Supernova vs The Long Descent
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Supernova
An idle space tycoon game where you fuse hydrogen to grow and detonate stars. Earn permanent power-ups with each supernova to accelerate future runs. Features offline progress and a visually evolving star.
- Fuse hydrogen to create and grow stars
- Offline progress and production
- Visually evolving star stages
- Prestige system with supernova cinematics
- Deep multiplier stacking and research upgrades
- Daily missions and streaks
- Fully offline gameplay
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Fuse hydrogen into a living star. Grow it. Then blow it up — on purpose. SUPERNOVA is a premium-feel idle game about running a cosmic forge. Tap to spark fusion, build 12 generators from Hydrogen Wisp to Singularity Seed, and watch your star physically evolve — protostar, blue giant, red supergiant — until it is ready to collapse. Detonating it is the point: every supernova grants Neutron Cores, permanent power that makes each new universe faster than the last. WHY YOU'LL STAY • Real progress while you're away — production continues offline (extend the cap up to 24 hours with research), and a welcome-back doubler greets your return • A star that actually changes — five visual stages, rendered live, no canned art • Prestige that feels like a finale — a hand-built supernova cinematic, then a stronger start • Numbers that get gloriously big — Million, Septillion, and far beyond • Milestones every few minutes early on, deep multiplier stacking later • Daily missions and streaks that respect your time • 20 research upgrades that shape every run FAIR BY DESIGN • No ads. None. • No energy bars, no forced waits, no progress walls • Fully offline — no account, no sign-in, no internet required • Nothing collected, nothing tracked • Optional purchases exist (time warps, photons, a one-time Supporter Pack), and the entire game is balanced to be completed without spending anything THE LOOP 1. Tap your star and let generators forge Stardust 2. Hit ownership milestones — each one doubles a generator's output 3. Buy research, stack a Photon Surge boost, fill your Piggy Bank 4. Reach collapse readiness... and go SUPERNOVA 5. Keep your Neutron Cores forever. Start again, faster. Built by a solo developer in SwiftUI and SpriteKit. Every pixel is procedural — no asset packs, no stock art. Dark theme, tuned haptics, Reduce Motion respected. Your first universe is waiting. It starts with one atom.
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
The clearest difference is ads: Supernova at none against The Long Descent's shown. Supernova also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 9 days) and device support (5 vs 3). The Long Descent's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Supernova sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and The Long Descent sells 10 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 — 4.5 for Supernova against 4.5 for The Long Descent. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 82 and 38 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of Supernova's written reviews are positive against 73% of The Long Descent's.
Supernova ships an update every 2 days, The Long Descent every 9 days. Both last shipped on November 10, 2026.
| Parameter | Supernova | The Long Descent |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (82 ratings) | 4.5 (38 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 76.3% of reviews — better | 73.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 82 — better | 38 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Every 9 days |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | HUGO ANATOLE PAUL MORICEAU | Shai Ankori |
Customer experience
Supernova
The Long Descent
In-app purchases
Supernova
- 50 Photons$0.99
- Time Warp: 4 Hours$1.99
- Break the Piggy Bank$2.99
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- Automation Core$3.99
- Supporter Pack$4.99
- Time Warp: 24 Hours$4.99
- 300 Photons$4.99
- 700 Photons$9.99
- Time Warp: 7 Days$14.99
- 1600 Photons$19.99
The Long Descent
- Aurora Hull$1.99
- Deep Start$2.99
- Remove Ads$3.99
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- Abyssal Engine$4.99
- Pressure Vault Crack$4.99
- Premium Season Track$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








