Comparison

Powder Toy vs Evolution

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Powder Toy

Explore a 2D physics sandbox where you can build, create, and interact with nearly 100 different elements. Simulate complex systems, from atomic power plants to custom CPUs, by combining various materials, liquids, gases, and electronic components.

Highlights
  • 2D physics simulation
  • Nearly 100 elements
  • Build complex machines
  • Simulate air pressure and heat
  • Create realistic terrains
  • Electronic components
Read full description

I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH CREATORS OF THE ORIGINAL THE POWDER TOY The game is based on The Powder Toy opensource project, which is available for free on your Mac or PC, complete GPL 3-covered source code of the port, as well as binaries are available for free on CannonballStudio@GitHub iPad port of the most popular 2D physics sandbox is out! Build, create, play, draw, interact with almost 100 different elements, and do whatever you want using your fingertips! Have you ever wanted to blow something up? Or maybe you always dreamt of operating an atomic power plant? Do you have a will to develop your own CPU? Powder Toy lets you to do all of these, and even more! Powder Toy is a physics sandbox game, which simulates air pressure and velocity, heat, gravity and a countless number of interactions between different substances! The game provides you with various building materials, liquids, gases and electronic components which can be used to construct complex machines, guns, bombs, realistic terrains and almost anything else.

About

Evolution

Design and build unique creatures using joints, bones, and muscles. Witness their learning and improvement through evolutionary algorithms and neural networks as they tackle tasks like running, jumping, and flying. Share your creations with friends.

Highlights
  • Creature design with joints, bones, muscles
  • Neural network learning
  • Evolutionary algorithm improvement
  • Tasks: running, jumping, climbing, flying
  • Share simulation saves and creature designs
  • View source code
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Use joints, bones and muscles to build creatures that are only limited by your imagination. Watch how the combination of neural networks and an evolutionary algorithm can enable your creatures to learn and improve at their given tasks all on their own. The tasks include running, jumping, climbing and flying. Can you design the ultimate creature that is good at all of the tasks? The latest update allows you to easily share your simulation saves and creature designs with your friends. Note that this is more of a simulation than a game. There are no real objectives. But there is a lot to learn if you are interested in the basics of machine learning and neural networks. You can even look at the source code if you want. There is also a Mac & PC version available for download and a browser version for you to try out on the main project website (keiwando.com/evolution).

Screenshots

Evolution4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Evolution at 84% against Powder Toy's 40%. Evolution also leads on rating (4.4 vs 3.1) and chart position (#119 vs unranked). Powder Toy's advantage is iOS requirement (5.1.1 vs 13.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Powder Toy costs $1.99 and Evolution $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Evolution holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 345 and 549 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of Powder Toy's written reviews are positive against 84% of Evolution's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Powder Toy ships an update every 6 weeks, Evolution every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 20, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Powder Toy versus Evolution: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPowder ToyEvolution
Price$1.99$1.99
Rating3.1 (345 ratings)4.4 (549 ratings) — better
Positive reviews40.1% of reviews83.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings345549 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank—#119 — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS5.1.1 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB67 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMarcin ChojnackiKeiwan Donyagard

Customer experience

Powder Toy

All ratings345 ratings
Positive48.7%
Neutral9.0%
Negative42.3%
Written reviews267 reviews
Positive40.1%
Neutral9.7%
Negative50.2%

Evolution

All ratings549 ratings
Positive85.8%
Neutral4.4%
Negative9.8%
Written reviews195 reviews
Positive83.6%
Neutral5.1%
Negative11.3%

Bugs and requests

Powder Toy

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Evolution

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Creatures re-appear after being deleted
  • Horizontal distance not recorded properly
  • Simulation screen turns white
  • Creatures get stuck in a looping state

Requested features

8 requests
  • Add swimming and flying modes
  • Ability to customize creature body parts
  • Option to speed up or pause evolution
  • Save and load creature designs
  • More task types (e.g. grabbing, throwing)
Show 3 more
  • Multiplayer or competition modes
  • Improved camera controls
  • Ability to create obstacles or terrain

In-app purchases

None

Powder Toy

No in-app purchases

None

Evolution

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Powder Toy free?
Powder Toy costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Evolution free?
Evolution costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Powder Toy or Evolution?
Evolution is rated higher. Powder Toy averages 3.1 out of 5 from 345 ratings, while Evolution averages 4.4 from 549 ratings.
Do Powder Toy or Evolution have ads?
Neither Powder Toy nor Evolution shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Powder Toy or Evolution?
Powder Toy ships an update every 6 weeks, and Evolution every 2 months. Most recently, Powder Toy was updated on October 20, 2026 and Evolution on October 20, 2026.

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