Comparison

Junk Jack Retro vs DYSMANTLE

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

Head to head
About

Junk Jack Retro

Explore, build, and survive in procedurally generated 2D worlds. This prequel offers retro pixel art, a dynamic day/night cycle, and a vast array of crafting and building options. Discover hidden secrets, fight monsters, and create unique homes.

Highlights
  • Retro style pixel art
  • Procedurally generated worlds
  • Dynamic day/night cycle
  • Advanced farming system
  • Extensive crafting recipes
  • Underground biomes
  • Combat with diverse mobs
Features
Read full description

*If you don't have Junk Jack we suggest you to first purchase it and then consider Junk Jack Retro to enjoy where all started!* Junk Jack is now called Junk Jack Retro, with widescreen support! Junk Jack Retro is the prequel of Junk Jack, a 2D sandbox game where you can explore, build your home and survive in random procedurally generated worlds full of monsters, treasures and hidden secrets! --------- What the press says: "A Wonderful Free-Roam Game with an Irresistible Pixel Aesthetic" -Iphonealley.com, 4.5/5 "It has charm in spades. While it isn't the first 2D sandbox building game out there, it is a particularly attractive one, sporting crisp pixel art and gorgeous lighting effects. " " -Toucharcade, 4/5 "Junk Jack is a hands-down, no questions asked must-own for any and all iOS users who love sandbox crafting games." -148apps, 4.5/5 "Junk Jack isn't Minecraft, nor does it feel like it needs to be as its 2D world provides the same level of novel exploration fun while presenting challenges of its own to overcome; a tightly balanced free form experience that's only going to get better with time." -Appspy, 5/5 --------- Join our forum (http://forum.pixbits.com) and help us to improve our game, and share your creations! Features: * retro style pixel art! * beautiful sound tracks from Bright Primate * intuitive controls: swipe to move and tap to interact with everything! * dynamic day/night cycle * never get lost with customizable signs * advanced farming system with more than 30 different plant types * 135+ recipes for cookable foods! * tint cloth blocks with 15 color dyes * underground biomes with unique graphic style and monsters. * placeable and throwable explosives that can destroy buildings, landscapes and monsters! * critters and enemies to fight (more than 60 different mobs!) * a fully featured lighting system together with many different sources of light and global lighting * 3 slots for infinite worlds that you can generate and explore, every world is different from any other! * procedural generation which creates beautiful worlds with plants, caves, different biomes all around the world * a double layered world which allows to customize background and foreground of your creations * many ores and shiny gems to help your adventure * many hidden containers full of treasures * more than 1000 treasures! * more than 600 crafts! * more than 380 block types * many elements to decorate your houses (like sofas, tables, wardrobes, paintings, statues and many others) * an in-game discoverable book to teach you how to play and the recipes available * shelfs to place items around just to make your buildings shine * minimap (with a really zoomed out feature to allow you to share your creations) * runs fine on older gen hardware We would like to thank Notch! He developed our bigger indie brother Minecraft, without which this game would not exist. If you need help, please contact us!

About

DYSMANTLE

Explore a post-apocalyptic world after emerging from a shelter. Gather resources by breaking objects, fight or evade creatures, and build outposts. Craft weapons, farm, hunt, and solve puzzles to uncover the island's mysteries and escape.

Highlights
  • Break objects for materials
  • Fight or evade creatures
  • Explore open world
  • Build outposts
  • Craft weapons and tools
  • Hunt and farm
  • Solve puzzles
Features
Read full description

As you ascend from your shelter after the long long years, a brave new old world awaits you. A world inhabited with nasty and vile creatures. A world with no other human soul to be seen. A world with nature in reigns now. A world that's about to get even worse. You need to find a way to escape the wretched island. But before that, enjoy the bittersweet apocalypse. Features: * Break over 99% of all objects for materials with the right tools. No barrier will stop you. * Fight with (or run away) nasty and vile creatures of the post-apocalyptic era. * Explore the handcrafted open world and uncover its mysteries. * Survive. Clear areas of monsters and claim it as yours. * Build outposts to establish your presence. * Craft permanent weapons, tools, outfits, and trinkets. * Hunt various game or tame them for your post-apocalyptic zoo ranch. * Farm nutritious plants and reap the rewards as the crop gets ripe. * Solve puzzles above ground and underground in the Tombs of the Old Ones * Fish cunning scaly things under the watery surface. * Cook delicious recipes for permanent stat and ability upgrades. * Unravel the mysteries of the strange island.

Screenshots

Junk Jack Retro4 screens
DYSMANTLE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Junk Jack Retro at $0.99 against DYSMANTLE's $9.99. Junk Jack Retro also leads on review sentiment (84% vs 75%) and iOS requirement (7.1 vs 13.0). DYSMANTLE's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 weeks). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Junk Jack Retro costs $0.99 and DYSMANTLE $9.99 up front. Junk Jack Retro sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and DYSMANTLE sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DYSMANTLE holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 147 and 481 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 84% of Junk Jack Retro's written reviews are positive against 75% of DYSMANTLE's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Junk Jack Retro ships an update every 5 weeks, DYSMANTLE every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Junk Jack Retro versus DYSMANTLE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJunk Jack RetroDYSMANTLE
Price$0.99 — better$9.99
Rating4.3 (147 ratings)4.6 (481 ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.2% of reviews — better75.2% of reviews
Number of ratings147481 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#18 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS7.1 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB905 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperPixbits SRL10tons Ltd

Customer experience

Junk Jack Retro

All ratings147 ratings
Positive82.3%
Neutral6.1%
Negative11.6%
Written reviews888 reviews
Positive84.2%
Neutral6.3%
Negative9.5%

DYSMANTLE

All ratings469 ratings
Positive88.1%
Neutral3.2%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews585 reviews
Positive75.2%
Neutral9.2%
Negative15.6%

User reviews

Junk Jack Retro

From 147 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ⭐ Long-time fan
  • 💬 Multiplayer request
  • 🎮 Retro feel
  • 👍 Great game
  • 🔍 Lots of content to explore

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes
  • 🔒 Needs more security
  • 🕹️ Clunky controls
  • 💰 Not worth the money
  • 🤔 Confusing

DYSMANTLE

From 481 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Huge open world to explore
  • 🔨 Satisfying destruction and crafting
  • 👍 Engaging story and quests
  • 🎮 Great controller support
  • 💰 Good value for money

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and performance issues
  • 🔋 Drains battery quickly
  • 🤖 Repetitive enemy encounters
  • 🗺️ Lack of fast travel options
  • 💾 No cloud save support

Bugs and requests

Junk Jack Retro

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes on launch
  • Inventory/crafting issues
  • Compatibility problems
  • Saving/loading issues

Requested features

9 requests
  • Multiplayer
  • Creative mode
  • More content updates
  • Armor and weapons
  • Customization options
Show 4 more
  • Larger worlds
  • Liquids and portals
  • Bosses and mobs
  • Quests and progression

DYSMANTLE

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes when entering certain areas
  • Audio issues like sound cutting out
  • Progression-blocking bugs in DLC content
  • Inconsistent controls and targeting system

Requested features

5 requests
  • Cloud save functionality
  • More enemy and environmental variety
  • Improved fast travel system
  • Multiplayer co-op mode
  • Ability to customize the player character

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Junk Jack Retro

One-time10
  • Complete CraftBook$0.99
  • Slime Hat$0.99
  • Botanist Hat$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Chef Hat$0.99
  • Robin Hood Hat$0.99
  • Breeding Hat$0.99
  • Jazon Hat$0.99
  • Frost Ninja Hat$0.99
  • Santa Hat$0.99
  • Golden Logo$2.99
3 purchases

DYSMANTLE

One-time3
  • Pets & Dungeons$3.99
  • Underworld$4.99
  • Doomsday$4.99

Questions

Is Junk Jack Retro free?
Junk Jack Retro costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is DYSMANTLE free?
DYSMANTLE costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Junk Jack Retro or DYSMANTLE?
DYSMANTLE is rated higher. Junk Jack Retro averages 4.3 out of 5 from 147 ratings, while DYSMANTLE averages 4.6 from 481 ratings.
Do Junk Jack Retro or DYSMANTLE have ads?
Neither Junk Jack Retro nor DYSMANTLE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Junk Jack Retro or DYSMANTLE?
Junk Jack Retro ships an update every 5 weeks, and DYSMANTLE every 2 weeks. Most recently, Junk Jack Retro was updated on October 29, 2026 and DYSMANTLE on October 29, 2026.

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