learn how to cherish valuable resources.” — App Store Feature ///// Introduction ///// Desertopia is a relaxing and therapeutic idle simulator where you can spend just 5–10 minutes a day transforming a barren desert island into a vibrant, thriving habitat — all at your own pace. Your goal is to care for the island and help restore its wildlife. Occasionally, you’ll need to pick up floating trash to keep the environment clean. You’ll also make decisions about events triggered by human activity. Will you allow a tour group to visit the island? Should you build a resort? Every choice you make will directly influence how the island develops. ///// Features ///// ・Storybook-style art: Simply watching the animals roam the island can feel therapeutic on its own. ・100+ animals: Desertopia features over 100 unique creatures and 25+ terrain types. More than 15 legendary species may appear under special conditions — some only during festivals and holidays! ・Weather and water evaporation: Water evaporation is a unique gameplay mechanic. You’ll need to summon rain regularly to maintain livable conditions for your wildlife. If neglected, the island will gradually revert to a barren desert. ・Multi-layered music: Enjoy rich, evolving background music that shifts depending on the area and the animals inhabiting it. ・Events: Cruise ships bring visitors and special events to the island, each with both benefits and drawbacks. How your island evolves is entirely up to you. //////////////////// This game contains in-game offers to purchase digital goods or premium items with real-world currency (or with virtual coins and other in-game currencies purchasable using real-world money), where players do not know in advance which specific items they will receive (e.g., loot boxes, item packs, or mystery rewards). Terms of Use: https://gamtropy.com/term-of-use-en/ Privacy Policy: https://gamtropy.com/privacy-policy-en/ © 2017 Gamtropy Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.
Tuana
Decorate a charming house and garden in a relaxing simulation game. Engage in activities like fishing, gardening, and customizing your character. Enjoy ambient sounds and brain-boosting mini-games.
- House and garden decoration
- Furniture and plant customization
- Fishing and gardening activities
- Character appearance customization
- Ambient sounds for relaxation
- Brain-training mini-games
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Welcome to Coco Town! This is a slow-paced relaxing game. Follow Tuana and her cute buddies to find out their fun stuff! :D Decorate Tuana's yard and house, chat with the adorable friends, catch fish, and so much more! ◆ Furniture, lighting, rugs, tiles, wall paper, and stairs of various series to choose from. There are also plenty of plants and bowls for indoor/outdoor gardening. ◆ The unique stack-stack-fun: under the right condition, you can stack the furniture indefinitely to create a fun combo! ◆ Customized Tuana's appearance :D ◆ Delicate scenes with ambient sounds for you to relax and meditate. ◆ The challenging Flip-Flip-Fun: a mini-game to empower your brain! We hope you have some fun in Tuana's world! Notes: This game is free to start, with in-app purchases available. Internet connectivity is required to play Tuana. Data charges may apply. May include advertising.
Screenshots
Verdict
DESERTOPIA and Tuana both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 85% of Tuana's written reviews are positive against 45% of DESERTOPIA's. Tuana also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. DESERTOPIA sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month and Tuana sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for DESERTOPIA against 4.6 for Tuana. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 287 and 297 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 45% of DESERTOPIA's written reviews are positive against 85% of Tuana's.
DESERTOPIA ships an update every 2 months, Tuana every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 15, 2026.
| Parameter | DESERTOPIA | Tuana |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (287 ratings) | 4.6 (297 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 45.3% of reviews | 85.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 287 | 297 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 218 MB | 428 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Gamtropy Co., Ltd. | 阳 刘 |
Customer experience
DESERTOPIA
Tuana
User reviews
DESERTOPIA
From 287 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌳 Beautiful art style and relaxing atmosphere
- 🌱 Environmentally-conscious themes
- 👍 No ads or in-app purchases required to progress
Room to improve
- 🕰️ Slow progression and long wait times
- 🐛 Bugs and crashes preventing gameplay
- 🤔 Unclear game mechanics and lack of instructions
Tuana
From 297 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Beautiful art style
- 🎵 Calming and relaxing music
- 😌 Low-stress, cozy gameplay
- 🏠 Enjoyable decorating aspect
- 👍 Slow-paced, not overwhelming
Room to improve
- ❓ Confusing gameplay mechanics
- 🤷♀️ Lack of clear tutorial
- ⏳ Slow progress
- 📉 Difficulty earning coins
- stagnant game content
Bugs and requests
DESERTOPIA
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inability to exit tutorial or instructions screen
- Disappearing wetlands and other lost progress
- Compatibility issues on certain devices
Requested features
3 requests- More in-depth tutorial and gameplay explanations
- Ability to reset or restart progress
- Faster ways to earn resources and unlock new areas
Tuana
Reported bugs
12 issues- Won't update
- No way to gain level up points
- Stuck on how to plant seeds
- Furniture does not place
- Can't plant vegetables
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- Cannot sell all fish
- Difficulty understanding how to sell items
- Unclear how to get materials
- Cannot figure out how to level up
- Cannot figure out where to cook certain items
- Cannot find some fruits
- Daily bounties not completable
Requested features
24 requests- More updates needed
- New characters and interactions
- More furniture drops
- New mini-games
- Add another town with different vibes
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- Add pets (dogs, cats, fish, parrots)
- More character storylines and ways to help them
- Market to sell goods
- New areas to open up
- More interactive gameplay (sleep, bath, etc.)
- More activities beyond fishing and decorating
- Add more places on the map
- Add more little things to do
- Add Russian language support
- Add more rooms
- Add more specific instructions for crafting/ingredients
- Add more ways to obtain coins
- Customize avatar
- Add paths
- Add ability to put flowers in vases
- Add ability to put food on the stove
- Add chests with multiple slots for clothes
- Option to change notebook to another house
- More ways to gain coins
In-app purchases
DESERTOPIA
- Ad-Free Pass (30 Days)$19.991 Month
- Gem Pack I$0.99
- Ad Ticket Pack 1$1.99
- Gem Pack II$4.99
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- NewbiePack$4.99
- Coral reef$4.99
- Ad Ticket Pack 2$4.99
- DNAPack001$4.99
- Gem Pack III$9.99
- Unlock Ancient Island$9.99
- Cat Pack 1$9.99
- (Limited) New Year Pass$9.99
- (Limited) New Year Pack 3$9.99
- Gem Pack IV$19.99
- (Limited) New Year Pack 4$29.99
Tuana
- PB Tote$0.99
- PB Suitcase$1.99
- Coco Card$2.99








