# Brogue — user reviews

> 98 indexed App Store user reviews of Brogue by Seth Howard, rated 4.60/5 from 74 ratings.

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/brogue/id613921309/reviews
- App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/brogue/id613921309.md
- Rating breakdown: 5★ 55 · 4★ 11 · 3★ 5 · 2★ 0 · 1★ 3

## Newest reviews (11 of 98)

### 5/5 — You need to just play this!

*2018-10-03*

This is it.  Why else are there so many people raving on and on about a game that seems so boring when you look at the screenshots?  That's a good question.  Because they've likely been playing this game loyally for years...and will continue to do so.  Like me.  So if you want to explore an antiquated, turn-based, emotionally fraught, chess-like, engaging, perfectly beautiful, endlessly confounding, old-school / new-school, refreshingly exciting....yeah, enough said....   I can say nothing more to change your mind.

You're either gonna download, or you won't. 

God help you and yours....

### 5/5 — Please update to 1.7.5

*2018-09-26, version 1.2.4*

New brogue is out please could you update this port?

### 4/5 — Great game, but I have some suggestions

*2018-09-10*

It'd be good if scrolls of identify weren't as rare or id'd your whole inventory. Also, it'd be cool to have perma darkened mode, and darkness potions give normal vision. Other than that it's really well made, and overall a great game!

### 5/5 — Really a first rate game

*2018-06-17*

If you have never tried a nethack or roguelike game, this one is the killer app to have! Beautiful ascii graphics, wonderful gameplay.

### 5/5 — Most Addicting Game Ever

*2018-04-01*

This is a glorious remake of the most addicting game ever devised. Amazing that so much fun comes from such simple ingredients. Proof that eye candy is not necessary to make a classic RPG. Beware the Amulet of Yendor.

### 5/5 — Eels ate my monkey

*2017-11-06, version 1.2.4*

Back in the day i played rogue a lot.  A real joy to discover Brogue. It's managed to keep the feel and fun of the original while adding game-improving tweaks. Sid meier once defined a game as a series of interesting choices and Brogue gives you this in spades. Excellent

### 5/5 — Seth my guy

*2017-09-10*

Seth I love this game so much it's brilliant and so are you. It's elegant. Elegant simplicity. Truly wonderful. I hope this isn't in your past though. I'm sure SURE that you have more ideas for this. Don't let it go!

### 5/5 — Amazingly deep simple game

*2017-03-23*

This and FTL are my favorite games on the App Store by far. This game is free. There is no excuse not to give it a try. Thank you so much to the people who developed this masterpiece. Peace out world.

### 5/5 — Awesome, must have

*2016-10-19, version 1.2.4*

It looks kinda bland and confusing at first, but it is a super in depth game that'll keep you coming back again and again. Highly addictive, richly detailed, no internet required, 10/10, thank you for eliminating my boredom.

### 5/5 — Terrific!!

*2016-09-24*

I appreciate the update to this game which is among the best of its kind, with the update to the font size it's now Perfect!!!

Thank you for the quick fix!!!!!'

### 5/5 — Works brilliantly on iPad

*2016-09-24, version 1.2.4*

I wasn't expecting this to work well on iPad at all, but it plays wonderfully. The d-pad works great for movement (it's actually an improvement over the desktop version for me, since my keyboard lacks a numpad for easy diagonal movement). This is the full game, with nothing missing, and all of Brogue's quality-of-life features like auto-explore and auto-pathing are even more useful on iPad.

## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated)

### 1/5 — Must have

*2018-10-09*

Edit: since the latest update I have been unable to throw items which rendered the game unplayable.

*****
At the first glance, this game doesn't seem like much but oh boy don't judge the book by cover here!  This game is a lot of fun and extremely addictive.  A must-have for dungeon crawl fans.  My biggest complaint is sometimes it doesn't delete a game when I die so whenever I go to "open game" it's listed but doesn't load when I click on it.  I'd like to be able to delete those games.  Despite this, I'm giving the game full 5 stars cuz it's so awesome!

**Developer response:** Sorry about that. An update should be available shortly (1.3.3) that fixes this issue. In the interim double tapping the throw button works consistently. Thanks for playing and reviewing!

### 3/5 — Yeet

*2019-11-06, version 1.3.3*

The game concept is very interesting, however, i have found out that the bluetooth keyboard controls aren’t working anymore. This was a big part of why i enjoyed this game, the keyboard support. Please fix this

### 3/5 — Needs Oryx’s tiles

*2019-06-14*

I really want to play, but I’m used to using Oryx’s tiles on the desktop version and can’t go back.  Add the tiles version to make it more accessible for everyone and it will be perfect.

### 3/5 — No keyboard

*2017-04-24*

No keyboard available but still fun.

**Developer response:** Blue tooth keyboard support is provided by iPads and Brogue takes advantage of this feature. Apple has several products available from their store including a low profile Smart Keyboard.

### 3/5 — Looks great, but needs a keyboard

*2017-02-22*

It looks fantastic, but without access to a keyboard, I feel like half of the game is missing.

If there is a help system, or any way to access a digital keyboard, I can't find it anywhere.

**Developer response:** Thank you, it does look great. Adding a software keyboard that covers 1/3 of the playing area would severely degrade that quality so we've added some great touch controls as well as external keyboard support via blue tooth.

### 3/5 — Good memories

*2014-11-20, version 1.2.2*

The maps are way more complex than they used to be, throwing weapons doesnt seem to work, you aim but theres no way to let go

### 4/5 — Great game. I will change to 5 stars if iPhone version is released.

*2019-12-04*

Please release for iPhone!

### 4/5 — Great port!

*2018-10-23, version 1.3.3*

I love this port, but have noticed that in the last release (or maybe the one before) it doesn’t play nice with my Logitech Bluetooth keyboard - the keyboard’s arrow keys all result in a up-right diagonal move, and the shift key doesn’t register (i.e. can’t do a “D” on the keyboard to see what was already discovered).  Fixable?

### 4/5 — Great

*2018-10-10, version 1.3.2*

A well made game which is very smooth, and makes you want to play more

Keyboard directional input is not working correctly anymore however

### 4/5 — Awesome, but lost the Bluetooth keyboard arrow keys

*2018-09-29*

Love the game, been doing infinite varieties of gameplay for over a year now!  Unfortunately, latest update seems to have dropped support for my Logitech Bluetooth arrow keys.  Can you add ability to choose your keys for directions?  Only other minor quibble is the font seems to have gotten much smaller for certain items (weapons and scrolls).

## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated)

### 5/5 — I like this game, but

*2026-07-09*

The text is too hard to read; I hope you can support larger font size adjustments. Thank you very much.

**Developer response:** Recent updates as of 1.7.6 have enlarged the text. There is also a way to make it bigger in the options. If it's not enough or you have other suggestions please let me know through the support link under the 'Information' button. Thanks!

### 5/5 — Best Roguelike Ever

*2026-06-30*

This is the best entry level into the classic roguelike genre. Huge props to the maintainer of this app version for being faithful to the original while providing touch screen support and a fun new variant!

### 5/5 — 97% Superb!

*2026-06-27, version 1.7.2*

First off: download it, play it, try it/die it, until you reach at least depth 5; by then you should know if you are hooked and love it forever, or nope it away because you can’t appreciate a game of gorgeous simplicity. Brogue was great, Brogue CE was tuned better, Brogue SE starts a path of addressing some of the stale issues that I didn’t imagine could be carved away at in these ways. Bravo! I’ve not yet played enough rounds to have clear feedback to give, to help sort out the balancing and issues. But seems like the developer is hot on the trail of the most troubling iOS interface things. Thank you kindly, it makes focusing on the nuanced gameplay evolution you’re noodling with, much easier.

### 5/5 — Impressive

*2026-06-10, version 1.5.2*

Love the ascii style graphics. Great to have this classic on iPhone

### 5/5 — Its great

*2020-05-06, version 1.3.4*

With this game, less is more. It relys on the players active imagination, which is exactly what D&D is all about. Having been a long fan of Moria (I was lloking for moria when I found this) I think this game play is better. Unlike moria, this game is all about 'building' a character, which depends on what you find and what you choose (a specialisation). Many players will choose a variety of skills, but I prefer to specialise. 

It is this random chance of what is made available by the game which seperates it from others (plus the colour visuals which is a major step forward from the originals). You don't realise until you die a few times 'how enjoyable it is to start again from scratch' since no two games play the same. Every character you play is different based on what you find and choose to keep. The replayability factor is amazing. I realise why it is better than Moria now. In Moria you could leave the maze and buy items in a store (something I missed at first), but here you buy nothing. Everything you have is provided in the game randomly, which makes different choices inevitable. In Moria thirty years ago, I probably tended to start over and buy the same things again, and therefore played the same game over and over without realising it, even though it was still enjoyablr to do so. 

I realise after thirty years that these games are really problem-solving puzzle games. How to defeat a level and a foes and survive. The game rewards you for killing most creatures but you rapidly learn that you will be punished for killing others. Some you are best to avoid and run from. Knowing which is which is part of the fun. Can recommend this game. It is truly a game where the more you put in, the more you get out of it. Its not for people who want instant gratification. Its definitely a mind-game - a true strategy game where visuals are not as important.
.

### 5/5 — Brogue, one of the elderitch gods of terminal descends upon IOS

*2020-04-07*

This is a great port of an amazing game. Unfortunately, the iOS d-pad disappears whenever I fall down a level

### 5/5 — Most In-depth roguelike I’ve played

*2019-12-17*

I’m not gonna say anything anyone else hasn’t already said, so I won’t. My only complaint is that the “suspend game” feature currently doesn’t work, so fixing that would pretty much make the game perfect in my mind.

### 5/5 — Seriously Underlooked

*2019-09-24, version 1.3.3*

A great turn-based roguelike. If you’ve played games like Shattered Planet or Cardinal Quest 2 you will like this.

+ Large variety of enemies and items, each with unique abilities.
+ A lot of strategy involved. You need to think carefully before making certain moves or entering areas, or else you risk getting into a bad situation, or wasting a helpful scroll.
+ Good mechanics, from the most accurate ways to throw a dart to the stealth system. 
+ Nice visuals. Brogue does not have any fancy sprites and uses characters on a keyboard to represent everything in the game, but they do a good job with the @‘s vision, water, everything. It’s very easy to forget you are just moving around letters and numbers.
+ It’s free. And that’s a great price!
- Because of the small tiles it can sometimes be hard to throw a projectile or spell exactly where you want to, but it’s a very small nuisance.

### 5/5 — fun, very well adapted to ipad

*2019-06-02, version 1.3.3*

works perfectly even without keyboard. thanks!

### 5/5 — Latest version issues...

*2018-12-30, version 1.3.3*

I absolutely love this game, but the newest version seem to crash a lot... I used to be able to play just fine, but now the game sometimes crashes when I open my inventory or when a bloat bursts or whatever. I wish I could go back to the previous working version for me.

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-01.*