Comparison

Shattered Pixel Dungeon vs Loop Hero

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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.

About

Loop Hero

Embark on a roguelike RPG adventure where you strategically place cards to create enemy encounters, buildings, and terrain. Equip your hero with powerful loot, expand your camp, and unlock new classes and cards to break an endless cycle of despair and save a forgotten world.

Highlights
  • Randomly generated expedition loops
  • Strategic card placement for trials
  • Loot collection for hero progression
  • Camp expansion and reconstruction
  • Unlockable classes and cards
  • Retro pixel art dark fantasy story
Features
Read full description

*Try Loop Hero for free and unlock the full game for the whole adventure!* The Lich has thrown the world into a timeless loop and plunged its inhabitants into never ending chaos. In this roguelike RPG, wield an expanding deck of mystical cards to place enemies, buildings, and terrain along each unique expedition loop for the brave hero. Recover and equip powerful loot for each class of hero for their battles and expand the survivors' camp to reinforce each adventure through the loop. Unlock new classes, new cards, and devious guardians on your quest to shatter the endless cycle of despair. FEATURES - Explore an endless number of paths: bring your hero on randomly generated loops and never experience the same run twice. - Shape your expeditions into darkness: build your deck and place your cards to script your hero’s trials and tribulations. - Loot as you loop to rebuild the world: recover your memories as you collect equipment and resources to become stronger, reconstruct your camp and get your reality back. - Plunge into a gloomy universe: discover a melancholic dark fantasy story told through a retro pixel art direction and recollect the memories of this world. - Break the cycle: triumph over mighty bosses to free the world from the Lich’s neverending time loop. CAREFULLY REDESIGNED FOR MOBILE - Revamped interface – exclusive mobile UI with complete touch control - Game Center achievements - Cloud Save – Share your progress between iOS devices - Compatible with MFi controllers - iPhone 15 Optimization (including Pro Max)

Screenshots

Shattered Pixel Dungeon4 screens
Loop Hero4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Loop Hero at Free against Shattered Pixel Dungeon's $4.99. Shattered Pixel Dungeon's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (93% vs 75%). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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

Loop Hero is free to download; Shattered Pixel Dungeon costs $4.99 up front. Loop Hero sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Shattered Pixel Dungeon asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Shattered Pixel Dungeon against 4.9 for Loop Hero. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.2K and 3.9K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 93% of Shattered Pixel Dungeon's written reviews are positive against 75% of Loop Hero's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shattered Pixel Dungeon ships an update fortnightly, Loop Hero every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Shattered Pixel Dungeon versus Loop Hero: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShattered Pixel DungeonLoop Hero
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (4.2K ratings) — better4.9 (3.9K ratings)
Positive reviews93.0% of reviews — better74.9% of reviews
Number of ratings4.2K — better3.9K
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#9 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size134 MB213 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperEvan DebenhamPlaydigious

Customer experience

Shattered Pixel Dungeon

All ratings4,210 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral0.6%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews967 reviews
Positive93.0%
Neutral1.6%
Negative5.5%

Loop Hero

All ratings3,814 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral0.7%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews287 reviews
Positive74.9%
Neutral6.6%
Negative18.5%

User reviews

Shattered Pixel Dungeon

From 4.2K App Store ratings

What 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)

Loop Hero

From 3.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Excellent mechanics
  • 👍 Great replayability
  • 👍 Charming graphics
  • 👍 Unique and enjoyable experience
  • 👍 Smooth gameplay

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sound doesn't work
  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Unresponsive after certain actions
  • 🐛 Difficulty reading small text
  • 🐛 Accidental card placement

Bugs and requests

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

Loop Hero

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game crashes after defeating first boss
  • Unplayable after initial progress
  • Inability to progress past trial version

Requested features

4 requests
  • Portrait mode
  • More classes/build diversity
  • Improved UI/overlay customization
  • Chinese language support

In-app purchases

None

Shattered Pixel Dungeon

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Loop Hero

One-time1
  • Unlock Full Game$6.99

Questions

Is Shattered Pixel Dungeon free?
Shattered Pixel Dungeon costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Loop Hero free?
Loop Hero is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shattered Pixel Dungeon or Loop Hero?
Shattered Pixel Dungeon is rated higher. Shattered Pixel Dungeon averages 4.9 out of 5 from 4.2K ratings, while Loop Hero averages 4.9 from 3.9K ratings.
Do Shattered Pixel Dungeon or Loop Hero have ads?
Neither Shattered Pixel Dungeon nor Loop Hero shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shattered Pixel Dungeon or Loop Hero?
Shattered Pixel Dungeon ships an update fortnightly, and Loop Hero every 10 days. Most recently, Shattered Pixel Dungeon was updated on October 16, 2026 and Loop Hero on October 14, 2026.

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