The Dark Book vs Bugborne
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Dark Book
Embark on a dark fantasy adventure as a resurrected hero in a world of magic and monsters. Explore diverse environments, battle creatures, and uncover the mystery of a powerful artifact. This offline RPG offers hours of engaging gameplay with customizable controls and settings.
- Dark fantasy storyline
- Variety of enemies and equipment
- Customizable controls (touch, keyboard, mouse, joystick)
- Old-school hack and slash gameplay
- Character leveling and upgrades
- Multilingual support
Read full descriptionHide full description
Rise from the realm of the dead and enter Morghoth, a dark fantasy world shaped by forbidden magic. The Dark Book is a free old-school action RPG in which you play as a skeleton warrior brought back to life by a mysterious book. Explore the lands of Morghoth and discover who awakened the dead—and why. Fight hordes of enemies in real-time hack-and-slash combat, complete quests, gain experience and collect powerful weapons, armor and spells to strengthen your character. FEATURES • Old-school action RPG inspired by classic 1990s role-playing games • Real-time hack-and-slash combat • A unique undead skeleton protagonist • A dark fantasy story filled with quests and unexpected twists • A wide variety of enemies, environments, equipment and spells • Character progression, experience levels and valuable rewards • Customizable camera and map • Touch controls and compatible controller support • Adjustable graphics settings for different devices • Play offline without an internet connection • Available in English, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian Rise, fight and uncover the secrets of The Dark Book.
Bugborne
Experience intense, challenging combat with precise timing and discipline. This soulslike mobile game offers visceral knife fights and strategic dashes for skilled players.
- Intense soulslike combat
- Precise timing and discipline
- Visceral knife fights
- Strategic dashes
- Challenging gameplay
Read full descriptionHide full description
Bugborne is a soulslike mobile game made by Lemmy LLC which features intense combat that tests your patience, timing and discipline. Built for only the highest echelon of gamers, Bugborne delivers on everything it promises.. visceral knife fights, precise dashes and much much more.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Bugborne at every 4 days against The Dark Book's every 3 weeks. Bugborne also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 79%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). The Dark Book's advantage is ratings volume (327 vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. The Dark Book sells 14 one-off in-app purchases and Bugborne sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Bugborne holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Dark Book has 327 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of The Dark Book's written reviews are positive against 100% of Bugborne's.
The Dark Book ships an update every 3 weeks, Bugborne every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Dark Book | Bugborne |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (327 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 78.6% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 327 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 322 MB | 311 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Bunetto Michele Salvatore | Lemmy |
Customer experience
The Dark Book
Bugborne
Bugs and requests
The Dark Book
Reported bugs
11 issues- Save file corruption and loss of progress
- In-app purchases not appearing in inventory
- Game crashes after purchase prompts
- Infinite dialogue loops with merchants
- Locked doors not opening (Gnowak Mountains)
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Game freezes on specific quest triggers
- Screen inversion and black screen issues
- Game not launching on certain iPhone models
- Purchase restoration not working
- Enemies glitching through doors
- Game becoming unresponsive after extended play
Requested features
11 requests- Sequel or continuation of the story
- Multiplayer mode
- Open world gameplay
- More diverse music and sound design
- Additional equipment slots for character customization
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Colosseum or arena training mode
- More potions and spells
- Unbreakable equipment option
- Better tutorial system
- Fixed movement button controls
- More varied enemy drops and loot
Bugborne
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
The Dark Book
- Gem Pack 1$1.19
- Magic Shield$1.19
- Soul Sword$1.19
Show 11 moreShow fewer
- Magic Armor$1.19
- Magic Bull Helmet$1.19
- Devouring Sword$1.19
- Gold Pack 1$1.19
- HP and MP Charging Ring$1.99
- Skeleton Gold$1.99
- Gem Pack 2$2.99
- Infinity Hammer$2.99
- Gold Pack 2$2.99
- Gem Pack 3$4.99
- Gem Pack 4$7.99
Bugborne
- Remove Ads$2.99
Questions
Is The Dark Book free?
Is Bugborne free?
Which has better reviews, The Dark Book or Bugborne?
Do The Dark Book or Bugborne have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Dark Book or Bugborne?
Other comparisons
