Comparison

Particlescape vs Sandbox

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

Head to head
About

Particlescape

This app lets you create stunning visual patterns using interactive particle and gravity simulations. Generate thousands of particles with each touch, with higher resolution in dense areas. Optimized for performance, it supports up to half a million particles on screen.

Highlights
  • Interactive particle and gravity simulation
  • Generate particles with touch
  • Apply gravity with double-tap-hold
  • High-resolution rendering in dense areas
  • Supports up to 500,000 particles
  • 3D Touch pressure sensitivity
Features
Read full description

Create beautiful patterns at your fingertips! Particlescape is an interactive particle and gravity simulator designed to be as beautiful as possible and to create an organic link between fingertips and screen. The rules are simple: - Touch to generate particles. - Double-tap-hold to use gravity. - Shake device to change options. Sensitive to up to 10 simultaneous touches on iPad (5 on iPhone), the visual possibilities are limitless. Features: - Generate up to 8000 particles per second per touch. Feel like you're magically summoning particles from the ether. - Particles in high-density regions are rendered at higher resolution (smaller point size), to bring out finer detail. - Extensive optimizations throughout to support a maximum of half a million particles on screen!* - Press harder for more particles or more gravity on 3D Touch-enabled devices, such as iPhone 6s and 6s Plus! *500,000 particles supported on iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, iPad Air 2. Older devices may support less.

About

Sandbox

Explore a creative sandbox world where you can mix elements to discover their reactions and create dynamic environments. Experiment with physics, build structures, and witness exciting events like explosions and growth. New modes allow for planet destruction and life cycle simulation.

Highlights
  • Element mixing and reaction discovery
  • World building with plants and weather
  • Physics experiments (fire, explosions)
  • Planet destruction mode
  • Life cycle simulation mode
Features
Read full description

Sandbox - Physics Simulation Do you curious what happened when lighting hit firework powder? Would you like to mix gas with gun powder and let them explode? Would you like to create a sandbox world, plant trees, flowers & watching them growing? Let download Sandbox game to enjoy a creative & relaxing game! You have many elements in game, you can mix them together & discover how them react to each other, how they turn to different form! You can build strong platform, grow your world, put fire, lighting, rain, plants,... on it! With SandBox you can create & destroy everything, you will find many exciting experiment: boil water, making rain, making fire & explosion,... Big Update: - new game mode Planet Destroy: use powerful weapons to destroy whole planet - new game mode Life Box: simulate real life cycle Let download & Relax with Sandbox!

Screenshots

Particlescape3 screens
Sandbox4 screens

Verdict

The call

Particlescape and Sandbox both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 86% of Particlescape's written reviews are positive against 48% of Sandbox's. Particlescape also leads on ads (none vs shown) and device support (5 vs 3). Sandbox's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 24 months) and ratings volume (8.4K vs 76). On price, rating, 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

Both are free to download. Particlescape sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Sandbox sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Particlescape holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sandbox has 8.4K ratings behind it against 76, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of Particlescape's written reviews are positive against 48% of Sandbox's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Particlescape ships an update every 24 months, Sandbox monthly. The most recent releases landed on August 8, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Particlescape versus Sandbox: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterParticlescapeSandbox
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (76 ratings) — better4.4 (8.4K ratings)
Positive reviews85.5% of reviews — better47.6% of reviews
Number of ratings768.4K — better
Update frequencyEvery 24 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB208 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEdwin SirkoTran Dinh Hung

Customer experience

Particlescape

All ratings76 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral3.9%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews69 reviews
Positive85.5%
Neutral4.3%
Negative10.1%

Sandbox

All ratings8,435 ratings
Positive83.7%
Neutral5.2%
Negative11.2%
Written reviews658 reviews
Positive47.6%
Neutral9.9%
Negative42.6%

User reviews

Particlescape

From 76 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✨ Mesmerizing and beautiful visuals
  • 🧘 Calming and relaxing experience
  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 🤩 Highly entertaining and fun
  • 💡 Great for distraction and stress relief

Room to improve

  • 🤔 Limited customization options
  • 💸 Paid upgrades don't always work
  • ❓ Controls can be difficult to use
  • ⚫ Black background can be overwhelming
  • 👎 Ads can be intrusive

Sandbox

From 8.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Unique and creative concept
  • 🔬 Interesting physics and chemistry experiments
  • 🕹️ Fun and addictive gameplay

Room to improve

  • 🤯 Excessive and intrusive ads
  • 🤖 Lack of customization and control options
  • 🔍 Difficulty finding certain elements

Bugs and requests

Particlescape

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Controls not working
  • Upgrade does nothing
  • App doesn't do anything anymore
  • Menus don't work on iPad Air 2
  • Paid upgrade provides no new features
Show 1 more
  • Settings disabled even after purchase

Requested features

21 requests
  • Add meditation music
  • Ability to change colors
  • More options for drag and radius
  • More physics properties
  • Ability to remove or dim black background
Show 16 more
  • Overlay particles on the world
  • Add background options
  • Pin touch points and work elsewhere
  • Place and pin multiple gravity wells
  • Negative gravity option
  • Video screencast
  • Add dubstep in background
  • Add chill out sounds
  • Clear screen option
  • Particle shape option
  • Fix disabled settings
  • Reset button in options
  • Ability to record movements with songs
  • Softer shake to bring up menu
  • Ability to change color of new particles only
  • More control over gravitational strength and spawn speed

Sandbox

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Certain elements not functioning as expected
  • Saved files becoming corrupted
  • Inconsistent performance and stability issues

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more elements and materials to experiment with
  • Implement a pause/speed up time feature
  • Introduce a sandbox mode without any ads
  • Allow users to save and load custom creations

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Particlescape

One-time3
  • Upgrade to Enable More Touches Without Ads$1.99
  • Upgrade to Enable Advanced Options$1.99
  • Premium options$3.99
1 purchases

Sandbox

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$3.99

Questions

Is Particlescape free?
Particlescape is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sandbox free?
Sandbox is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Particlescape or Sandbox?
Particlescape is rated higher. Particlescape averages 4.6 out of 5 from 76 ratings, while Sandbox averages 4.4 from 8.4K ratings.
Do Particlescape or Sandbox have ads?
Sandbox shows ads; Particlescape does not.
Which is updated more often, Particlescape or Sandbox?
Particlescape ships an update every 24 months, and Sandbox monthly. Most recently, Particlescape was updated on August 8, 2026 and Sandbox on September 24, 2026.

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