Sorcery! 4 vs Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sorcery! 4
Embark on an epic open-world narrative adventure in a cursed citadel filled with monsters, traps, and magic. Explore a hand-drawn 3D world, make thousands of choices that shape your story, and master new spells. Your decisions, disguises, and interactions with characters will lead to multiple endings.
- Open-world exploration
- Dynamic storytelling
- Thousands of choices
- Disguise system
- Magic spellcasting
- Multiple endings
- Swindlestones mini-game
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An epic adventure through a cursed citadel of monsters, traps and magic. Begin your journey here (Parts 1-3 not required) - or conclude your epic adventure. "One of the finest RPGs ever made" - Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Best RPG of 2016 "Sorcery! pushes and exploits both genre tropes and limitations, not as mere parody but in order to provide a better role-playing experience. A masterful work." - TechRaptor 9/10 Praise for Part 3: Editors Choice, Apple; iPad Best Game of the Year selection "One of 2015's best iPhone games" - TIME magazine "An amazing adventure..." - TouchArcade 5/5 An open-world narrative adventure into a cursed Citadel of monsters, traps and magic. Fight weird creatures, cast powerful spells that shape the story, cheat death, and explore everywhere. Begin your journey here, or conclude your adventure from Part 3. + Explore freely - go where you want through a hand-drawn, 3D world, creating your own unique story + Totally dynamic storytelling - the story adapts itself around everything you do + Thousands of choices - all are remembered, from the big to the small, and all will shape your adventure + Disguise yourself - adopt different disguises as you infiltrate the Citadel. Characters react differently depending on how you are dressed + Uncover the secrets of magic - secret spells to discover, and new forms of magic to master + Multiple endings, and hundreds of secrets - the game is stuffed with secrets and hidden content. Can you enter the vaults? Will you find the grave of the invisible girl? + Cheat, swindle, deceive, or play with honour - how will you win the trust of the citizens of Mampang? Remember, every choice matters... + New enemies, including mutants, guards, merchants and the undead - each with their own strengths and weaknesses + Adapted from the best-selling gamebook series by legendary game designer Steve Jackson + Swindlestones is back! The game of bluff and deceit is back, with the toughest opponents yet - the Gambling Monks of Effe + Seven Gods, all with different quirks and powers + Start your adventure here, or load your character and all your choices from Part 3 + New music from "80 Days" composer Laurence Chapman + New 3D hand-drawn maps to explore by Mike Schley You have reached the gates of Mampang, the ancient Fortress of Sorcerers. It is guarded by Birdmen, mutants, traps and ancient, wild magic. But inside is the Crown of Kings and the only hope for peace in the Old World. You must make your way past chasms, guards, walls and evil magic if you are to face the Archmage - and survive. From the creators of TIME's Game of the Year 2014 and four-time BAFTA nominee, "80 Days", comes the final part of the epic, acclaimed Steve Jackson's Sorcery! series, co-creator of Games Workshop and Fighting Fantasy (with Iain Livingstone). Using inkle's unique ink engine, the story is written in real-time, built around your choices and actions. Every action is remembered, and every decision, however small, can make the different between life and death, success and failure, humiliation or triumph. Sorcery! 4 is our most complex story to date, featuring over half a million words of adaptive content which incorporates all your choices from previous parts. The Sorcery! is true epic, interactive storytelling - and it concludes here.
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Embark on a challenging roguelike dungeon crawl with six unique heroes. Explore procedurally generated levels, collect hundreds of items, and battle diverse enemies and bosses. Master unique hero mechanics and unlock powerful abilities to survive the depths.
- Six unique heroes with distinct playstyles
- Procedurally generated dungeons and randomized enemies
- Hundreds of items to collect, upgrade, and craft
- Talent trees and subclass progression for heroes
- Challenging bosses and optional achievements
- Regular content updates
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Shattered Pixel Dungeon is a traditional roguelike dungeon crawler RPG that's simple to get into but hard to master! Every game is a unique challenge, with six different heroes, randomized levels and enemies, and hundreds of items to collect and use. ShatteredPD is also updated with new content roughly every three months, so there's always something new. ◀ Choose Your Hero ▶ Each of ShatteredPD's six playable heroes has their own unique mechanics and gameplay style. Cut down foes as the durable Warrior or deadly Duelist, fry your enemies as the arcane Mage or divine Cleric, or use terrain to your advantage as the stealthy Rogue or the markswoman Huntress! As you progress through the dungeon you'll earn points to spend on talents, choose a subclass, and gain powerful lategame abilities. You can turn the Duelist into a dual-wielding Champion, the Cleric into a righteous Paladin, the Huntress into a precise Sniper, or explore loads of other possibilities! ◀ Explore the Dungeon ▶ ShatteredPD's dungeon is procedurally generated with random layouts, room types, items, traps, and enemies. In each game you'll find equipment and collect or craft consumable items to power you up or help you out in a pinch. There is a huge variety to what you might see from run to run and region to region. As you progress through the dungeon you'll find equipment that can be enchanted, upgraded, and augmented as you outfit your hero. Set foes ablaze with an enchanted weapon, wade through enemies with upgraded armor, or gain powerful damage, defensive, or utility benefits from one of the many magical wands, rings, artifacts, or trinkets. ◀ Succeed or Die Trying ▶ The Dungeon is filled with enemies, traps, hazards, and bosses intent on ending your run! Battle hostile wildlife in the sewers and caves, mad thieves and guards in the prison, occult servants in the fallen dwarven city, and maybe something even worse further down... All these hazards can make the game quite tough, but don't be discouraged! You probably won't win on your first try, but there are many tricks and strategies to discover and learn on the path to getting your first win. Afterward, there are optional challenges and achivements if you want to put your skills to the test! ◀ Over A Decade in the Making ▶ Shattered Pixel Dungeon is an open source game based on the source code of Pixel Dungeon by Watabou (first released in late 2012). It started in 2014 as a project to rebalance Pixel Dungeon but has steadily grown into its own game over the last 10 years! Features Include: • 6 Heroes, each with 2 subclasses, 3 endgame abilities, and over 25 talents. • Over 300 items including equipment, consumables, and items crafted via alchemy. • 5 dungeon regions, 26 floors, over 100 room types, and trillions of possible floor layouts. • Over 60 regular enemy types, 30 traps, and 10 bosses to test your skills. • An in-game catalog to fill in, with just over 500 entries. • 9 stackable challenges and over 100 achievements for completionists. • Interface modes for large and small screens, and support for multiple input types. • Updates roughly every 3 months with new content, fixes, and improvements. • Support for many languages thanks to the game's dedicated communities.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Shattered Pixel Dungeon at free against Sorcery! 4's paid. Shattered Pixel Dungeon also leads on ratings volume (4.2K vs 86) and rating (4.9 vs 4.6). Sorcery! 4's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 13.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Sorcery! 4 costs $4.99 and Shattered Pixel Dungeon $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Shattered Pixel Dungeon holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shattered Pixel Dungeon has 4.2K ratings behind it against 86, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of Sorcery! 4's written reviews are positive against 93% of Shattered Pixel Dungeon's.
Sorcery! 4 ships an update every 2 months, Shattered Pixel Dungeon fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sorcery! 4 | Shattered Pixel Dungeon |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.6 (86 ratings) | 4.9 (4.2K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 76.9% of reviews | 92.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 86 | 4.2K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #9 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 447 MB | 134 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | inkle | Evan Debenham |
Customer experience
Sorcery! 4
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
User reviews
Sorcery! 4
From 86 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📖 Deep and interesting story
- ✨ Beautifully reimagined and engaging
- 💯 Developers innovate and entertain
- 🌟 Best one of the four
- 👍 Great conclusion to a great series
Room to improve
- 😩 Frustrating without rewind
- 🔁 Punishing repetition
- 🤔 Questionable choice to disable rewind
- 😵 Tedious grinding ensues
- 😭 Spoils the fun of the game
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
From 4.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Endless replayability
- 👍 Polished and well-designed
- 🎨 Excellent pixel art and aesthetics
- 💡 Innovative mechanics and depth
- 🕹️ Challenging yet rewarding gameplay
Room to improve
- 🤯 Extremely challenging and punishing
- 🕰️ Runs can feel too long
- 🤖 Overpowered enemy mechanics (e.g. evasion)
Bugs and requests
Sorcery! 4
Reported bugs
2 issues- Can't move on in the game
- Final ending underwhelming
Requested features
7 requests- Choice of language at the start
- Option to enable rewind mechanic
- Beginner/weakling mode with rewind
- Limited number of rewinds
- More help or tutorial for new players
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- Allow rewind after completing the game a certain number of times
- Option to enable/disable rewind in settings
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Reported bugs
2 issues- Sound effects not working on iOS
- Occasional crashes or freezes
Requested features
3 requests- Permadeath optional mode
- Ability to continue progress across devices
- More character classes and customization options
In-app purchases
Sorcery! 4
No in-app purchases
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Sorcery! 4 free?
Is Shattered Pixel Dungeon free?
Which has better reviews, Sorcery! 4 or Shattered Pixel Dungeon?
Do Sorcery! 4 or Shattered Pixel Dungeon have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sorcery! 4 or Shattered Pixel Dungeon?
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