Peglin vs RetroArch
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Peglin
Embark on a roguelike adventure combining Pachinko-style combat with deck-building strategy. Collect powerful orbs and relics to defeat dragons and reclaim your gold. Explore procedurally generated maps with unique challenges and surprises on every run.
- Collect and upgrade orbs and relics
- Pachinko-like combat mechanics
- Procedurally generated maps
- Defeat monsters and bosses
- Strategic use of potions and bombs
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The award-winning roguelike-deckbuilder Peglin is finally available on iOS! This version lets you try it before you buy it with unlimited access to the first third of the game and a one-time purchase to own the complete game and all future updates! The dragons have been popping peglins and stealing all of your gold for as long as you can remember. Enough is enough. It's time to venture through the woods, conquer the fortress, and delve into the heart of the dragon's lair to take back what's yours and teach those dragons a lesson. Peglin plays like a combination of Peggle and Slay the Spire. The enemies are tough, and if you're defeated your run is over, but you've got powerful orbs with special effects and incredible relics that influence both your enemies and the physics you'll use to defeat them. Features: - Collect and upgrade powerful orbs and relics to defeat the monsters and bosses that stand in your way. - Fight enemies with Pachinko-like gameplay - hit more pegs to do more damage. Use crit potions, refresh potions, and bombs wisely. - Explore a new map every time, with different orbs, enemies, and surprises along the way.
RetroArch
This application serves as a versatile frontend for emulators and game engines, supporting a vast array of systems through downloadable cores. It offers advanced features like netplay, save states, and customizable controls for an enhanced gaming experience.
- Supports numerous gaming systems via libretro cores
- Netplay for multiplayer gaming
- Save states and fast forward/rewind
- Controller support and key remapping
- Customizable shaders and overlays
- RetroAchievements integration
- AI translations for games
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RetroArch is a free, ad-free, open source, and cross platform frontend/framework for emulators, game engines, video games, media players, and other applications. Supported systems come in the form of libretro cores. The following systems are supported through various cores: * 2048 * Acorn - BBC Micro * Amstrad - CPC/GX4000 * Anarch * Arcade * Arduboy * Atari - 2600 * Atari - 5200 * Atari - 7800 * Atari - Jaguar * Atari - Lynx * Bandai - WonderSwan/Color * Cave Story * Coleco - ColecoVision * Commodore - Amiga * Commodore - C128 * Commodore - C64 * Commodore - C64 SuperCPU * Commodore - CBM-II 5x0 * Commodore - CBM-II 6x0/7x0 * Commodore - PET * Commodore - PLUS/4 * Commodore - VIC-20 * Dinothawr * Doom * DOS * Fairchild ChannelF * Flashback * GCE - Vectrex * Game Music Emu * Handheld Electronic * MSX/SVI/ColecoVision/SG-1000 * Mattel - Intellivision * Mega Duck / Cougar Boy * Mr.Boom * NEC - PC Engine / SuperGrafx / CD * NEC - PC-FX * NEC - PC-98 * Nintendo - DS * Nintendo - Game Boy / Color * Nintendo - Game Boy Advance * Nintendo - NES / Famicom * Nintendo - Nintendo 64 * Nintendo - Pokemon Mini * Nintendo - SNES / SFC * Nintendo - Virtual Boy * Palm OS * PocketCDG * Quake * Quake II * Rick Dangerous * SNK - Neo Geo AES/MVS * SNK - Neo Geo CD * SNK - Neo Geo Pocket / Color * ScummVM * Sega - MS/GG/MD/CD/32X * Sega - MS/GG/SG-1000 * Sega - Saturn * Sharp - X68000 * Sinclair - ZX Spectrum * Sony - PlayStation * Sony - PlayStation Portable * Texas Instruments TI-83 * The 3DO Company - 3DO * Thomson - MO/TO * Vircon32 * VirtualXT * WASM-4 * Watara - Supervision RetroArch supports a broad range of features, including: * Netplay * Soft patching * RetroAchievements * Save states * MFi controller support * Key remapping per core or per game * Gyro * Cheats * Custom overlays * Shaders * Fast forward and rewind * Game artwork * AI translations * Advanced latency management **RetroArch and Libretro are in no way affiliated with Nintendo. The name "Nintendo" and all associated game console names are registered trademarks of Nintendo Co., Ltd.**
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RetroArch at none against Peglin's 1. RetroArch also leads on rating (4.3 vs 4.1) and update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. Peglin sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. RetroArch asks for nothing beyond the download.
RetroArch holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.2K and 1.8K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Peglin's written reviews are positive against 69% of RetroArch's.
Peglin ships an update fortnightly, RetroArch weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Peglin | RetroArch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (1.2K ratings) | 4.3 (1.8K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 64.4% of reviews | 69.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K | 1.8K — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 311 MB | 652 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Red Nexus Games Inc. | Libretro |
Customer experience
Peglin
RetroArch
User reviews
Peglin
From 1.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Addictive gameplay
- 👍 Unique blend of roguelike and pachinko
- 🎨 Charming retro art style
- 💰 Fair one-time purchase model
- 🔁 High replayability
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
- 🔍 Unclear mechanics and lack of explanations
- 📱 Controls not optimized for mobile
- 💰 Perceived high price for mobile game
RetroArch
From 1.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Smooth emulation performance
- 🎮 Wide range of supported systems
- 🕹️ Controller support
- 💯 Comprehensive emulation features
- 🔓 No ads or tracking
Room to improve
- 🤯 Steep learning curve
- 🤖 Unintuitive user interface
- 🐛 Stability issues and crashes
- 🔌 Slow loading times
- 🤷♂️ Inconsistent core support
Bugs and requests
Peglin
Reported bugs
3 issues- Soft locks when trying to unlock full game
- Aiming issues and unresponsive controls
- Inconsistent behavior of certain abilities
Requested features
4 requests- More level variety and content
- Ability to save and resume runs
- Vertical mode for better mobile experience
- Customizable controls and aiming
RetroArch
Reported bugs
5 issues- N64 games not loading textures properly
- Crashes when changing settings or cores
- Bios files not being recognized
- Inconsistent performance across devices
- Saved settings not persisting
Requested features
5 requests- Add support for PS2, GameCube, and 3DS emulation
- Improve iCloud/cloud storage integration
- Implement customizable button layouts
- Add a more user-friendly setup wizard
- Provide better documentation and tutorials
In-app purchases
Peglin
- Peglin Full Game Unlock$9.99
RetroArch
No in-app purchases









