Comparison

Mountain vs Pocket Build

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

Head to head
About

Mountain

Experience a unique and relaxing nature simulation where you embody a mountain. Generate your own mountain, observe its life cycle, and find a space for reflection and introspection. This game offers an existential journey through the natural world.

Highlights
  • Existential nature simulation
  • Generate a unique mountain
  • Observe growth and decay
  • Time moves forward
  • Nature expresses itself
  • No DLC
Features
Read full description

Experience life as a Mountain in this relaxing nature simulation game. Generate a unique Mountain and visit it any time to reflect, collect your thoughts or let your mind wander. Features - no DLC - time moves forward - things grow and things die - nature expresses itself #1 bestselling RPG in 33 countries. Mountain automatically syncs with Apple TV. "Mountain breaks the mold of video games." - Ian Bogost, The Atlantic "Nothing You Do Matters in This Game, But You’ll Still Obsess Over It." - Bo Moore, WIRED "At the beginning of the game, I find the idea cute. By the end, I am hypnotized." - Carolina A. Miranda, LA Times "Welcome to an existential nightmare." - Patrick Klepek, Giant Bomb "The time I spend with Mountain feels slightly more real to me than anything else inside my computer." - Leigh Alexander, Gamasutra "Mountain upends expectations, refusing to fit into preexisting categories." - Justin Cone, Motionographer "I don’t like to talk emotions but this game genuinely is so uplifting." - Alice O'Connor, Rock Paper Shotgun "The only experience that has ever made me feel sad about a geological phenomenon." - Andrew Webster, The Verge

About

Pocket Build

Create your own fantasy worlds without limits. Build anything from farms and castles to epic cities with a vast array of items. Command characters, collect resources, and unleash your imagination in this open-world sandbox.

Highlights
  • Open world sandbox
  • Build with no limitations
  • Hundreds of buildable items
  • Collect resources
  • Command humans
  • Beautiful 3D graphics
  • Build instantly
Features
Read full description

Have you ever wanted to make your own little fantasy world? A farm, some kind of castle, or just an epic fantasy city? Pocket Build is an open world game where you can build with no limitations or restrictions. Build whatever you like, whenever you like, however you like. The possibilities are endless! - Featured as Game of the day. - #1 game in over 57 countries. - "An open world sandbox building game with a great 3D graphics engine." - AppAdvice Castles, people, animals, trees, fences, farms, bridges, towers, houses, rocks, land, it's all their for the building. The only limit is your imagination! - Hundreds of items to build. - Huge open world. - Build instantly. - Collect resources and build special items. - Command your humans to do various tasks. - Beautiful 3D graphics. - New items added every update. - Endless possibilities. - Buildings, Trees, People, Animals, Fences, Pathways, Castles, Skulls, Barrels, Farms, Bridges, Towers, Houses, Rocks, and loads more! - Build, rotate, and place items anywhere in the world. - Control the camera view, rotate, zoom. - 3D touch support. - Haptic feedback. The possibilities are endless! Build your own city, build your own world, build your own castle, be creative, craft your land, build a town, create your own adventure, build anywhere in an open world. Become a Pocket Builder today! ----------------------------------------- The game contains an optional subscription feature. It is not required to play and enjoy the game. If you choose to purchase the subscription, payment will be charged to your iTunes account, and your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours. Subscription starts at $0.99/week. Prices are in US dollars and may vary in other countries. Auto-renewal can be turned off at any time by going to your settings in the iTunes store after purchase. The subscription can be cancelled at anytime. If you don't choose to purchase the subscription, the game can still be fully played without it. Terms & conditions can be found here https://moonbear.com/terms-and-conditions

Screenshots

Mountain4 screens
Pocket Build4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Pocket Build at 4.6 against Mountain's 3.4. Pocket Build also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 46%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). Mountain's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). On price, ads and device support 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

Mountain costs $0.99 and Pocket Build $0.99 up front. Pocket Build sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Mountain asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pocket Build holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pocket Build has 27K ratings behind it against 113, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Mountain's written reviews are positive against 77% of Pocket Build's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mountain ships an update every 3 months, Pocket Build fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Mountain versus Pocket Build: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMountainPocket Build
Price$0.99$0.99
Rating3.4 (113 ratings)4.6 (27K ratings) — better
Positive reviews46.4% of reviews76.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11327K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank—#23 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size186 MB615 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperDavid O'ReillyMoonBear LTD

Customer experience

Mountain

All ratings113 ratings
Positive58.4%
Neutral1.8%
Negative39.8%
Written reviews308 reviews
Positive46.4%
Neutral6.5%
Negative47.1%

Pocket Build

All ratings27,004 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral4.1%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews1,465 reviews
Positive76.9%
Neutral8.8%
Negative14.3%

User reviews

Mountain

From 113 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌄 Relaxing and calming experience
  • 🎨 Beautiful and atmospheric visuals
  • 🎹 Enjoyable piano interaction
  • 🤔 Thought-provoking and philosophical

Room to improve

  • 🕹️ Lack of interactivity and gameplay
  • 🔋 Battery draining issues
  • 🚫 Not compatible with notched devices
  • 🤷‍♀️ Unclear purpose and direction

Pocket Build

From 27K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great game
  • 🚀 Surprisingly addictive
  • 💡 Lots of customization options
  • 🚀 Smooth performance
  • 👍 Amazing graphics

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy at times
  • 🔒 Limited character interactions
  • 💡 Lack of purpose or objectives
  • 🔒 Repetitive gameplay
  • 🔒 Difficult terrain editing

Bugs and requests

Mountain

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Mountain randomly resets, losing collected items
  • Graphical glitches and performance issues on some devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more dynamic events and changes to the mountain
  • Introduce animals, seasons, and other living elements
  • Improve keyboard functionality and integration
  • Provide more guidance and explanation for users

Pocket Build

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when building large worlds
  • Issues with path and terrain connectivity
  • Inability to delete or move placed items

Requested features

8 requests
  • More animals and creatures
  • Ability to control characters and have them interact
  • Warfare and battle mechanics
  • Progression system and goals
  • Random world generation
Show 3 more
  • Multiplayer functionality
  • More building styles and themes
  • Ability to edit and customize characters

In-app purchases

None

Mountain

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Pocket Build

Subscriptions4
  • Power Builder (weekly)3 Days trial$0.997 Days
  • Power Builder (monthly)7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Power Builder (monthly)7 Days trial$11.491 Month
Show 1 more
  • Power Builder (yearly)7 Days trial$25.491 Year
One-time6
  • Micro Tip$0.99
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$1.99
Show 3 more
  • Super Tip$4.99
  • Mega Tip$5.99
  • Super Mega Tip$9.99

Questions

Is Mountain free?
Mountain costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pocket Build free?
Pocket Build costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mountain or Pocket Build?
Pocket Build is rated higher. Mountain averages 3.4 out of 5 from 113 ratings, while Pocket Build averages 4.6 from 27K ratings.
Do Mountain or Pocket Build have ads?
Neither Mountain nor Pocket Build shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mountain or Pocket Build?
Mountain ships an update every 3 months, and Pocket Build fortnightly. Most recently, Mountain was updated on September 28, 2026 and Pocket Build on September 30, 2026.

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