Comparison

Pathos vs The Way Home

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

Head to head
About

Pathos

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
Read full description

Pathos is a roguelike adventure game inspired by the rule set from Nethack. Choose from 13 classes and journey deep into the dungeon. Descend to hell to defeat your nemesis before escaping the dungeon with all the loot you can carry! Email mailto:hodgskin.callan@gmail.com Twitter https://twitter.com/callan_hodgskin Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/pathos_nethack Discord https://discord.gg/TRhRZhX Made with Invention https://gitlab.com/hodgskin-callan/Invention

About

The Way Home

Embark on a pixel art roguelike adventure to help Kevin and Cheese escape a mysterious island. Explore procedurally generated dungeons, battle unique monsters, and build structures to aid your escape. Assemble a party of characters with diverse skills to overcome challenges and uncover the island's secrets.

Highlights
  • Procedurally generated maps
  • Strategic skill-based combat
  • 80+ unique monsters
  • 21 playable characters
  • Party-based dungeon exploration
  • Resource collection and construction
  • Story-driven exploration with multiple islands
Features
Read full description

Trapped on a strange island, Kevin and Cheese struggle to return home. There are also terrifying monsters and other lost people on the island. Please help the Cheese get home safely! [Roguelike Dungeon Crawler] - Maps are automatically generated by the algorithm. - You can enjoy every battle with a new pattern. - In each battle, the battle proceeds by strategically combining 15 or more different skills. - Defeat the 80 unique monsters with different patterns. [Party Mode] Create a party and explore the dungeon! - You can choose from 21 different characters. - Each character can use different skills. - A party consists of 4 characters who will fight together. - You can use different combinations of characters to play through the dungeons. [Resource collection and construction] - You can construct buildings with resources collected from dungeons and islands. - Make various buildings to make it easier to escape. [There is an ending!] - Meet NPCs and follow the story as you explore 4 islands. - Will Kevin and Cheese eventually escape the island at the end of the story? - The warm sensibility of pixel art and light and shadow are waiting for you here! ----- Contact: dev@concode.co, +827045198629

Screenshots

Pathos4 screens
The Way Home4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pathos at none against The Way Home's 1. Pathos also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (89% vs 80%). The Way Home's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (2.4K vs 362). On price, rating 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

Both are free to download. The Way Home sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Pathos asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Pathos against 4.8 for The Way Home. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Way Home has 2.4K ratings behind it against 362, 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 80% of The Way Home's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pathos ships an update every 4 months, The Way Home monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Pathos versus The Way Home: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPathosThe Way Home
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (362 ratings)4.8 (2.4K ratings) — better
Positive reviews88.6% of reviews — better79.6% of reviews
Number of ratings3622.4K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.2 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size142 MB298 MB
Age rating9++12
DeveloperCallan HodgskinConcode Corp.

Customer experience

Pathos

All ratings360 ratings
Positive91.9%
Neutral3.1%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews220 reviews
Positive88.6%
Neutral4.5%
Negative6.8%

The Way Home

All ratings2,392 ratings
Positive96.4%
Neutral1.6%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews683 reviews
Positive79.6%
Neutral5.6%
Negative14.8%

Bugs and requests

Pathos

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

The Way Home

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to load ads consistently
  • Soft-locking issues when interacting with certain game elements
  • Inconsistent save data behavior across devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • More varied enemy and boss encounters
  • Additional gameplay modes or challenges
  • Improved character customization options
  • Ability to skip or speed up text/dialogue

In-app purchases

None

Pathos

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

The Way Home

One-time1
  • Deck Blueprints$6.99

Questions

Is Pathos free?
Pathos is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Way Home free?
The Way Home is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pathos or The Way Home?
The Way Home is rated higher. Pathos averages 4.7 out of 5 from 362 ratings, while The Way Home averages 4.8 from 2.4K ratings.
Do Pathos or The Way Home have ads?
The Way Home shows ads; Pathos does not.
Which is updated more often, Pathos or The Way Home?
Pathos ships an update every 4 months, and The Way Home monthly. Most recently, Pathos was updated on October 21, 2026 and The Way Home on October 27, 2026.

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