Comparison

Darkest Dungeon vs Neverwinter Nights

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

Head to head
About

Darkest Dungeon

Embark on a challenging gothic roguelike RPG where you manage flawed heroes facing psychological stress and monstrous foes. Recruit, train, and lead your team through perilous dungeons, battling not only enemies but also famine, disease, and encroaching darkness. Uncover mysteries and utilize strategic turn-based combat.

Highlights
  • Psychological stress system
  • Gothic art style
  • Turn-based combat
  • Hero classes
  • Permadeath
  • Procedural dungeons
Read full description

"Darkest Dungeon is a challenging gothic roguelike turn-based RPG about the psychological stresses of adventuring. ***AWARDS AND HONORS*** ***Rock Paper Shotgun - 50 Best RPGs of All Time*** ***IGN - Best of 2016: 2 Nominations*** ***IGF 2016 - 3 Nominations*** Recruit, train, and lead a team of flawed heroes through twisted forests, forgotten warrens, ruined crypts, and beyond. You'll battle not only unimaginable foes, but stress, famine, disease, and the ever-encroaching dark. Uncover strange mysteries, and pit the heroes against an array of fearsome monsters with an innovative strategic turn-based combat system. * The Affliction System – battle not only monsters, but stress! Contend with paranoia, masochism, fear, irrationality, and a host of gameplay-meaningful quirks! * Striking hand-drawn gothic crowquill art style * Innovative turn-based combat pits you against a host of diabolical monsters * Narration system to celebrate your successes...and failures * 15 (and counting!) playable hero classes, including Plague Doctor, Hellion, and even the Leper! * Camp to heal wounds or deliver inspiring speeches. * Rest your weary, shell-shocked characters in town at the Tavern or the Abbey to keep their stress in check. * Classic CRPG and roguelike features, including character permadeath, procedural dungeons, and incredible replay * 3 game modes and over 80 hours of gameplay* Can you stem the tide of eldritch horrors erupting across your family’s ancestral estate? Descend at your peril! Please note that the game currently supports the following languages only: English, German, French, Russian, Polish, Czech, Spanish, Italian, and Brazilian Portuguese

About

Neverwinter Nights

Embark on a classic Dungeons & Dragons role-playing adventure with over 100 hours of gameplay. Explore the original campaign and six free DLC adventures, either solo or with friends across various platforms. Enjoy enhanced graphics and a re-engineered UI for mobile devices.

Highlights
  • Classic D&D RPG gameplay
  • 100+ hours of content
  • Six free DLC adventures
  • Cross-platform multiplayer
  • Re-engineered UI for mobile
  • Improved graphics with adjustable options
Features
Read full description

Neverwinter Nights is a classic Dungeons & Dragons RPG— enhanced for iOS! Explore 100+ hours of gameplay including the original campaign, plus six free DLC adventures. Play solo or team up with friends for a grand adventure across the Forgotten Realms. DEVICE RECOMMENDATION Optimized for iPads Recommended for iPhones with screen sizes of 6 inches or larger CONTENT Neverwinter Nights (Classic Campaign) Shadows of Undrentide (Free DLC) Hordes of the Underdark (Free DLC) Kingmaker (Free DLC) ShadowGuard (Free DLC) Witch’s Wake (Free DLC) Adventure Pack (Free DLC) FEATURES Re-engineered UI for iPads and iPhones - Virtual joystick and context sensitive button makes gameplay easy - UI Scales automatically or can be set to your liking Cross-Platform Multiplayer - Adventure with friends! - Cross-play support includes compatibility with mobile, tablets, computers and consoles - Join persistent worlds, with community-run campaigns and up to 250 players Improved Graphics - Pixel shaders and post-processing effects make for cleaner graphics and visuals - Adjustable contrast, vibrance, and depth of field options STORY CONTENT: Neverwinter Nights (Original Campaign) You find yourself at the center of intrigue, betrayal, and dark magic in Neverwinter Nights. Journey through dangerous cities, monster filled dungeons and deep into uncharted wilderness in search of the cure for a cursed plague ravaging the city of Neverwinter. Shadows of Undrentide (Free DLC Expansion) Another adventure begins in the updated expansion, Shadows of Undrentide! Charged by your master to recover four ancient artifacts, travel from the Silver Marches to unravel mysteries of a long-dead magical civilization. Hordes of the Underdark (Free DLC Expansion) This expansion continues the adventure started in Shadows of Undrentide. Journey into the ever-more bizarre and hostile depths of Undermountain to challenge a gathering evil. Three Premium Modules (Free DLC) Discover over 40 hours of new Dungeons & Dragons adventures across the Forgotten Realms in these premium modules for Neverwinter Nights: - Kingmaker - ShadowGuard - Witch’s Wake - Adventure Pack LANGUAGES - English ©2020 Beamdog. ©2020 Wizards of the Coast LLC. All Rights Reserved. Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons & Dragons, Neverwinter Nights, and D&D are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC. Hasbro and its logo are registered trademarks of HASBRO, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Screenshots

Neverwinter Nights4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Neverwinter Nights at 4.0 against Darkest Dungeon's 3.4. Neverwinter Nights also leads on review sentiment (61% vs 40%) and chart position (#103 vs unranked). Darkest Dungeon's advantage is price ($4.99 vs $9.99) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 12.0). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Darkest Dungeon costs $4.99 and Neverwinter Nights $9.99 up front. Darkest Dungeon sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Neverwinter Nights sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Neverwinter Nights holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 687 and 263 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of Darkest Dungeon's written reviews are positive against 61% of Neverwinter Nights's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Darkest Dungeon ships an update every 5 months, Neverwinter Nights every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Darkest Dungeon versus Neverwinter Nights: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDarkest DungeonNeverwinter Nights
Price$4.99 — better$9.99
Rating3.4 (687 ratings)4.0 (263 ratings) — better
Positive reviews40.1% of reviews61.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings687 — better263
Update frequencyEvery 5 months — betterEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank—#103 — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.4 GB2.8 GB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperRed Hook Studios Inc.Overhaul Games

Customer experience

Darkest Dungeon

All ratings655 ratings
Positive58.6%
Neutral6.0%
Negative35.4%
Written reviews287 reviews
Positive40.1%
Neutral9.1%
Negative50.9%

Neverwinter Nights

All ratings259 ratings
Positive72.6%
Neutral8.9%
Negative18.5%
Written reviews400 reviews
Positive61.0%
Neutral13.0%
Negative26.0%

User reviews

Darkest Dungeon

From 687 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Same as PC
  • 🎨 Beautiful, unique art style
  • 🎢 Challenging, rewarding gameplay
  • 🎵 Excellent narration and sound design

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes, bugs, and technical issues
  • 📱 UI not optimized for tablets
  • 🔍 Small text and UI elements
  • 🕹️ Clunky, unintuitive controls

Neverwinter Nights

From 263 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 👍 Faithful port of the classic game
  • 🚀 Runs well on older devices
  • 👍 Brings back nostalgic memories
  • 🚀 Impressive amount of content

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes when learning spells
  • 🐛 Multiplayer issues with CD key
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🔍 Cluttered UI, small text
  • 🐛 Inability to install premium modules

Bugs and requests

Darkest Dungeon

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Game freezes or crashes on launch
  • Saves not working or getting corrupted
  • Trinkets/items disappearing
  • Districts/buildings not functioning properly

Requested features

3 requests
  • Controller support
  • Improved UI scaling and layout
  • Optimization for newer devices

Neverwinter Nights

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when saving game
  • Companions/summons behaving erratically
  • Inventory and loot management issues
  • Pathfinding and character movement problems
  • Incompatibility with certain iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Controller support
  • Improved camera controls
  • Chinese language support
  • Ability to move UI elements
  • Autosave and backup save options

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Darkest Dungeon

One-time4
  • MusketeerFree
  • The Shieldbreaker$1.99
  • The Crimson Court$4.99
Show 1 more
  • The Color of Madness$4.99
10 purchases

Neverwinter Nights

One-time10
  • KingmakerFree
  • ShadowguardFree
  • Witch's WakeFree
Show 7 more
  • Adventure PackFree
  • Wyvern Crown of Cormyr$2.99
  • Pirates of the Sword Coast$2.99
  • Infinite Dungeons$2.99
  • Heroes of Neverwinter$2.99
  • Darkness Over Daggerford$4.99
  • Tyrants of the Moonsea$4.99

Questions

Is Darkest Dungeon free?
Darkest Dungeon costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Neverwinter Nights free?
Neverwinter Nights costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Darkest Dungeon or Neverwinter Nights?
Neverwinter Nights is rated higher. Darkest Dungeon averages 3.4 out of 5 from 687 ratings, while Neverwinter Nights averages 4.0 from 263 ratings.
Do Darkest Dungeon or Neverwinter Nights have ads?
Neither Darkest Dungeon nor Neverwinter Nights shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Darkest Dungeon or Neverwinter Nights?
Darkest Dungeon ships an update every 5 months, and Neverwinter Nights every 7 months. Most recently, Darkest Dungeon was updated on October 26, 2026 and Neverwinter Nights on October 29, 2026.

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