# Star Survivor vs Nova Drift

The clearest difference is price: Star Survivor at $2.99 against Nova Drift's $9.99. Star Survivor also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (189 vs 56). Nova Drift's advantage is chart position (#150 vs unranked). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Star Survivor costs $2.99 and Nova Drift $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Star Survivor holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 189 and 56 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 73% of Star Survivor's written reviews are positive against 81% of Nova Drift's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Star Survivor ships an update fortnightly, Nova Drift every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Star Survivor | Nova Drift |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **$2.99** | $9.99 |
| Rating | **[4.6 (189 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/star-survivorpremium/id6464449923/reviews)** | [4.4 (56 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nova-drift/id6744329971/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **189** | 56 |
| Positive reviews | 73.5% of reviews | **81.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | **Freemium** | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | **#150** |
| Size | 535 MB | 573 MB |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 | **10.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [QI YU SG. PTE. LTD.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1611119800) | [Chimeric LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/996529169) |

## What reviewers say

### Star Survivor

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/star-survivorpremium/id6464449923)

Engage in a sci-fi roguelike bullet-heaven experience where you pilot a lone ship against overwhelming alien swarms. Upgrade your vessel with a crafted deck of equipment and power-ups to survive endless waves and conquer challenging sectors. Test your reflexes in this intense offline action shoot'em up.

**Highlights:** Survive endless alien swarms, Upgrade ship with equipment and power-ups, Create unique builds each run, Select from multiple ships, Build and customize upgrade decks, Campaign adventure mode with sector conquest

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🎮 Fun and engaging gameplay mechanics
- 🎨 Gorgeous graphics and visual design
- ⚙️ Deep deck-building and upgrade systems
- 🎯 Excellent controls and intuitive gameplay
- 🔄 High replayability with roguelike elements

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes during gameplay
- 🎮 Broken controller support (menus work, gameplay doesn't)
- 👁️ Poor visual contrast and visibility issues
- 🎯 Difficult to see enemies and obstacles
- 📊 Unclear weapon and upgrade explanations

**Reported bugs**

- Game crashes around 23 minutes in fast mode or 1 hour in regular mode
- Controller support broken in gameplay (only works in menus)
- iPad Pro screen shifts 1/2 inch lower, cutting off bottom
- Magic Keyboard triggers text entry in shop menus
- Upgrades don't apply unless app is restarted

**Requested features**

- Full controller support with analog stick movement
- Additional ships beyond the first one
- Colorblind mode for better visibility
- Longer campaign or campaign length options
- Endless mode with proper deck building


### Nova Drift

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nova-drift/id6744329971)

**Currently charting:** #150 Top Paid · Action, #151 Top Paid · Strategy (US App Store)

This roguelike space shooter blends arcade combat with RPG elements for deep ship customization. Evolve your vessel through rapid gameplay sessions, experimenting with over 200 modular upgrades to craft unique builds and dominate unpredictable, randomly generated challenges.

**Highlights:** Roguelike space shooter gameplay, Deep ship build-crafting, Over 200 modular upgrades, Quick, iterative gameplay sessions, Randomly generated challenges, Permanent death

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Star Survivor free?

Star Survivor costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Nova Drift free?

Nova Drift costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Star Survivor or Nova Drift?

Star Survivor is rated higher. Star Survivor averages 4.6 out of 5 from 189 ratings, while Nova Drift averages 4.4 from 56 ratings.

### Do Star Survivor or Nova Drift have ads?

Neither Star Survivor nor Nova Drift shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Star Survivor or Nova Drift?

Star Survivor ships an update fortnightly, and Nova Drift every 10 days. Most recently, Star Survivor was updated on October 27, 2026 and Nova Drift on October 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*