Last updated on January 3rd, 2026 at 09:30 pm
Osmos – Simulation Game Review
Osmos is a Simulation/Entertainment/Puzzle game from Hemisphere Games Inc, first launched in 5th August 2010.
It’s rated 4+ and currently has 891+ ratings on the App Store.
What Makes Osmos Stand Out
Apple Design Award winner and iPad Game of the Year!
Enter the Darwinian world of a galactic mote. To survive, absorb smaller organisms and grow—but beware of larger predators. Osmos features unique physics-based play, stellar graphics, and a hypnotic ambient soundtrack. Absorb or be absorbed!
“The ultimate ambient experience” — Gizmodo
“Beyond doubt, a work of genius" — GameAndPlayer.net
THE CRUX:
you must grow by absorbing smaller motes, but to propel yourself you must eject matter behind you, causing you to shrink. From this delicate balance, Osmos leads the player through floating playgrounds, competitive petri dishes, deep solar systems, and more.
“Named as iPad Game of the Year for a reason, Osmos is a fantastic game. A combination of physics, survival and classic eat em up” — WeDoCode
“Whether you're a child at heart who likes mucking about with single-cell organisms, or a strategist with a physics degree, this game will appeal to everyone.” — App Store review
AWARDS / recognition:
- "iPad Game of the Year" and "iPhone App of the Week" — Apple
- Apple Design Award winner (iPad version)
-
1 Top iPhone Game — IGN
- iPad Game of the Year — TUAW
- Game of the Year — Create Digital Music
- Editor's Choice — Wired, Macworld, IGN, GameTunnel, and more…
- Best in Show — IndieCade
- Vision Award — Independent Games Festival
- Coolest Atmosphere — IGN
- Best Soundtrack — IGN
- Most Innovative Game — Best App Ever Awards, Pocket Gamer
- Many top lists including Kotaku, PAX, TouchArcade, iLounge, APPera, IFC, and more…
FEATURES:
- 72 levels spanning 8 distinct worlds: Ambient, Antimatter, Solar, Sentient, Repulsor, Impasse, Warped Chaos, and Epicycles.
- Multiplayer! (more info below.)
- Award-winning electronic soundtrack by Loscil, Gas, High Skies, Biosphere, Julien Neto, and more.
- Endless replay value: play random versions of any level in Arcade mode.
- Seamlesss multitouch controls: swipe to warp time, tap anywhere to eject mass, pinch to zoom…
- Time-warping: slow down the flow of time to outmaneuver agile opponents; speed it up to raise the challenge.
- Confront four distinct AI opponents: the Ovarium, the Biophobe, the Nemocyte… and the deadly Ferax.
- 13 single-player and 15 multiplayer achievements.
- Progress synced via iCloud.
MULTIPLAYER
- Play against your friends and enemies, locally (via wi-fi), or over the Internet.
- 6 distinct Arenas: Ambient, Impasse, Solar, Warped Chaos, Epicycles, and introducing… Antimatter Impasse.
- iPad vs. iPhone play supported.
“a beautiful, absorbing experience." — IGN
5/5 – Macworld Editor’s Choice – “One of the best games we’ve played so far this year. An utterly serene, yet fiendishly complicated game that deserves a place in every iPad owners collection.” — MacWorld
“The best iPad game yet.” — IGN
4/4, Must Have – “We are more than overwhelmed by Osmos for iPad… The game design is thoughtful and intuitive, new level structures are flawless, and the visuals are stunning yet simplistic… every iPad owner should have Osmos on their device. You just won’t find another experience quite like it.” — Slide To Play
“What iPad Gaming Should Be All About” — Gizmodo
“The first proper breakout hit for the iPad. Osmos feels so natural and enjoyable to play, even when the difficulty ramps up and you find yourself repeatedly careening into a giant gaseous enemy.” — Wired
“It’s the best iPad game on the App Store” — MTV Multiplayer
5/5 – “Osmos is an absolute must that will change the way you think of games, and what you expect from them.” — AppAdvice
“Beyond doubt, a work of genius… a relaxing, meditative experience about going with the flow… It all adds up to something otherworldly and just . . . incredible.” — GameAndPlayer.net
This Simulation game offers engaging gameplay and regular updates for mobile players.
Player Feedback
As a newer release, Osmos is building its player community. Early feedback suggests .
Recent Updates & Development
Latest Update: 10th October 2025
Recent improvements include:
Fix for local multiplayer on new OS versions.
Download & Availability
Osmos is available through the official App Store for iOS devices.
Requirements: Requires iPhone 5s / iPad Air / iPad Air (Cellular) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina, Cellular) / iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus / iPad Air 2 / iPad Air 2 (Cellular) / iPad Mini 3 or later.
Compatible with iPhone and iPad devices.
Player Experience Highlights
Community Insight:
Many years ago we played this game on iPhone 4 and enjoyed it thoroughly. For its physics and its mesmerizing aesthetics. It was enjoyable to return to it perhaps 15 years later to discover that it is still an interesting mix between meditation, physics, biology, and musical periodicity. Odyssey now complete.
The visuals in Osmos have a unique and special style. Everything about the gameplay design is perfect. It is a very fine-tuned type of experience in the world of games. If you intend to purchase Osmos for kids there is a chance that they might find it too slow (it is a slow-paced action/adventure game but not too slow). The music appears to be standalone electronic songs that were not created with the intention of being used in Osmos but the developers have somehow managed to choose music that does not feel out of place when compared to music that was composed specifically for a game. Very impressive.
One of the oldest games we own, still phenomenal and still being updated.
Fun and relaxing, with a bit of challenge. Game sounds and looks amazing. Great ambient music.
Crashes on iPad Pro with the latest OS.
Its not even close. Could there be more levels because you dont want it to end? Yes. Would we pay $20 for an Osmos 2? Yes. Do we love this game. Yes.
This game pisses us off to an unreasonable extent, we play a ton of puzzle games and fly through them but this one has them levels we get stuck and have to retry forty times and take a break and then retry another seventy times until we finally get it and idek what exactly we did differently to win it that time. Phenomenal experience, definitely worth the four dollars.
Its engaging and relaxing with space orbs, very cool, well done 5 stars.
We LOVE this app it is so much FUN!!! The levels r so challenging and addicting but also very calming along w NO adds. We feel like this is the one game that has not been like changed w the time yk all games have so many adds and they r just for profit but Osmos is SO MUCH FUN WITHOUT ADDS we feel like the developer just wants people to have fun w it. Ofc theres the 3.99 but we had an apple gift card that we dug up from somewhere to buy it. The game unlocks treasured childhood memories of playing this game w our grandfather and dad and sometimes brother, and we love to play it again, make new memories with family and friends, and to relax. Totally hoping for an osmos 2 but we think the appeal of this game is that the creators are like no where, (they havent created any other games) and that these r the only levels that have been made. PLEASE download it it is worth the money, and do not believe any of the reviews on here sure it is challenging, but it its satisfying and rewarding as well. They also have quotes along the way (we dont wanna spoil it lol! Very tempted though :) PLEASE download and review to show support the creators deserve it for creating such a perfect game (^.^).
Pros: Absolutely no in-app purchases Challenging No random chance Intuitive controls Cons: This game starts easy but gets haaaard.
Beautiful graphics and sound, wonderful gameplay. Many have tried to copy it and none have come close. The high water mark for mobile games.
Requires a great deal of patience, but if you can get that down tightened, then you will absolutely love this game. We dont even wanna call it a game. We want to call it a skill level, ours blowing adventure.
We love this game so Much!It isnt to hard but hard enough for it to be.
Incredible game, we loved it, we used to play it since 10 years, im playing it in 2023 right now everything is amazing about this game, music an be better, and more levels should be there, please give us Osmos 2.
We are still playing this game in 2022, we only paid $.99, we turn up the speed to fastest play we can play it,much more difficult, we wish they would develop osmos 2 or the next level, visualing stunning. Sometimes it feels like the game is alive, we even feel sorry for them when we have to take them out. We let them live as long as we canPlease make a new one Ill be your first to play it, even beta test. Dont charge a subscription service, we boycott those games. People would be flocking to it.
Whens the next one coming out.
Visually stunning with an ethereal audio experience that makes the game other worldly.
However many years later.. How long has it been, like 7 years? And Im still playing this game. Its easy, fun, and challenging! Not hard at all to learn how to play either. Ive read some reviews here stating that they cant figure it out or its designed to make you fail. Lol no dudes, this is an incredibly basic game thats perfectly balanced with strategy. Its honestly perfect in our opinion. Thanks to the creators! Wish you would make more levels or game modes or even update it sometime :).
We could play the game or listen to the audio track and fall asleep. We fine the gameplay meditative and it gets us out of our own mind.
Ive been playing this for over a decade now and its by far our favorite game. Its become part of our meditation regimen. Theres something organic and natural about absorbing larger objects in a cosmic way. The gameplay and music is soothing.
Epic game underrated needs more people for online.
Nice to find a quality game that doesnt nickel dime you. Just flat price and have fun.
We have on this game for over eight years and we have it on every one of our devices its the perfect way to keep your mind up with your stress low. We dont normally write reviews but up is a must have for any business person.
Great game. Very cool concepts and graphics. We just with the multiplayer experience was a bit better. Seems to get a bit buggy. Other than that, probably one of most sophisticated yet simple games out there. Also, would love to see a relax modeLike ambient but with a world that has no borders, and a bit harder to die in.
Osmos has been out for a while, and is just as fun as the first day! Doesnt really need any updates.
Seriously great game played it in high school a lot.
This is a mind relaxing game. If you need to get away from the noise of situation this is a great place to go.
We were so bummed when it wouldn't play bc there was no updated version compatible w our ios. Today we randomly searched it feeling nostalgic and there it is!!! So Zen. Beautiful music. Gorgeous colors. One of our absolute all time favorites.
This game is timeless, and on all our devices. You HAVE to try it, this game does not disappoint.
Hands down the best mobile game. Just wish there were more players so that we could actually queue a multiplayer match.
We were a fan of a couple of the music artists already so that brought us to the game initially. Its remained one of favorite mobile games of all time. Still havent beat all the arcade levels tho… Gets very difficult.
So a few weeks ago we remembered this game from when we were younger and we couldnt remember the name and just today we found it and we were like OH MY GOD we NEED TO DOWNLOAD THIS and this game is very nostalgic to us so we have really enjoyed it so all 5.
We really am a big fan of this game but it can be challenging to control but on the other hand it is just awesome.
We really enjoy the game concept, graphics, and LOVE the music. Unfortunately for us, its still stressful. We were hoping to find a game to help with that as this has done for many others so Ive read.
Wish we could get our money back.
This would be 5 stars except that they have done nothing to take advantage of iphone13 pro displayit looks terrible on our phone. With this game concept theres such an opportunity to take advantage of a beautiful screen and really wow with the orb graphics, but as it is now, its blurry and underwhelming. This game is all about the ambiance, its got the sound part down, now it needs visuals to match. Disappointingfix it.
We need more online players. Nobody is online.
We wanted to like it but it just didnt work for us.
We hate when they insist on a review before Ive played it.
Music you now have to buy. Why sell a game promoting the music and then have the customer buy the music if they want to listen to feature thats advertised in the game.
A great game that provides relaxing, ambient escape, while also giving a challenge to complete each level. Amazing game dynamic of propelling yourself by squirting away some of your mass, while needing to get big by absorbing smaller creatures and not getting absorbed yourself. We really wish they would create an expansion.
Great to pass the time in mellow serenity.
Ive been playing this game since the IPod generation and we have a iPhone and we love it that its here.
Hope to see a graphics update sometime. Perfect otherwise.
We love this game. This is our go-to game these days. Its beautiful. We think the music can be good, but we love the game without it too. Need something to wind down with before bed? Slow down time (you can do that with this game) and just let the current and the pretty lights take you. We do like some levels a LOT more than others. The Sentient levels are by our favorite. Ive played them all 1000x by now, and they dont really get old for us. We almost wish theyd beef this game out with an expansion. Id definitely pay money, especially for more Sentient-like levels.
Challenging, atmospheric, visually pleasing. What more do you want from a 99 cent game? Buy this wonderful game and if nothing else, leave it on for the atmosphere it creates. Love it.
Hey guys, this game is incredible. Ive been waiting for Osmos 2 forever now. Honestly, if you were about to release Osmos 5 and were charging $5 for each version we would be saying take our money – PLEASE! What are you waiting for.
We enjoy that each game only takes a few minutes and some levels are quite challenging.
We played this game years ago and then lost our phone. We could never remember the name of it. We just found it again and we couldnt be happier.
Ive spent way too many hours playing this game. Its really good.
User feedback from Apple App Store
App Details
- Version: 2.6.3
- Size: 44.55 MB
- iOS: 13.0 or later
- Languages: EN, FR, DE, IT, JA, KO, PT, RU, ZH, ES, ZH
- Content Advisory:
- Developer: Hemisphere Games Inc
Last updated: 10th October 2025 | Genre: Simulation, Entertainment | Developer: Hemisphere Games Inc