Comparison

DESERTOPIA vs 虚無魚BasPi!

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

///// 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.

About

虚無魚BasPi!

Care for a unique, nihilistic fish with a mysterious past. Research ancient fish, protect them from predators, and ensure their survival across generations in a simple tank. Upgrade equipment as your research progresses.

Highlights
  • Ancient fish research
  • Pet simulation
  • Predator defense
  • Generational survival
  • Equipment upgrades
  • Tank environment management
Features
Read full description

Our 299RC, which studies cats, was researching fish with high nutritional value for cats. Our research revealed that ancient fish have abundant nutritional reserves that do not exist in modern fish. However, no one has ever raised a fish, much less a fish with a nihilistic face that has no idea what it is thinking... The researchers are a group of cat experts. No one knows how to raise a fish... The institute has decided that it is impossible to raise this nihilistic fish as it is! So, we need your help. We need your help in researching this nihilistic fish "BasPi". Right now, we can only provide a simple tank, common fish food, and an environment like that... As our research progresses, we will be able to add more equipment. Until then, please keep this "BasPi" alive and pass it on from generation to generation. In this tank, there are sometimes mysterious creatures that are after the "BasPi". Normally, this type of fish should be armored, but this "BasPi" is fluffy and unreliable. I have prepared some equipment for just in case. You will not be able to use them until you become an adult, but I hope that somehow you will survive the crisis with this equipment. Thank you very much. *This story is a work of fiction.

Screenshots

DESERTOPIA4 screens
虚無魚BasPi!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: 虚無魚BasPi! at 94% against DESERTOPIA's 45%. 虚無魚BasPi! also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 15) and rating (4.9 vs 4.5). DESERTOPIA's advantage is ratings volume (287 vs 74). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Both are free to download. DESERTOPIA sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. 虚無魚BasPi! asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

虚無魚BasPi! holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 287 and 74 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 45% of DESERTOPIA's written reviews are positive against 94% of 虚無魚BasPi!'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DESERTOPIA ships an update every 2 months, 虚無魚BasPi! every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
DESERTOPIA versus 虚無魚BasPi!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDESERTOPIA虚無魚BasPi!
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (287 ratings)4.9 (74 ratings) — better
Positive reviews45.3% of reviews93.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings287 — better74
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size218 MB377 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperGamtropy Co., Ltd.株式会社フカフカ

Customer experience

DESERTOPIA

All ratings287 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral5.2%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews170 reviews
Positive45.3%
Neutral17.6%
Negative37.1%

虚無魚BasPi!

All ratings74 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews65 reviews
Positive93.8%
Neutral4.6%
Negative1.5%

User reviews

DESERTOPIA

From 287 App Store ratings

What 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

虚無魚BasPi!

From 74 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💖 Extremely cute and adorable
  • 🎮 Fun and enjoyable gameplay
  • 💡 Innovative concept with pet simulation
  • ✨ Visually appealing and cute style
  • 👍 Developers are responsive to feedback

Room to improve

  • 💀 Fish dies too easily
  • ⏳ Ads often unavailable or loading
  • 📉 Limited gameplay content
  • 😴 Inability to care for fish while sleeping
  • ❓ Unclear game mechanics (e.g., mysterious code)

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

虚無魚BasPi!

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • App crashes after update
  • Fish shrinks and becomes unnoticeable
  • Ads not loading for revival or water cleaning
  • New storage box issue
  • Fish not growing up after a specific event
Show 1 more
  • Login issues or app not starting

Requested features

17 requests
  • Add more interactive elements
  • Implement notification reminders for fish needs
  • Improve the 'turn off light' function for nighttime
  • Add more content and gameplay variety
  • Allow customization of fish appearance
Show 12 more
  • Add more creatures and monsters
  • Improve the mysterious code acquisition process
  • Add a building function
  • Add more fish stages or forms
  • Synchronize updates with platforms like Xiaohongshu
  • Add an auto-feeding feature
  • Add more interactive games with the fish
  • Allow online interaction with other players' fish
  • Add more fish species or companions
  • Improve the translation accuracy and clarity
  • Add a language switching function
  • Clarify the purpose of new items like the 'dragon ball'

In-app purchases

15 purchases

DESERTOPIA

Subscriptions1
  • Ad-Free Pass (30 Days)$19.991 Month
One-time14
  • Gem Pack I$0.99
  • Ad Ticket Pack 1$1.99
  • Gem Pack II$4.99
Show 11 more
  • 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
None

虚無魚BasPi!

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is DESERTOPIA free?
DESERTOPIA is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is 虚無魚BasPi! free?
虚無魚BasPi! is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, DESERTOPIA or 虚無魚BasPi!?
虚無魚BasPi! is rated higher. DESERTOPIA averages 4.5 out of 5 from 287 ratings, while 虚無魚BasPi! averages 4.9 from 74 ratings.
Do DESERTOPIA or 虚無魚BasPi! have ads?
Both DESERTOPIA and 虚無魚BasPi! show ads.
Which is updated more often, DESERTOPIA or 虚無魚BasPi!?
DESERTOPIA ships an update every 2 months, and 虚無魚BasPi! every 2 weeks. Most recently, DESERTOPIA was updated on November 2, 2026 and 虚無魚BasPi! on October 30, 2026.

Other comparisons