Comparison

Deep Rock Galactic vs Planet Explorers

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

Head to head
About

Deep Rock Galactic

Engage in a single-player auto-shooter where you battle alien hordes and mine for riches. Upgrade your dwarf's arsenal and abilities to survive the procedurally generated caves of Planet Hoxxes. Experience the universe from a new top-down perspective.

Highlights
  • Single-player survivor-like auto-shooter
  • Battle alien hordes
  • Mine for riches
  • Unlock powerful upgrades
  • Procedurally generated caves
  • Top-down perspective
Features
Read full description

Welcome, Survivor! DEEP ROCK GALACTIC: SURVIVOR is a single player survivor-like auto-shooter. Take on hordes of lethal aliens, mine riches, and unlock powerful upgrades to survive, as you wield the full arsenal of Deep Rock Galactic. It's one dwarf against all of Planet Hoxxes! REVERSE BULLET HELL, WITH MINING Kill bugs, upgrade your gear, and delve ever deeper into the lethal caves of Hoxxes. Collect and assemble a devastating array of guns, unleash hell upon wave after wave of alien monsters in fast and frenetic combat, and tunnel your way to collect precious riches from deep within the cave walls. With the auto-shooter gameplay, you don’t worry about aiming and firing – just run and mine for your life, as you automatically blast away. Each mission is entirely unique with its own procedural cave generation and enemy waves, just as you've come to know from Deep Rock Galactic. COMPLETE MISSION OBJECTIVES TO BECOME STRONGER Dig deep, Miner! Once the Drop Pod releases you into the oppressive darkness, you’re on your own. Complete the mission objectives set forth by the Company, and make it back to the Drop Pod in time to try your luck at even more deadly and lucrative encounters. Progress deeper and deeper into the planet while you grow ever stronger, survive all the way to the very end of your assignment, and finally get extracted alongside your hefty sack of loot. DEEP ROCK, FROM A WHOLE NEW PERSPECTIVE Now you can explore the Deep Rock Galactic universe in a whole new single-player-focused experience! Play each mission from a top-down perspective, navigating the caves of Hoxxes as you've never seen them before, soaking it up through nonstop auto-shooter action. Greybeard Deep Rock veterans will recognize much from Deep Rock Galactic, and if you are a recently joined Greenbeard: Welcome all the same! We are thrilled to have you on board. You will like it here. Management requires it. ROCK AND STONE! Discord: https://discord.gg/drgs Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@fundaygames X: https://x.com/FundayGamesdk

About

Planet Explorers

Embark on AI-generated space expeditions to unique planets. Manage your crew, document discoveries, and explore offline. Requires Apple Intelligence on supported devices.

Highlights
  • AI-crafted planets
  • Offline exploration
  • Crew management
  • Discovery journaling
  • Mission generation
Read full description

Explore AI-crafted planets offline with names, missions, and maps. Manage your crew and journal discoveries, with expeditions generated using Apple Foundation Model. Apple Intelligence on supported devices is required to generate expeditions. More features and updates are coming soon.

Screenshots

Deep Rock Galactic4 screens
Planet Explorers3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Deep Rock Galactic at 4.7 against Planet Explorers's 4.0. Deep Rock Galactic also leads on ratings volume (5.6K vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). Planet Explorers's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 62%) and in-app purchases (none vs 10). On price, update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Deep Rock Galactic sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Planet Explorers asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Deep Rock Galactic holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Deep Rock Galactic has 5.6K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 62% of Deep Rock Galactic's written reviews are positive against 100% of Planet Explorers's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Deep Rock Galactic ships an update every 6 days, Planet Explorers every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Deep Rock Galactic versus Planet Explorers: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDeep Rock GalacticPlanet Explorers
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (5.6K ratings) — better4.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews61.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5.6K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size922 MB225 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperGhost Ship PublishingQuantribution LLC

Customer experience

Deep Rock Galactic

All ratings5,515 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral1.8%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews665 reviews
Positive61.7%
Neutral11.4%
Negative26.9%

Planet Explorers

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Deep Rock Galactic

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Pause screen not working properly
  • Targeting issues with enemies

Requested features

3 requests
  • Horizontal orientation option
  • Cross-progression from other platforms
  • More weapon/content variety

Planet Explorers

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Deep Rock Galactic

One-time10
  • Supporter Pack$4.99
  • After Hours Pack$4.99
  • Heavy Duty Expansion - Sale$9.99
Show 7 more
  • Heavy Duty Expansion$9.99
  • Unlock Full Game - Sale$12.99
  • Full Game$12.99
  • Deluxe Edition$14.99
  • Deluxe Edition - Sale$14.99
  • Complete Edition - Sale$22.99
  • Complete Edition$22.99
None

Planet Explorers

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Deep Rock Galactic free?
Deep Rock Galactic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Planet Explorers free?
Planet Explorers is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Deep Rock Galactic or Planet Explorers?
Deep Rock Galactic is rated higher. Deep Rock Galactic averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5.6K ratings, while Planet Explorers averages 4.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Deep Rock Galactic or Planet Explorers have ads?
Neither Deep Rock Galactic nor Planet Explorers shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Deep Rock Galactic or Planet Explorers?
Deep Rock Galactic ships an update every 6 days, and Planet Explorers every 5 days. Most recently, Deep Rock Galactic was updated on October 28, 2026 and Planet Explorers on October 10, 2026.

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