Montezuma's Revenge! vs Orthanc
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Montezuma's Revenge!
Explore an ancient Aztec pyramid, navigating its chambers by climbing stairs and ropes. Collect keys, jewels, swords, and a torch while avoiding dangerous creatures. The goal is to find the treasure room at the end of the labyrinth.
- Explore 99 rooms per level
- 9 original gameplay levels
- Multiple on-screen joystick controls
- Joystick support
- Modern and retro graphics
- Resume function
- Original and new sound effects
Read full descriptionHide full description
https://www.facebook.com/MontezumasRevengeGame This is the official version of the 80's classic "Montezuma's Revenge!" Explore the chambers of the mysterious Aztec pyramid! Climb the stairs and ropes, collect keys to open doors! Collect the jewels & swords, and the coveted torch! Beware of the snakes, skulls and spiders! And finally, find the treasure room at the end of the underground labyrinth! It has all the original key features of the original Atari classic plus a number of interesting new improvements. Features: 99 rooms on each level of the pyramid All of the 9 levels of original gameplay Many styles of on-screen joystick controls Joystick support Modern GFX and Retro GFX 8-bit graphics. Parallax background effect in Modern GFX mode Resume function High quality original and new sound effects iPad supported
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
Read full descriptionHide full description
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 price: Orthanc at Free against Montezuma's Revenge!'s $8.99. Orthanc also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 11 months). Montezuma's Revenge!'s advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.0) and review sentiment (74% vs 50%). On ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
Orthanc is free to download; Montezuma's Revenge! costs $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Montezuma's Revenge! holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 6 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Montezuma's Revenge!'s written reviews are positive against 50% of Orthanc's.
Montezuma's Revenge! ships an update every 11 months, Orthanc every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Montezuma's Revenge! | Orthanc |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $8.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | 4.0 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 74.1% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 6 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #187 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 54 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Normal Distribution LLC | Paul Resch |
Customer experience
Montezuma's Revenge!
Orthanc
Bugs and requests
Montezuma's Revenge!
Reported bugs
10 issues- Screen flipping/rotation bug causing unplayable state
- Display only shows half screen on landscape rotation
- Character doesn't stop when input released
- Jump mechanics broken (can't jump from standstill)
- Invisible wall collision detection issues
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Sound not working on iPad Pro
- Controls unresponsive in certain situations
- Character glitches into running mode after jump
- Room transition alignment issues
- iOS 13 display compatibility issues
Requested features
12 requests- Bluetooth wireless controller support
- tvOS version for Apple TV
- Infinite continues or easy mode option
- iCade/8-Bitty controller support
- Customizable control options
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Larger jump button
- Screen swipe controls instead of joystick
- Global and local high score tracking
- Menu theme selection option
- Game speed adjustment
- More retro games (Shamus, Spelunker, Pharaoh's Curse)
- Ability to continue from same level after game over
Orthanc
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Montezuma's Revenge!
No in-app purchases
Orthanc
No in-app purchases
