Avernum 6 HD vs Shadowborn
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Avernum 6 HD
Embark on an epic fantasy role-playing adventure in a vast subterranean world. Explore dungeons, battle unique enemies with clever tactics, and uncover a fascinating storyline filled with surprises and treachery. Your choices will determine the fate of your homeland.
- Enormous game world
- Fascinating storyline
- Hundreds of quests
- Dozens of dungeons
- Over 50 spells and disciplines
- Character building options
- Unique races and settings
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* "Avernum VI on the iPad takes the crown of ‘best mobile RPG’ easily" - GearDiary * Independent RPG of the Year Runner-up, RPG of the Year Runner-up - GameBanshee * "It's the genre flag-bearer for offering substance over flash, and it's an epic finale for a series that deserves respect." - PC Gamer * "You won't see another RPG in the same style, and as well made and enjoyable as Avernum 6 is." - The Gamer Studio * "Add Avernum 6 to your collection. You won't regret it." - Inside Mac Games Avernum 6 is an epic, indie fantasy role-playing adventure. It is optimized for the iPad and features an enormous world, a fascinating story, and 30+ hours of gameplay. Travel into the strange subterranean land of Avernum, full of dungeons, labyrinths, and constant warfare. A set of disasters threatens to destroy your homeland in a spasm of famine and warfare. Only you can help your people to get to safety before everything falls apart. As you wander the gigantic world of Avernum, you will experience: * An enormous world. Hundreds of quests, dozens of dungeons and enemy fortresses, and multitudes of characters. * A fascinating storyline, full of surprises, treachery, and epic battles. * Many unique encounters. Not just mindless hack and slash. * Many unusual enemies that will require clever tactics to defeat. * Rich game system with over 50 spells and battle disciplines, many character building options, and powerful secret skills to unlock. * Unique game world. Unique races and settings make Avernum different from any RPG out there. * When you purchase Avernum 6 HD, you get the entire game! No need to keep buying more stuff inside the app.
Shadowborn
Embark on an epic dark fantasy adventure with fast-paced, arcade-style combat. Explore a whimsical world filled with secrets, choose from unique classes, and master powerful abilities. Engage in thrilling battles and uncover hidden mysteries for endless replayability.
- Arcade-style RPG gameplay
- Diverse hero classes
- Multi-class system
- Exploration and secrets
- Responsive combat
- Endless replayability
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Shadowborn is an arcade-style RPG designed for fast, gripping mobile gameplay. Dive into a rich world of whimsy and darkness letting you carve your path to victory, whether it's a quick battle or a longer, more immersive quest. Experience pure power fantasy with tight, short game loops that pack in excitement. Move seamlessly through vibrant landscapes, tackle fast-paced missions, and engage in combat that's responsive and satisfying. The game rewards your skill, allowing you to dodge attacks and time your take-downs to win against the odds. UNLEASH YOUR POWER Step into a world of fantasy as a hero uniquely tailored to your style: • Select from distinctive classes like the Warrior, Rogue, Sorcerer, Necromancer, Swashbuckler, and Valkyrie — each with a unique feel and powerful abilities. • Experiment with a multi-class system allowing you blend abilities from different achetypes and create a truly unique warrior. • Explore the different skill trees to unlock powerful synergies and legendary skills, making every playthrough unique. SECRETS EVERYWHERE The world is filled with hidden discoveries waiting to be found: • Pull the legendary Sword in the Stone, unlock sliding bookcases, and walk the Path of Fire. • Solve the Weeping Angel puzzle, discover what waits for you beyond the Looking Glass. • Find the Veiled Temples, Pirate Caves, and the horrors of the Baron's Laboratory. • Track your progress - the map shows how many secrets remain in each area. DARK AND WHIMSICAL WORLD Encounter a world of contrasts, where light and darkness dance: • Explore haunted graveyards, abandoned churches, eerie swamps, mysterious lagoons, treacherous pirate caves, and ancient mines. • Face the darkness: battle skeletal hordes, giant spiders, oozing slimes, fire elementals, spectral wraiths, and carnivorous plants. • Confront epic bosses like the Brood Mother, Lich Lord, Pirate Captain, and the mysterious Baron von Darkwood. • Discover serene moments with unicorns in sunlit glades and mermaids offering riddles by moonlit waterfalls. ARCADE-INSPIRED COMBAT Feel the thrill of smooth, responsive controls that adapt to your style: • Choose between arcade and dual-stick control options for a flexible experience that feels great in your hands. • Engage in satisfying, responsive combat that makes every fight feel impactful, like an arcade brawler in a fantasy world. • Hire mercenaries to fight alongside you, raise the dead as a Necromancer, or ride into battle on horseback. ENDLESS REPLAYABILITY Your journey doesn't end at victory: • Unlock heirlooms and a retirement system, encouraging fresh playthroughs and new challenges. • Choose from many side quests: Solve mermaid riddles, explore the Sunken Citadel, and piece together the secrets of the mysterious Esmeralda • Power up with new gear, refined strategies, and complete achievements READY FOR ANY PLAYTIME Quick missions that deliver big on action: • 3-4 minute loops offer bite-sized, high-energy action perfect for mobile. • Each mission drops you instantly into the heart of the action, keeping every session short and intense. Embrace the whimsy and darkness of Shadowborn — an arcade RPG crafted for mobile players who crave fast-paced action in a world as enchanting as it is deadly. Download now and begin your journey!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Shadowborn at Free against Avernum 6 HD's $6.99. Shadowborn also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.1) and update cadence (monthly vs every 25 months). Avernum 6 HD's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 17) and ads (none vs shown).
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Shadowborn is free to download; Avernum 6 HD costs $6.99 up front. Shadowborn sells 17 one-off in-app purchases. Avernum 6 HD asks for nothing beyond the download.
Shadowborn holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shadowborn has 6.3K ratings behind it against 26, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 82% of Avernum 6 HD's written reviews are positive against 71% of Shadowborn's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Avernum 6 HD ships an update every 25 months, Shadowborn monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Avernum 6 HD | Shadowborn |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $6.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.1 (26 ratings) | 4.9 (6.3K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 82.0% of reviews — better | 71.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 26 | 6.3K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 25 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 58 MB | 1.7 GB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Spiderweb Software | VIVA GAMES S.L. |
Customer experience
Avernum 6 HD
Shadowborn
User reviews
Avernum 6 HD
From 26 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Deep, compelling story
- 👍 Hours of gameplay
- 👍 Old-school RPG style
- 👍 Immersive world-building
- 👍 Meaningful choices
Room to improve
- 🐛 Screen orientation issues
- 🐛 Graphics magnified/rotated
- 🐛 Buttons not working
- 🐛 Illogical instructions
- 🐛 Junk and backpack same
Shadowborn
From 6.3K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Interesting story
- 👍 Decent gameplay
- 👍 Beautiful graphics
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bugs with quest items
- 🐛 Targeting issues for ranged classes
- 💰 Some features locked behind paywall
Bugs and requests
Avernum 6 HD
Reported bugs
26 issues- App displays sideways
- Graphics magnified and rotated
- Buttons don't work
- Instructions are illogical
- Junk and backpack are the same
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- Screen orientation support missing
- App appears upside down
- Text appears under finger on world map
- No clear indication of hunger/food need
- Controls are finicky
- Local map works differently
- Skills are 'mystery meat'
- World feels less epic
- Crucial information shown only by text
- Crash can corrupt saved game
- Very laggy
- Skill system not as good
- Junkbag removed
- No comparison for currently equipped items
- Game does not launch right way up
- Peace and Battle buttons interchanged
- Empty records in Journal
- Preview pictures in save/load menu corrupted
- No sound in the game
- Game Center achievements missing
- Junk bag removed
Requested features
11 requests- Add Avernum 4 and 5 for iPad
- Improve quest management
- Add iPhone version
- Recompile with newer game engine
- Add Game Center achievements
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- Add atmospheric music
- Add zoom functionality
- Improve inventory management
- Add comparison for currently equipped items
- Add list of completed quests
- Fix corrupted save/load previews
Shadowborn
Reported bugs
3 issues- Quest items disappearing
- Stealth ability not working properly
- Targeting issues for ranged characters
Requested features
2 requests- More content and updates
- Improved stability and bug fixes
In-app purchases
Avernum 6 HD
No in-app purchases
Shadowborn
- Essential Pack$1.99
- Diamond Pack 1$1.99
- Journey Pack$3.99
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- Coin Pack 2$4.99
- Diamond Pack 2$4.99
- Booster Pack$4.99
- Pet Dragon$9.99
- Pet Wolf$9.99
- Dark Knight Skin$9.99
- Fire Mage Skin$9.99
- Starter Pack$9.99
- Diamond Pack 3$9.99
- Ultra Pass$14.99
- Diamond Pack 4$24.99
- Rogue Pack$24.99
- Adventure Pack$24.99
- Mage Pack$24.99
Questions
Is Avernum 6 HD free?
Is Shadowborn free?
Which has better reviews, Avernum 6 HD or Shadowborn?
Do Avernum 6 HD or Shadowborn have ads?
Which is updated more often, Avernum 6 HD or Shadowborn?
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