Comparison

Phantom Tower vs Nova Drift Lite

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

Head to head
About

Phantom Tower

Embark on a challenging roguelike adventure within a mysterious tower. Battle creatures, collect resources to craft gear, and unlock powerful abilities to ascend 100 floors. Every playthrough offers a new experience as you strive to conquer the unknown.

Highlights
  • Action roguelike gameplay
  • RPG elements
  • Elemental combat system
  • Crafting weapons and armor
  • Unlockable glyphs
  • 100-floor tower ascent
Read full description

An ancient Tower shrouded in mystery and forgotten knowledge. Whatever you're looking for, the tower promises to offer: Wealth, Fame or Power. Many ventured the Tower in seach of treasures, but only few were able to return to tell the tale. Prepare to face the unknown, battle mysterious creatures and to forge your destiny. The Phantom Tower is calling, will you answer? Phantom Tower is a fast-paced action roguelike game that combines roguelike and RPG elements. Your ultimate goal is to be able to climb all 100 floors of the Tower, what awaits you at the top? No one knows. Along the way you'll unlock Tower Blessings to aid you in battle, harvest materials from fallen monster to forge new gear and grow stronger with each attempt. Every run is a fresh challenge. Will you conquer the Tower, or become one of its many phantoms? Key Features and tips: - Elemental Dominion: Each class have access to different elements, combine them to trigger powerful reactions, in the early stage of the game reactions will be decisive for defeating your foes, try to use reactions whenever you can! - Glyphs: Unlock mysterious glyphs to enhance your character and unleash hidden powers. - Craft weapons, armors and artifacts to boost your character stats, each piece has its own ability. You can see all the available gear from the Blacksmith.

About

Nova Drift Lite

Experience a roguelike space shooter with deep customization and rapid ship evolution. Build your ideal spacecraft through modular upgrades and engage in intense, unpredictable arcade combat. This version offers limited access to content.

Highlights
  • Roguelike space shooter gameplay
  • Deep ship customization
  • Rapid ship evolution
  • Modular upgrades
  • Randomly generated levels
  • Arcade combat
Features
Read full description

- SURVIVE - EVOLVE - DOMINATE - Nova Drift is a roguelike space shooter that combines classic arcade combat with action-rpg elements, emphasizing build-crafting and deep customization. Your ship rapidly evolves as you defeat enemies, allowing you to take a build from inception to execution in a single, captivating game session. The Lite version allows players to experience the game up to wave 60 and play with a limited set of upgrades and game modes. The Full Version Features: - Quick gameplay sessions (15-45 minutes) that allow for rapid experimentation, iteration, and advancement. - Over 200 modular upgrades, unlocked over time, to create your ideal build with. Snipe, command a drone army, discharge your shields, charge up, burn enemies with your thrusters, or smash right through them... there's a way to make it work. - Modular challenge modes to unlock and activate, providing greater risk and rewards. The stakes are high, as death is permanent! - Every game is randomly generated, keeping the fight intense and unpredictable. Fight through the campaign or play endlessly... Nova Drift is created by Chimeric, with music by Miles Tilmann. Website: https://novadrift.io/ Discord: https://discord.com/invite/Zp2MkPJ

Screenshots

Phantom Tower4 screens
Nova Drift Lite4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Nova Drift Lite at none against Phantom Tower's 7. Nova Drift Lite also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.0). Phantom Tower's advantage is ratings volume (115 vs 12). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. Phantom Tower sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Nova Drift Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Phantom Tower against 4.6 for Nova Drift Lite. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Phantom Tower has 115 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 72% of Phantom Tower's written reviews are positive against 75% of Nova Drift Lite's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Phantom Tower versus Nova Drift Lite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhantom TowerNova Drift Lite
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (115 ratings)4.6 (12 ratings)
Positive reviews71.9% of reviews75.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings115 — better12
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 10 days
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size664 MB573 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperHorien StudioChimeric LLC

Customer experience

Phantom Tower

All ratings115 ratings
Positive88.7%
Neutral3.5%
Negative7.8%
Written reviews96 reviews
Positive71.9%
Neutral7.3%
Negative20.8%

Nova Drift Lite

All ratings12 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral8.3%
Negative16.7%

Bugs and requests

Phantom Tower

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Enemies spawning outside of room
  • UI text readability issues

Requested features

4 requests
  • Controller support
  • Ability to choose starting class
  • Teleport to boss room option
  • Gear unequip functionality

Nova Drift Lite

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Phantom Tower

One-time7
  • Standard Bag$0.99
  • Archer Starter Pack$1.99
  • Warrior Starter Pack$1.99
Show 4 more
  • Mage Starter Pack$1.99
  • Advanced Bag$1.99
  • Premium Bag$2.99
  • Full Game Unlock$9.99
None

Nova Drift Lite

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Phantom Tower free?
Phantom Tower is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Nova Drift Lite free?
Nova Drift Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Phantom Tower or Nova Drift Lite?
Phantom Tower and Nova Drift Lite are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 115 and 12 ratings respectively.
Do Phantom Tower or Nova Drift Lite have ads?
Phantom Tower shows ads; Nova Drift Lite does not.
Which is updated more often, Phantom Tower or Nova Drift Lite?
Phantom Tower ships an update every 10 days, and Nova Drift Lite every 10 days. Most recently, Phantom Tower was updated on September 24, 2026 and Nova Drift Lite on September 8, 2026.

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