# Pathos vs The Way Home

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.

Both are free to download. The Way Home sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pathos | The Way Home |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (362 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pathos-nethack-codex/id1045848120/reviews) | **[4.8 (2.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-way-home-pixel-roguelike/id1590763682/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 362 | **2.4K** |
| Positive reviews | **88.6% of reviews** | 79.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 142 MB | 298 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.2** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | +12 |
| Developer | [Callan Hodgskin](https://appshunter.io/developer/1045848119) | [Concode Corp.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1628731550) |

## 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


### The Way Home

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-way-home-pixel-roguelike/id1590763682)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Deck Blueprints | $6.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎨 Charming pixel art and animations
- 🕹️ Simple and intuitive gameplay
- 🔍 Engaging story and lore
- 🔓 Generous free-to-play model with optional paid content
- 🕰️ Satisfying progression and upgrade systems

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔍 Repetitive gameplay loop
- 🎥 Excessive use of ads to unlock content
- 🤖 Inconsistent enemy difficulty
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
- 🔒 Lack of save data restoration

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

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


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