# Pathos vs Guidus

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pathos at none against Guidus's 13. Pathos also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (89% vs 73%). Guidus's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (3K vs 360). On price, rating and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Guidus sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Pathos asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Pathos against 4.8 for Guidus. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Guidus has 3K ratings behind it against 360, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of Pathos's written reviews are positive against 73% of Guidus's.

Pathos ships an update every 4 months, Guidus every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 12, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pathos | Guidus |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (360 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pathos-nethack-codex/id1045848120/reviews) | **[4.8 (3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/guidus/id1189867637/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 360 | **3K** |
| Positive reviews | **88.6% of reviews** | 72.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 142 MB | 186 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.2** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Callan Hodgskin](https://appshunter.io/developer/1045848119) | [izzle Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/868637593) |

## What reviewers say

### Pathos

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pathos-nethack-codex/id1045848120)

Embark on a challenging roguelike adventure inspired by Nethack's rule set. Select from 13 distinct classes and delve into a perilous dungeon. Your mission is to confront your nemesis in hell and escape with as much treasure as possible.

**Highlights:** Nethack-inspired gameplay, 13 playable classes, Deep dungeon exploration, Defeat nemesis in hell, Loot collection and escape

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Guidus

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/guidus/id1189867637)

Embark on a pixelated roguelike adventure to reclaim a royal palace from awakened monsters. Recruit diverse heroes, master unique skills, and battle challenging bosses. Explore dungeons filled with traps and treasures, and grow your characters to overcome the darkness.

**Highlights:** Diverse hero collection, Unique hero skills and superpowers, Varied bosses and monsters, Dungeon exploration with traps and treasures, Roguelike gameplay with growth factors, Pixel art graphics

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (13)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Buy 4 hourglasses. | $0.99 | one-time |
| Buy 50 Emeralds | $0.99 | one-time |
| Buy 3,000 Gold | $1.59 | one-time |
| Buy 130 emeralds | $1.59 | one-time |
| Buy 13 hourglasses. | $1.99 | one-time |
| Buy 27 hourglasses. | $3.19 | one-time |
| Buy 8,200 Gold | $3.19 | one-time |
| Buy 300 Emeralds | $3.19 | one-time |
| Basic Pass | $4.99 | one-time |
| Buy 55 hourglasses. | $6.39 | one-time |
| Buy 17,000 Gold | $6.39 | one-time |
| Advanced Pass | $7.99 | one-time |
| Buy 55,000 Gold | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Best Dungeon Crawler Roguelike
- 👍 Charming pixel graphics
- 👍 Stellar gameplay
- 👍 Wonderful characters and playstyles
- 👍 Haptics and music are wonderful

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Ads make the game unbearable
- 🐛 Abyss is horribly made
- 🐛 Game freezes or ads freeze, causing loss of progress
- 🐛 Bugs after recent updates
- 🐛 Laggy and unresponsive controls

**Reported bugs**

- White Night Elemental Master skin unable to perform normal attacks
- Disappearing boss materials after collecting them
- Infinite loading on game start
- Freezing on floor transition
- Ads not working properly

**Requested features**

- More characters or secret characters
- Ability to sell keys/hourglasses/items for gold
- Gold to emerald or hourglass conversion system
- Option to save run progress when pausing or closing app
- Real-time multiplayer and PvP modes


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pathos free?

Pathos is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Guidus free?

Guidus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Pathos or Guidus?

Guidus is rated higher. Pathos averages 4.7 out of 5 from 360 ratings, while Guidus averages 4.8 from 3K ratings.

### Do Pathos or Guidus have ads?

Guidus shows ads; Pathos does not.

### Which is updated more often, Pathos or Guidus?

Pathos ships an update every 4 months, and Guidus every 3 weeks. Most recently, Pathos was updated on October 12, 2026 and Guidus on October 12, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*