Auto Drill vs Aether Bastion
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Auto Drill
Pilot an auto-mining ship that automatically destroys planets block by block. Upgrade weapons, collect skills, and enhance your gear to build a powerful galactic drilling machine. Progress through tougher worlds with permanent upgrades.
- Automatic mining ship piloting
- Destructible planets with various block types
- Unlock and upgrade 10 unique weapons
- Collect and fuse skills for buffs
- Upgrade ship components (Hulls, Reactor Cores, Engines)
- Permanent progression across runs
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AUTO DRILL: GALAXY Pilot your own auto-mining ship and chew through entire planets, block by block! Your ship fights on its own — orbiting, seeking, and blasting the nearest block automatically. Sit back and watch the loot pour in, or grab the joystick and steer into the action yourself. IDLE AUTO-BATTLER Your mining ship never stops working. It automatically targets and destroys blocks while you focus on building the ultimate galactic drilling machine. Perfect for quick sessions or long grinds DESTROY EVERYTHING Every planet is a grid of destructible blocks — Normal, Gold, Energy, and volatile Explosive blocks that chain-detonate their neighbors in satisfying cascades. Mine them all to clear the planet and warp to a tougher sector! 10 UNIQUE WEAPONS Unlock and upgrade a devastating arsenal: drill lance, mortar, chain arc, orbiting saw, and more! Each unlock hits harder than the last and carries permanent damage multipliers — choose your upgrade path wisely. COLLECT & FUSE SKILLS Roll for powerful skills and fuse duplicates upward through rarity tiers — Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary! Equip them for massive buffs: extra damage, income multipliers, block transmutation, and more. UPGRADE YOUR GEAR Equip Hulls, Reactor Cores, and Engines, then level them up by salvaging spare items. Build the perfect loadout for endless expansion. ADVANCE FOREVER Clear a planet, advance a sector, and face tougher worlds. Your permanent unlocks and upgrades carry over — every run makes you stronger! The galaxy is full of planets waiting to be mined. How far can you drill? Download Auto Drill: Galaxy and start your cosmic mining empire today!
Aether Bastion
Defend a growing rift against swarms. Strategically expand your keep and spend resources to bring cores home. Enjoy live co-op multiplayer for up to four players.
- Idle rift defense gameplay
- Strategic keep growth
- Resource management
- Live co-op multiplayer (2-4 players)
- Seasonal events
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You don’t aim — you grow. Aether Bastion is idle rift defense. One lattice. A swarm on the ring. Grow the keep, spend scrap in the run, and bring cores home. • Ember Tide Opens October 2 • Mid Tide November 16 • Solstice December 21 • Live co-op for 2–4 keepers via Game Center, each on their own device; no couch co-op • No ads. Circle is power; Founder is gems only Available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV when those platforms are live. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Aether Bastion at 100% against Auto Drill's 55%. Aether Bastion also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Auto Drill's advantage is ratings volume (418 vs 11) and chart position (#28 vs unranked). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Auto Drill sells 16 one-off in-app purchases and Aether Bastion sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Aether Bastion holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Auto Drill has 418 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of Auto Drill's written reviews are positive against 100% of Aether Bastion's.
| Parameter | Auto Drill | Aether Bastion |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (418 ratings) | 5.0 (11 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 54.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 418 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #28 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 246 MB | 165 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Lava Labs Oyun Yazılım ve Pazarlama Anonim Şirketi | NoffTech LLC |
Customer experience
Auto Drill
Aether Bastion
In-app purchases
Auto Drill
- Solar Gem 1$1.99
- Gem 1$1.99
- Solar Offer$2.99
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- Small Chest Offer$4.99
- Gem 2$4.99
- Life Time Boost$9.99
- Galaxy Pass$9.99
- Starter Pack$9.99
- No Ads$9.99
- Gem 3$9.99
- Deluxe Solar Offer$19.99
- Gem 4$19.99
- Tournament Offer$29.99
- Epic Pack$29.99
- Gem 5$49.99
- Gem 6$99.99
Aether Bastion
- Bastion Circle7 Days trial$7.991 Month
- Handful of Gems$0.99
- Ember Theme$1.99
- Awakening Pack$2.99
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- Ember Pack$2.99
- Purse of Gems$4.99
- Founder’s Sigil$4.99
- Chest of Gems$9.99
- Vault of Gems$19.99
- Treasury of Gems$49.99
Questions
Is Auto Drill free?
Is Aether Bastion free?
Which has better reviews, Auto Drill or Aether Bastion?
Do Auto Drill or Aether Bastion have ads?
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