Comparison

Brogue vs Direhollow

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

Direhollow

Experience a faithful mobile remake of the classic 1980 roguelike game. Navigate unforgiving dungeons, face a complete bestiary, and strive to claim the Amulet of Yendor with true permadeath. Enjoy the authentic ASCII graphics and a free, fair gameplay experience.

Highlights
  • Faithful remake of classic roguelike
  • True permadeath with save deletion
  • Complete A-Z bestiary
  • Loot and identify mechanics
  • Authentic ASCII graphics
  • Touch-first controls
Features
Read full description

Direhollow is a faithful mobile remake of Rogue — the 1980 game that started the roguelike. The same Dungeons of Doom. The same A–Z bestiary. The same unforgiving permadeath. Rebuilt for a phone: touch-first, free, and true to the original. We modernize the shell, not the rules. THE REAL GAME, ON A PHONE The same seeded dungeons, the same monsters, the same merciless math — with a 3×3 move pad, pinch-to-zoom, a tap-driven pack, and saves that actually survive a phone call. WHAT YOU'LL FIND DOWN THERE • True permadeath — one life, one seed. The save is deleted on death. No reloading an earlier turn. • The full bestiary — the complete A–Z roster, depth-ordered exactly as the original intended. • Loot & identify — per-run appearances for scrolls, potions, rings, and wands. Learn them, or risk them. • The Amulet of Yendor — descend to claim it, then climb back to the surface alive. Few will. • True ASCII — the authentic 1980 glyph grid. No tiles, no remix. The terminal classic, on a phone. FREE, AND FAIR No pay-to-win. No energy timers. No reloads sold back to you. The whole game is earned — exactly as it was in 1980. ——— "Rogue" is used here only descriptively, to say what kind of game this is. Direhollow is an independent work inspired by the BSD-licensed original; it is not affiliated with or endorsed by any trademark holder.

Screenshots

Brogue4 screens
Direhollow4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Direhollow at 5.0 against Brogue's 4.6. Direhollow also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). Brogue's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly) and ratings volume (76 vs 4). On price, review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Direhollow holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Brogue has 76 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 94% of Brogue's written reviews are positive against 100% of Direhollow's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Brogue ships an update every 4 days, Direhollow fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Brogue versus Direhollow: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrogueDirehollow
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (76 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews93.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings76 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB71 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperSeth HowardHYMEL VENTURES LLC

Customer experience

Brogue

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

Direhollow

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Brogue

No in-app purchases

None

Direhollow

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Brogue free?
Brogue is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Direhollow free?
Direhollow is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Brogue or Direhollow?
Direhollow is rated higher. Brogue averages 4.6 out of 5 from 76 ratings, while Direhollow averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Brogue or Direhollow have ads?
Neither Brogue nor Direhollow shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Brogue or Direhollow?
Brogue ships an update every 4 days, and Direhollow fortnightly. Most recently, Brogue was updated on October 20, 2026 and Direhollow on October 12, 2026.

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