Dark Blue Dungeon vs Orthanc
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dark Blue Dungeon
Embark on a text-based, turn-based combat RPG adventure inspired by tabletop games. Explore dungeons, solve riddles, and battle medieval fantasy enemies using strategy and dice rolls. Uncover the mystery of legendary amulets and face a powerful dragon.
- Text-based RPG
- Turn-based combat
- Exploration and riddles
- Dice roll mechanics
- Character optimization
- Medieval fantasy enemies
- DLC with new content
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Dive into the world of Dark Blue Dungeon, a free retro dungeon crawler blending exploration and turn-based combat. This game was passionately developed by an independent developer and is inspired by board role-playing games. If you enjoy the experience, do not hesitate to leave a rating and a comment, and to share your adventure on social media. Thank you for playing and have a great game! INTRO Dark Blue Dungeon is a text-based turn-based combat RPG. A dangerous quest is waiting for you, in which only your choices will allow you to open up a path to the final battle. Many ordeals will punctuate your road : combats, riddles, mini-games. Your main asset will be your thinking. Inspired by tabletop role-playing games, many screenplay choices will be presented to you. Your nerves will be strained by several enemies from medieval fantasy (goblins, orcs, cyclops, dragons), with their strengths and weaknesses, including powerful bosses. In order to defeat your enemies, you will be able to optimise your equipments, spells and attacks. Concerning battles, spells and attacks are linked to a roll of dice of up to 16. PLOT The fragile peace between two rival kingdoms is disturb further to the discovery of legendaries amulets. The fate of the smallest of kingdoms seems doomed but the course of the conflict is disrupted when its king uses the amulets' mysterious power. The smallest kingdom is victorious and its king has established himself as world master. Nevertheless, the kingdom's apparent stability collapses when the king is betrayed and so defeated. Where are the amulets ? Who stole them ? The most audacious adventurers throw themselves in a quest with an uncertain outcome : an unrewarding death or the power to impose its reign thanks to the amulets' power. An enigmatic man gives you a mission : defeat the dragon who just evicted him from his dungeon. Will you dare enter the Dark Blue Dungeon and face its hazards and mysteries ? Will you succeed in defeating the dreadful magic devourer dragon ? And what does the safe, fiercely kept by the winged monster, contain ? Beware ! never open that safe, the dungeon master has warned you ! RED NIGHT DUNGEON Red Night Dungeon is an additional content (DLC) for the video game Dark Blue Dungeon. In Red Night Dungeon, you will embark on a new adventure in an alternate universe, where you will be teleported by a magician who masters the magic of the multiverse. This DLC allows you to choose new heroes, already at level 10, with their elemental affinities pre-set. You will also discover new equipment, spells, battles, and gameplay inspired by Rogue-Likes. You will explore a brand-new dungeon, an alternative version of the Dark Blue Dungeon, filled with new challenges to overcome. Get ready to experience something new that will test your skills and strategy in this rich, mysterious alternate world.
Orthanc
Embark on an adventure in this faithful recreation of a classic 1970s graphic dungeon crawl RPG. Explore, defeat monsters, and gather treasure using the touchscreen interface. Experience a challenging yet addictive gameplay loop inspired by early computer games.
- Faithful recreation of a 1970s RPG
- Dungeon crawl gameplay
- Monster combat and treasure hunting
- Touchscreen controls
- Inspired by early computer games
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This game is a faithful recreation of "Orthanc", one of the first graphic dungeon crawl role-playing games developed for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's PLATO computer in the 1970s. The original was played on a PLATO terminal with a keyboard. (The PLATO version of "Orthanc" was inspired by "pedit5", which you can learn more about in Wikipedia.) The original PLATO terminals used plasma panels only capable of displaying orange and black. There is no sound. This implementation uses the touchscreen for all gameplay. You are an adventurer gaining experience and treasure by defeating monsters. Orthanc is easy to start but hard to put down.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Orthanc at none against Dark Blue Dungeon's 1. Orthanc also leads on ads (none vs shown). Dark Blue Dungeon's advantage is rating (4.4 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (50 vs 4). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Dark Blue Dungeon sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Orthanc asks for nothing beyond the download.
Dark Blue Dungeon holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dark Blue Dungeon has 50 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 63% of Dark Blue Dungeon's written reviews are positive against 67% of Orthanc's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Dark Blue Dungeon ships an update every 3 weeks, Orthanc every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dark Blue Dungeon | Orthanc |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (50 ratings) — better | 4.0 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 63.2% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 50 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 83 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Joazco | Paul Resch |
Customer experience
Dark Blue Dungeon
Orthanc
In-app purchases
Dark Blue Dungeon
- Full Version Dark Blue Dungeon$0.99
Orthanc
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Dark Blue Dungeon free?
Is Orthanc free?
Which has better reviews, Dark Blue Dungeon or Orthanc?
Do Dark Blue Dungeon or Orthanc have ads?
Which is updated more often, Dark Blue Dungeon or Orthanc?
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