Novafall vs Idle Space Mining
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Novafall
Build a vast space empire, colonize planets, and defend against rival factions in this idle strategy game. Ascend to gain permanent upgrades and dominate the galaxy. Features deep strategy with ship customization, espionage, and alien diplomacy.
- Build and colonize 64 worlds
- Engage with three rival empires
- Collect 30 ship classes
- Utilize espionage and diplomacy
- Ascend for permanent upgrades
- Offline and progress-while-away gameplay
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Novafall is an idle space-strategy game. Build a fleet, colonize 64 worlds across 16 sectors, and hold them against three rival empires. When a run slows down, ascend: the galaxy resets, and the Dark Matter you keep buys permanent upgrades for every run after. THREE RIVAL EMPIRES The Vex Hegemony, the Krillix Swarm and the Hollow Court each claim part of the map. Once your empire is big enough, they besiege your colonies and run spy operations against you. Invade their worlds, buy them outright, or sign a truce. Your government decides which of them treat you as kin and which as an enemy. WHAT'S IN IT • 30 ship classes, from the Probe Drone to the Omega Fleet • 64 planets: terran and ocean worlds, gas giants, mining, volcanic, crystal and relic worlds • Espionage: spy cells, counter-intelligence and a signature operation for each government • Five alien species you can win over with gifts, for alliances and tribute • Six wonders, a Senate with edicts, and a galactic stock market • Ten ministers you appoint to automate the empire one system at a time • NOVA, your ship's advisor, ranks what to do next ASCENSION • Spend Dark Matter on permanent upgrades that carry into every run • 8 challenge runs with handicaps, each giving a permanent yield bonus • A weekly galactic anomaly, and double Dark Matter from ascensions on weekends • 26 achievements, milestones and a 7-day supply drop HOW IT'S SOLD • No forced ads. The only ad is a sponsor broadcast you choose to watch for a bonus. • Purchases are optional. Dark Matter and warp time are earned by playing. The six Precursor Relics are the one thing only the shop provides. • Novafall does not track you and does not ask for tracking permission. • Your save backs up to your own iCloud. • Progress continues while you are away, and the game plays offline.
Idle Space Mining
Build and expand a space mining empire through incremental upgrades and strategic choices. Reset your progress to gain permanent bonuses and achieve ultimate power. Earn resources even while offline.
- Incremental mining empire building
- Strategic doctrine choices
- Prestige system with Dark Matter
- Permanent upgrades via Star Shards
- Offline earnings
- Challenging game modes
- Comet catching events
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Tap an asteroid. Build a mining empire. Then destroy it — and come back stronger. IDLE SPACE MINING is an idle game about scale. You start hand-mining ore from a bare rock. You end up rewriting local physics so the ore was always there. BUILD THE COLONY Twenty-six machines, from a rickety Drone Hangar to the Terminus Drillhead. Each one runs its own harvest cycle — watch the bars fill, watch the ore land. Every 10 you own doubles that machine's output, and every tier lifts the one beneath it. CHOOSE YOUR DOCTRINE At each tier you pick ONE of three paths and forfeit the other two. Triple your early generators, or cut the price of everything, or tighten your milestones. There is no right answer — and you re-decide every single run. ASCEND When growth stalls, collapse the whole colony into a singularity. You lose your ore, your generators, your tech. You keep DARK MATTER — and every scrap you have ever earned makes you permanently stronger. Dark Matter is deliberately scarce. Each one matters. HEAT DEATH Then there's the prestige above prestige. Let the universe run down, trade everything — even your Dark Matter — for Star Shards, and buy upgrades that survive the end of everything. TAKE ON CHALLENGES Mine with no hands. Run with triple-length cycles. Build with only three generator types. Beat one and keep the bonus forever. CATCH COMETS Comets drift past while you play. Tap one for a lump of ore or a burst of production. EARN WHILE YOU SLEEP Your colony keeps mining when the app is closed. Come back to a pile. One optional ad, and only if you want it: watch a Supply Drop for double production for four hours. No banners, no interstitials, nothing that interrupts play. No energy timers, no countdown "offers". Just numbers going up, forever.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Novafall at 5.0 against Idle Space Mining's 4.0. On price, ratings volume, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Novafall holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively.
Novafall ships an update every 2 weeks, Idle Space Mining weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Novafall | Idle Space Mining |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 4.0 (3 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 44 MB | 121 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Robert Gonzales | ISAAC MICHAEL FRETT |
Customer experience
Novafall
Idle Space Mining
In-app purchases
Novafall
No in-app purchases
Idle Space Mining
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Novafall free?
Is Idle Space Mining free?
Which has better reviews, Novafall or Idle Space Mining?
Do Novafall or Idle Space Mining have ads?
Which is updated more often, Novafall or Idle Space Mining?
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