Cavern vs GnollHack
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cavern
Embark on a randomly generated dungeon-crawling adventure inspired by classic roguelikes. Choose from three distinct characters to battle monsters, collect treasure, and retrieve a stolen artifact to save the surface world.
- Randomly generated dungeons
- Three playable characters
- Shops for equipment and treasure
- Over 40 different monsters
- Randomized item attributes
- Online highscores and ranking
- Permadeath
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Cavern is a dungeon crawler in the vein of genre classics like Rogue and Nethack - but with original game world not based on any existing roguelike. Each level is randomly generated so no two games are the same. ---- Cavern was full of ancient treasure which surface people dug up to keep their high standards of living. Caves were inhabited by hostile creatures of the nether but Mystery Object of the surface kept the evil weak with it's power. Somehow, creatures of the deep managed to steal the Mystery Object and took it to the deepest levels of the Cavern. Now You, the Hero, must retrieve it before it's powers are used against the Surface! Features: •Shops to buy equipment and sell treasure •Three characters to play: Fighter : strong melee character. Adventurer : specialises in bows. Mystic : uses wands and scrolls. •Vintage game art by DeBray Bailey •16 randomly generated dungeons •In-game tutorial •Over 40 different monsters •Randomized item attributes and special unique items. •Online Highscores and ranking for each game played. •Saves your exact game state when receiving call or switching to another app. •Juicy sound effects. •Permadeath
GnollHack
Embark on a perilous quest in a remastered classic roguelike. Explore procedurally generated dungeons, battle monsters, and uncover powerful artifacts. With deep strategy, a rich class and race system, and challenging permadeath, every playthrough offers endless replayability.
- Turn-based roguelike gameplay
- Modern user interface
- Procedurally generated dungeons
- 13 classes and 5 races
- Hundreds of items and spells
- Challenging permadeath mode
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ABOUT GnollHack is a remastered and enhanced version of the classic roguelike game NetHack, one of the most iconic games developed in 1980s and 1990s. With GnollHack, you get: - Traditional roguelike with turn-based gameplay - Modern user interface - Legendary strategic depth of NetHack - Endless replayability - Several new features, enhancing your gameplay experience STORY In GnollHack, you are a hero sent by your deity into the perilous Dungeons of Doom, tasked with recovering the stolen Amulet of Yendor from the clutches of the malevolent god Moloch, who has hidden it in the fiery depths of the underworld. Along your journey, you will encounter formidable enemies, discover great magical artifacts, and strive for glory. You must either triumph or perish in the attempt. ROGUELIKE GAMEPLAY Explore procedurally generated dungeons filled with monsters, traps, and treasures. RICH CLASS AND RACE SYSTEM - 13 classes: wizard, barbarian, rogue, etc. - 5 races: human, elf, gnoll, etc. DEEP ITEM AND MAGIC SYSTEM Hundreds of items, spells, and artifacts with diverse effects. CHALLENGING PERMADEATH (Classic Mode Only) Death is permanent, requiring players to adapt, plan, and learn from mistakes to progress further. TUTORIALS AND GAMEPLAY INFORMATION - GnollHack wiki: https://wiki.gnollhack.com SUPPORT - Discord: https://discord.gg/cQuExnzUQy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: GnollHack at Free against Cavern's $2.99. GnollHack also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks). Cavern's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume 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
GnollHack is free to download; Cavern costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Cavern against 4.7 for GnollHack. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 69 and 110 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Cavern's written reviews are positive against 85% of GnollHack's.
Cavern ships an update every 2 weeks, GnollHack every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cavern | GnollHack |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (69 ratings) | 4.7 (110 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 79.7% of reviews | 85.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 69 | 110 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 114 MB | 771 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Sami Sierla | Hyvän mielen pelit ry |
Customer experience
Cavern
GnollHack
Bugs and requests
Cavern
Reported bugs
16 issues- Game crashes when approaching deeper dungeon levels
- Crashes when talking to friendly NPCs
- Crashes after character death
- Crashes on inventory screen
- Game freezes and requires restart after extended play
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- Touch response lag and unresponsiveness
- Character becomes stuck unable to move after teleporting to town
- Character ends up in walls after teleporting back from town
- Walk out of bounds in cave shop level
- Incorrect arrow graphics displaying as other weapons
- Random instant death from invisible damage sources
- Item selection bugs causing wrong items to be used
- Game fails to boot up at certain dungeon depths
- Stairs down missing on some randomly generated floors
- Game doesn't resume properly after interruption
- Slow gameplay after extended play sessions
Requested features
15 requests- D-pad or button-based movement controls
- Zoom in/out functionality for better visibility
- Level counter display during gameplay
- Endless mode or additional challenge modes
- More character classes and races
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- Expanded weapon and equipment variety
- New Game+ mode with increased difficulty
- Multiplayer or cooperative features
- More shops and NPCs throughout dungeons
- Visual representation of equipped gear on character
- Tutorial improvements and better onboarding
- Customizable button layout and controls
- Additional dungeon levels and content
- Secret room indicators or hints
- Persistent followers across all dungeon levels
GnollHack
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Cavern
No in-app purchases
GnollHack
No in-app purchases








