# The Ensign — user reviews > 340 indexed App Store user reviews of The Ensign by Amirali Rajan, rated 4.60/5 from 549 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-ensign/id908073488/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-ensign/id908073488.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 455 · 4★ 37 · 3★ 11 · 2★ 18 · 1★ 28 ## What do users think of The Ensign? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🌟 Compelling story and world-building - 🤖 Unique and challenging gameplay - 🎮 Rewarding progression and sense of accomplishment - 💎 Excellent prequel to A Dark Room - 🧠 Encourages strategic thinking and decision-making **Cons** - 🤯 Extremely difficult and punishing at times - 🔁 Frustrating to restart from the beginning after dying - 🕹️ Lack of checkpoints or save options - 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs - 🧭 Unclear navigation and objectives at times **Commonly reported bugs** - Game crashing when trying to collect loot - Inconsistencies between item descriptions and inventory - Saved progress being lost after closing the app **Most requested features** - Ability to save progress and resume later - Difficulty settings or optional modes - More narrative depth and character development - Improved accessibility and UI for visually impaired players ## Newest reviews (16 of 340) ### 4/5 — Great replay quality. *2024-08-25, version 19.5* A good game, but I can’t find any contact information. The update is good as well, but it does make some things harder for voiceover users, thus why I’d like to talk to the developer. ### 5/5 — Great game *2024-05-07, version 6.9* I love this game. I’ve completed of a couple of times at this point, and just finished my first refusing food run. SPOILERS ———- This could be something Im doing wrong, but I’ve *never* gotten the option to perform the ritual on the admiral. I can’t get the admiral to move past “the purging” vision. I’ve tried entering the murky swamp with the cauter, leaving it there and re-entering. I can’t think of any other combination of things to do to get the admiral to defect, I cleared the whole map. Was I supposed to fight the family for table scraps? lol But seriously I love this game, this is coming from personal frustration of not figuring out how to get the ritual as an option despite having the cauter. ### 5/5 — Text based greatness. *2024-04-09, version 6.9* Look, with so many false reviews out there, i will say this. This game is awesome due to its story building and creative use of user built imagination. easy to use, a slight learning curve and slight grind. its a awesome story between races. must play. God damn defectors!!! ### 4/5 — Bug in the game. *2024-03-13, version 6.9* This game is great, however, there is a bug in the game which causes the game to restart the whole thing over every time you close the app and then open it again. As you can imagine, this is slightly frustrating since I made a lot of progress and then lost it all again. I hope you are reading this. Other than that this is an amazing game and you should all try it. ### 5/5 — Creative and Engaging *2024-02-01, version 6.9* This game, much like ADR, is a unique experience and a fun creative twist on a single player version of a multi-user dungeon (MUD). Bravo to the developers for creating a fun, engaging, and creative yet simplistic mobile game. ### 5/5 — Very engaging-be willing to push through *2023-12-19, version 6.9* Great game but you have to push through a tough start ### 2/5 — Doesn’t come close to A Dark Room *2023-12-13, version 6.9* Honestly just annoying gameplay. ### 5/5 — A worthy predecessor *2023-11-21, version 6.9* I’ve been a fan of A Dark Room for years, and when I belatedly realized a prequel had come out, I was ecstatic. This game is made of text, buttons and Unicode characters, but the combat is gripping, the gameplay is challenging but not frustrating, the worldbuilding is vast and complex, and the story/character arc of the Ensign is chilling, heartbreaking and engaging. I love this game. I’ll play it again and again even though I’ve beaten it and know the story. ### 5/5 — It's hard, but that's the point. *2023-09-08, version 6.9* Quick bug before the review: If you meet a defector on top of a location, such as the Iron Mine, you get the upgrades without having to go through the challenge. If you liked a dark room, don't immediately think you will like this game. Imagine you were instantly thrown into the world, but you have no resources. You can't prepare through building the village, if you die, you are back to nearly square one. This is NOT and afk game like a dark room. You DON'T get the satisfaction of being overpowered with materials. There is no afk resource building. But if you like quick pace, challenges at every stage, and the feeling of progress + the pain of losing everything, you will LOVE THIS. I highly recommend playing a dark room first to understand how the game works. ### 5/5 — Great fun … eventually *2023-08-28, version 6.9* Don’t give up. Really rewards repeated play. Take a break if you get frustrated (I did many many times) but you will make progress. You’ll find yourself wanting to 100% it after refusing food in the end. ### 5/5 — Best game *2023-08-21, version 6.9* Like I been playing for almost a year now, only finished the game today. ### 5/5 — Loved it *2023-08-12, version 6.9* Such a journey. Felt close to quitting a few times. Can still remember the feeling of seeing the red text for the first time...little reassurance to keep going but it was enough to inspire me to continue on the dusty plane ### 5/5 — Lots to explore, play slow *2023-07-16, version 6.9* The game really rewards patience and keeping track of everything step by step. I was able to beat after about 300 minutes of gameplay and that involved losing many times to learn. Very good game, I enjoyed it. ### 5/5 — I let this sit for a few years *2023-06-26, version 6.9* The Ensign was too hard for me and I had given up. I distinctly remember NOT liking this game. But after revisiting A Dark Room and loving it even more now than when I first played years back, I gave it another shot. Wow. This game is incredible. Honestly, the developer is on another level. I don’t think I was mature enough to appreciate this game before. I’m glad that I could experience it differently now, and am curious if it will hit even more differently when I’m even older and revisit. ### 5/5 — played while watching The Walking Dead *2023-06-23, version 6.9* fun. die a lot in the beginning while you learn. ### 5/5 — Great game *2023-06-12, version 6.9* Would recommend ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Accessibilities *2026-04-25, version 19.10* People like me are sensitive to the bright screens And I’m blind asf So I can’t see the texts Let me make them father ### 1/5 — Yeah *2025-05-20, version 19.7* Bad app game crashes every time I try collecting loot still hasn’t been fixed ### 1/5 — This review will get drowned out so whatrver *2024-12-16, version 19.7* Halfway through the game stopped saving my items. Not worth the headache, the game actively mocks you. It's a shame, cause I really liked A Dark Room... ### 1/5 — KC *2024-08-23, version 19.5* It’s a little bit too busy now. Little bit harder to navigate the screen without having single or double tabs. Liked the older version way better. ### 1/5 — WASTE MY TIME, MONEY, ENERGY *2022-06-24, version 6.9* No check points, no re spawn. At least restart with all items gone. Not EVERYTHING and start back from the beginning. BTW I enjoyed beating a dark room with no huts. BUT this, ridiculously a negative review for the makers. Writing this review is more satisfying than knowing I lost $2. ### 1/5 — Unplayable *2021-08-23, version 6.1* What did you do too your game? It’s garbage now sad to see it in this state.. ### 1/5 — Not as good a “A dark room” *2021-02-25, version 5.2* Really doesn’t live up to its predecessor. ### 1/5 — Storm speaker *2020-12-06, version 5.2* I don’t know how any of you guys manage to play the game but every time I try to head in any direction it takes me right back to my home screen do you know what is happening here? ### 1/5 — Far too hard *2019-01-18, version 1.55* So hard to keep going and not die ... nigh on impossible .. it’s too frustrating for me . ### 1/5 — Too hard, not enjoyable *2018-10-10, version 1.55* I loved A Dark Room, played it many times. This one is too frustrating and too hard, I’ve invested an hour and not interested in investing any more. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — most rewarding game i’ve played *2026-03-25, version 19.10* i loved 100%ing this game. it was so challenging that i enjoyed it. i also loved the secrets and lore that you left us. i am patiently waiting for that one last story you wanna tell us. ### 5/5 — The blind wanderer *2025-09-13, version 19.9* I came into this world blind. I was given scraps of food and a compass that spoke to me, and the houses and people I encountered along the way changed my perception of everything. I found myself stumbling through death as part of the game; survival was the challenge. As I neared the end of my mission, I found a new respect for the world. My journey in this world is complete, yet I find myself reliving it and imagining different outcomes. Maybe one day I will return to this world with my eyes open and working, and we’ll see it for what it is. For now, it leaves me with a conflicted feeling: do I survive at the cost of others, or do I die and accept defeat? ### 5/5 — One of the greatest mobile games of all time *2025-07-05, version 19.9* This and a dark room ### 5/5 — Yeah *2025-07-03, version 19.9* Bad app game crashes every time I try collecting loot still hasn’t been fixed never mind I was clicking the take all loot button in the app was crashing it works if I try taking items one by one ### 5/5 — Incredible *2025-05-31, version 19.9* I’ve been playing this game for years- Only when I travel. Even after so many years, and even a few wins, the game is still challenging and thought-provoking. I’ve had dozens and dozens of games on my phone over the years, and The Ensign is the only one that has remained no matter what. Props to the developer who has been maintaining the app for so long. ### 5/5 — A fun challenge with fun Easter eggs *2024-08-19, version 6.9* Originally I struggled with the game when a bug cleared my storeroom after one of my deaths, but I kept playing, and now I want to revise my review. I’ve finished it at 100%, completed “the impossible”, the admiral’s ritual, refused food, etc and was given the chance to play in God Mode, which was a lot of fun. I like the story in A Dark Room more but the mechanics of this were more fun I think. I liked the references to other games. A lot of lore is packed into the game despite it being a “simple” text game. It’s a shame the developer hasn’t done more with this universe, I would love to read or play more. I like that I can picture the apocalyptic landscape for myself. The ritual in particular is cool. I wish there had been some kind of story reward/ending for when you choose not to engage in optional combat and I wish I could have done the ritual on myself but that is ok. ### 5/5 — One of the best games I’ve ever played *2024-07-28, version 6.9* Excellent 👍👍 ### 5/5 — Awesome *2024-07-26, version 6.9* Simplicity while still being complex and addicting is the holy grail. Nice work in the prequel to an awesome, original mobile game. ### 5/5 — Great game when I first played it years ago. Great still *2024-05-11, version 6.9* A game that rewards patience. Enjoy this game and creator immensely. Love how the world is built up with the barest but most effective words ### 5/5 — Dopest dope you ever smoked *2024-05-10, version 6.9* Simple yet epic and engaging --- *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 2026-09-03.*