Comparison

Brogue vs Dungeon Merge!

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

Head to head
About

Brogue

Embark on a challenging 26-level dungeon crawl to find the Amulet of Yendor. Master strategic gameplay with a focus on a smooth learning curve and intuitive design within a classic ASCII/Unicode aesthetic. Experience high fantasy with a variety of creatures and magical items.

Highlights
  • 26-level dungeon crawl
  • Strategic depth
  • Smooth learning curve
  • ASCII/Unicode display
  • High fantasy theme
  • Permadeath gameplay
Read full description

Countless adventurers before you have descended this torch-lit staircase, seeking the promised riches below. As you reach the bottom and step into the wide cavern, the doors behind you seal with a powerful magic... Welcome to the Dungeons of Doom! Brogue is a single-player strategy game set in the halls of a mysterious and randomly-generated dungeon. The objective is simple enough -- retrieve the fabled Amulet of Yendor from the 26th level -- but the dungeon is riddled with danger. Horrifying creatures and devious, trap-ridden terrain await. Yet it is also riddled with weapons, potions, and artifacts of forgotten power. Survival demands strength and cunning in equal measure as you descend, making the most of what the dungeon gives you. You will make sacrifices, narrow escapes, and maybe even some friends along the way -- but will you be one of the lucky few to return alive?" This app offers: Brogue Classic - Brian Walker's original vision and where it all started. Brogue CE - A community effort that fixes bugs and crashes and focuses on QoL. Brogue SE - A new variant by yours truly with original items, monsters, and mechanics "...on the iPad, Brogue is an even more incredible feat than it is on the Mac: there aren’t a lot of roguelikes that can jump from a keyboard to a touch-based interface without coming off worse for wear. It’s every bit as good on the iPad as it is on the Mac." - Cult of Mac "[...] it manages to make use of its ASCII visuals to create some truly impressive-looking environments [...] it’s high fantasy to the core; filled with kobolds, goblins, wands, spell scrolls, and more." - 148Apps "It's a bit weird and clunky, but yeah, it's still Brogue" - Roguelike Radio

About

Dungeon Merge!

Embark on a turn-based deckbuilding roguelite adventure where each playthrough offers unique heroes, skill cards, and relics. Strategize your way through procedurally generated dungeons, facing diverse enemies and challenging bosses. Customize your difficulty and compete in weekly challenges for endless replayability.

Highlights
  • Turn-based deckbuilding roguelite gameplay
  • Unique heroes with distinct playstyles
  • Diverse skill cards for strategic combinations
  • Powerful relics that alter gameplay
  • Challenging enemies and bosses
  • Customizable difficulty with Seal System
  • Weekly Challenge Mode with leaderboards
Features
Read full description

Dominate the dungeon. Or let it dominate you. A turn-based deckbuilding roguelite — Dungeon Merge! Every run, a different strategy. A different hero. A different ending. ■ Unique Heroes — Not just different stats. A completely different way to play. Assassin: Double damage to a single target. Pick one. Make it count. Engineer: Stack shields, then unleash devastating area attacks. Defense is offense. Gambler: Free level-up rerolls. When luck becomes strategy. Noble: +1 level-up choice, gold-powered leveling at shrines. Money is your weapon. …Every hero demands a different strategy. ■ Diverse Skill Cards — Not collection. Combination. Your deck is your strategy. Chain Lightning: Hit up to 3 enemies in a chain Double Cast: Trigger the same skill twice in a row Replicate: Copy any card in your deck on the spot Skill grades: Common → Rare → Epic → Legendary Upgrade cards mid-combat and discover powerful combinations. ■ Powerful Relics — Sometimes a single relic changes everything. Chalice: Revive once with 50% HP upon death Shard of Collapse: For the next 3 battles, all non-boss enemies start with 1 HP Shackles of Binding: +1 mana per turn, but shop prices increase by 25% Sanctuary Lantern: Fully restore HP whenever you enter a shop ■ Distinct Enemies — Every battle is a new puzzle. Read the pattern or die. Treasure Goblin: Escapes after 7 turns if you fail to defeat it Snowman: Freezes you for 1 turn Crow: Forces you to discard a random card from your hand Face powerful bosses with unique attack patterns and multiple phases. ■ Seal System — The real challenge starts here. Normal mode is only the beginning. As you unlock more Seals, increasingly brutal challenges await. Combine Trials and Contracts to design your own difficulty. Only a handful of players will conquer the hardest combinations. ■ Challenge Mode — New rules. New competition. Every week. Face rotating Grand Pacts and Trials each week. Discover powerful builds under unfamiliar rules where old strategies may no longer work. Compete with other players for the highest score and climb the weekly rankings. Clear the final region of a Challenge to unlock Endless Battle. How long can you survive against enemies that never stop growing stronger? ■ Endless Replayability 3 regions × 11 floors — procedurally generated every run Battle, Event, Elite, Shrine, Shop — diverse room types Different maps, enemy combinations, and card rewards every time Even with the same hero, no two adventures are alike. ■ Features Turn-based strategy + deckbuilding roguelite Unique heroes, skills, relics, and enemies Seal System — customize difficulty with Trials and Contracts Challenge Mode — weekly rules and competitive rankings Endless Battle — push your limits against endless enemies Procedurally generated dungeons Multiple languages supported Cloud save Tear the dungeon apart with your own strategy. One run is never enough.

Screenshots

Brogue3 screens
Dungeon Merge!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Brogue at Free against Dungeon Merge!'s $2.99. Brogue also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 6) and ratings volume (77 vs 2). Dungeon Merge!'s advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Brogue is free to download; Dungeon Merge! costs $2.99 up front. Dungeon Merge! sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Brogue asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dungeon Merge! holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Brogue has 77 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 94% of Brogue's written reviews are positive against 74% of Dungeon Merge!'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Brogue ships an update every 4 days, Dungeon Merge! every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Brogue versus Dungeon Merge!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrogueDungeon Merge!
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.6 (77 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews93.9% of reviews — better74.4% of reviews
Number of ratings77 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.617 — better
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB292 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperSeth HowardBrilbox

Customer experience

Brogue

All ratings76 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral6.6%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews99 reviews
Positive93.9%
Neutral5.1%
Negative1.0%

Dungeon Merge!

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews90 reviews
Positive74.4%
Neutral11.1%
Negative14.4%

In-app purchases

None

Brogue

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Dungeon Merge!

One-time6
  • Starter Pack 1$1.99
  • 50 Diamonds$1.99
  • 120 Diamonds$3.99
Show 3 more
  • 700 Diamonds$19.99
  • 16 Base Heroes Unlock Pack$39.99
  • 4000 Diamonds$99.99

Questions

Is Brogue free?
Brogue is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dungeon Merge! free?
Dungeon Merge! costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Brogue or Dungeon Merge!?
Dungeon Merge! is rated higher. Brogue averages 4.6 out of 5 from 77 ratings, while Dungeon Merge! averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Brogue or Dungeon Merge! have ads?
Neither Brogue nor Dungeon Merge! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Brogue or Dungeon Merge!?
Brogue ships an update every 4 days, and Dungeon Merge! every 3 days. Most recently, Brogue was updated on November 1, 2026 and Dungeon Merge! on November 5, 2026.

Other comparisons