Idle Deepcore vs The Long Descent
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Idle Deepcore
Embark on an epic pixel-art mining adventure, tapping to break blocks and collect ore. Automate your progress with upgradeable machines, even while offline, and descend through diverse biomes to discover rarer resources. Reset your progress for permanent boosts and unlock new systems to dig deeper and get richer.
- Tap-to-mine with pixel-art feedback
- Automate with upgradeable mining machines
- Smelt raw ore into valuable ingots
- Descend through distinct biomes
- Prestige for permanent power
- Build a rocket and mine asteroids
- Offline progress
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Idle Deepcore is a pixel-art idle mining game about digging from the surface all the way down to the planet's molten core — and beyond, into orbit. Tap to break blocks and collect ore, then buy machines — jackhammers, steam drills, seismic hammers, excavators and more — to mine for you, even while you're away. The deeper you dig, the rarer the ore and the tougher the blocks. FEATURES • Tap-to-mine with crunchy pixel-art feedback • Automate with a roster of upgradeable mining machines • Smelt raw ore into valuable ingots in your furnaces • Descend through distinct biomes to ever-deeper layers • Prestige to reset for permanent power and unlock new systems • Skill tree, mastery nodes and a research lab to specialize each run • Build a rocket and mine asteroids out in orbit • Offline progress — your machines keep mining while the app is closed • Cloud save via Game Center — back up and restore your progress • Playable in 29 languages Optional rewarded ads can double your offline haul — never required to progress. Dig deeper. Get richer. Idle Deepcore.
The Long Descent
Embark on an idle deep-sea adventure, piloting an exploration probe to uncover the mystery of a silent ocean. Harvest energy, discover unique species, and upgrade your vessel as you descend through increasingly challenging zones. Enjoy offline progress and optional purchases to support development.
- Idle deep-sea exploration
- Harvest energy and upgrade ship
- Discover and catalogue species
- Skippable reflex minigame
- Offline progress
- Fully painted world
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The ocean went silent. You're being sent down to find out why. The Long Descent is an idle deep-sea odyssey: pilot the last exploration probe, harvest energy from the dark, and descend through 31 hand-written zones — from the sunlit shallows to places the sea itself doesn't talk about, and past them into a deep with no floor. DESCEND — Every zone multiplies your output and deepens the story. Your pressure hull must be re-certified at each boundary: reinforce the ship, watch it visibly armor up, and push past the wall. DISCOVER — Catalogue 93 painted deep-sea species, each with its own lore and passive bonus. Rare editions (Shiny → Abyssal) make every sighting a roll of the dice. DIVE — A skippable reflex minigame: steer by headlamp through painted mines and jellyfish for an energy burst. The deeper you go, the dimmer your light. REFIT — Surface, trade your depth for Cores, and descend again — permanently stronger. ◆ Fully painted world: ship, creatures, machines, story vistas ◆ Offline progress — your drones keep working while you're away ◆ Plays in minutes-a-day sips or long hauls; no energy timers on gameplay ◆ No forced ads, ever — every ad is a button you choose to press, and it pays you for pressing it ◆ No account, no server — your save lives on your device ◆ Analytics are opt-in, anonymous, and off until you say otherwise ◆ Optional Pearl bundles support development — the weekly featured bundle carries real bonus Pearls, and there are no fake sales here The road on the seabed is paved, straight, and older than the coastlines above. Who built a road down here? Descend and find out.
Screenshots
Verdict
Idle Deepcore and The Long Descent both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 69% of The Long Descent's written reviews are positive against 50% of Idle Deepcore's. Idle Deepcore's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Idle Deepcore sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and The Long Descent sells 12 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Idle Deepcore against 4.5 for The Long Descent. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 80 and 30 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of Idle Deepcore's written reviews are positive against 69% of The Long Descent's.
Idle Deepcore ships an update every 5 days, The Long Descent every 9 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Idle Deepcore | The Long Descent |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (80 ratings) — better | 4.5 (30 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 69.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 80 — better | 30 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Every 9 days |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 138 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Flavio Valceschini | Shai Ankori |
Customer experience
Idle Deepcore
The Long Descent
In-app purchases
Idle Deepcore
- Supporter Pack$5.99
The Long Descent
- 100 Pearls$0.99
- Aurora Hull$1.99
- Deep Start$2.99
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- Remove Ads$3.99
- Abyssal Engine$4.99
- Pressure Vault Crack$4.99
- Premium Season Track$4.99
- 550 Pearls (+55 bonus)$4.99
- Deep Permit$9.99
- Pressure Vault Crack II$9.99
- 1,200 Pearls (+240 bonus)$9.99
- Pressure Vault Crack III$19.99
Questions
Is Idle Deepcore free?
Is The Long Descent free?
Which has better reviews, Idle Deepcore or The Long Descent?
Do Idle Deepcore or The Long Descent have ads?
Which is updated more often, Idle Deepcore or The Long Descent?
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