Descent vs Drillwake
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Descent
Embark on an old-school mining adventure on your iPhone. Dig through six unique strata, collecting increasingly valuable ores as you descend. Upgrade your rig, strategically use dynamite, and uncover buried secrets to find your way home.
- Six unique strata to explore
- Collect various ores including gold and platinum
- Upgrade drill, fuel, cargo, hull, and engine
- Use dynamite for difficult rock
- Discover buried bones for rewards
- Offline play with autosave
Read full descriptionHide full description
Descent is an old-school mining game, made for iPhone. • Six strata with unique characteristics • Ore gets richer with depth: iron, copper, silver, gold, platinum — and Descentium, the rare guidance ore that opens the way home • Five rig systems to upgrade: drill, fuel tank, cargo bay, hull, engine • Dynamite... for when the rock disagrees with you • Insurance: rescues aren't free! • Buried bones scattered in the deep: assemble the whole skeleton for a payout • Bring 3 Descentium and $150,000 to the launch pad, to complete the game • Autosaves constantly; pick any run back up where you left it • Fully offline. No ads. No in-app purchases. • Game Center and iCloud sync are optional: achievements, leaderboards, and your save on every device The ore gets richer the deeper you go. So does everything trying to stop you!
Drillwake
Embark on an offline mining adventure where you build your rig to drill deeper and discover richer ore. Manage resources, upgrade gear, and face challenges in a variety of underground worlds. Progress through a complete expedition or explore endless depths.
- Offline mining adventure
- Build and upgrade your rig
- Explore six distinct strata
- Manage fuel, hull, and heat
- Collect and merge gear
- Face bosses and uncover artifacts
- Endless Deep Bore mode
Read full descriptionHide full description
The deeper you drill, the richer the haul—and the harder the journey home. DRILLWAKE is an offline mining adventure about risk, discovery, and a machine you build your way. Carve a route through buried worlds, bring your ore back alive, and turn each haul into the rig that gets you farther next time. • Drill through six strata on Vesper-9, each with new ore and hazards • Manage fuel, hull, heat, cargo space, and drilling power on every run • Find parts and trinkets, level them up, and merge duplicates into rarer gear • Visit the Forge for changing stock and a daily crate • Unlock six machines with different strengths and abilities • Face bosses, uncover artifacts, and push farther in the endless Deep Bore • Take on the Daily Dig, claim daily jobs, and explore each season's Expedition Pass • Play offline without an account or an energy timer • Choose English, Spanish or French in Settings THE FIRST EXPEDITION: Vesper-9 includes six strata, the Warden, the Planet Heart, artifacts, a vault, and the Deep Bore. It is a complete expedition with an ending. FULL EXPEDITION is an optional one-time purchase, not a subscription. It opens Kolvath, Ossara, Nerith and Calyra, their bosses and artifacts, and removes ads. Players who bought DRILLWAKE before its free-to-download transition keep Full Expedition automatically. CORE GEMS can be earned through play and spent on optional boosts, Forge actions and cosmetic rig paints. Optional consumable gem packs and a limited-time Starter Pack are also available for purchase. The Starter Pack includes 300 Core Gems, 2 Boss Keys, Pioneer paint and one fixed Epic part, named in-game before purchase. Gear Crates cost 150 earned Scrap, not gems; their odds are shown before opening. Optional rewarded videos appear only when you choose an offer. Progress is never gated by watching an ad, and offline play still works. Game Center rankings and achievements require an internet connection and Game Center sign-in. Dig deep. Get rich. Try not to explode.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Descent at 100% against Drillwake's 0%. Descent also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 6) and ads (none vs shown). Drillwake's advantage is price (Free vs $1.99) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 9 days). On iOS requirement 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
Drillwake is free to download; Descent costs $1.99 up front. Drillwake sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Descent asks for nothing beyond the download.
Descent ships an update every 9 days, Drillwake every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Descent | Drillwake |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 46 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Cartographer ApS | Andrew Do |
Customer experience
Descent
Drillwake
In-app purchases
Descent
No in-app purchases
Drillwake
- 80 Core Gems$0.99
- Full Expedition$2.99
- Starter Pack$2.99
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- 450 Core Gems$4.99
- 1,000 Core Gems$9.99
- 2,200 Core Gems$19.99









