Comparison

A Dark Room vs 9th Dawn II

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

Head to head
About

A Dark Room

Awaken in a mysterious world with a throbbing head and blurry vision. Follow the voices' instructions to survive and explore this text-based adventure. Experience a game free from ads, loot boxes, in-app purchases, and tracking, fully playable with VoiceOver.

Highlights
  • Text-based adventure
  • Survival mechanics
  • Exploration
  • Resource management
  • VoiceOver compatible
  • No ads or IAP
Features
Read full description

awake. head throbbing. vision blurry. the voices say to survive. - One of Apple's most downloaded apps of 2014. - Ranked in the top 10 games in 70 countries, #1 app overall in 7 countries. - No ads, no loot boxes, no IAP, no tracking. - 100% playable via VoiceOver. - Relive the glory days of gaming from the era of Zork.

About

9th Dawn II

Embark on an epic adventure through a vast fantasy world filled with monsters, ancient ruins, and challenging puzzles. Battle terrifying creatures, collect powerful loot, and master magical spells to save humanity from a tyrannical dragon. Your choices will determine the fate of the land.

Highlights
  • Expansive world exploration
  • Monster battles and loot collection
  • Challenging puzzles
  • Spellcasting and combat
  • Inventory and quest management
  • Fluid mobile controls
Features
Read full description

Explore an expansive and rich world; venture through thick forests, ancient ruins, deep caverns, and besieged towns. From the southern sands of the frigid glaciers to the north, engage in battle with the terrifying monsters and other unsavoury figures that aim to stand in your way. Collect an enormous amount of items, loot, weapons and armour from a colossal variety of monsters. Delve once more into the rich world of Caspartia, to a time when when humanity faces its greatest threat. Set out into a world on a perilous journey to aid in the reclamation of the home and birthplace of a once glorious and thriving nation. For many years now, your home and people have been subjected to the might and brutality of the Hydra Dragon, but time chooses no favourites. You stand now at the precipice of a new age, but it is your actions that will decide the fate of mankind, and whether or not the sun will rise once more upon Caspartia. Take on carefully crafted puzzles with deadly moving platforms above great depths. Learn and cast mighty spells to manipulate your foes. Trade and bank your spoils from the battlefield to gain vast riches. Control the game with fluid mobile controls and a comfortable GUI to easily manage your inventory, spells, world map and quest journal in this fast paced game. Endure the dangers of the world and become a legend in Caspartia.

Screenshots

A Dark Room4 screens
9th Dawn II4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: A Dark Room at 4.8 against 9th Dawn II's 3.8. A Dark Room also leads on review sentiment (93% vs 69%) and ratings volume (2.7K vs 77). 9th Dawn II's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (8.1 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

A Dark Room costs $1.99 and 9th Dawn II $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

A Dark Room holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: A Dark Room has 2.7K ratings behind it against 77, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 93% of A Dark Room's written reviews are positive against 69% of 9th Dawn II's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

A Dark Room ships an update every 2 months, 9th Dawn II every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
A Dark Room versus 9th Dawn II: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterA Dark Room9th Dawn II
Price$1.99$1.99
Rating4.8 (2.7K ratings) — better3.8 (77 ratings)
Positive reviews92.7% of reviews — better68.8% of reviews
Number of ratings2.7K — better77
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#32 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.08.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size103 MB75 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperAmirali RajanValorware LTD

Customer experience

A Dark Room

All ratings2,681 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral1.4%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews1,401 reviews
Positive92.7%
Neutral1.6%
Negative5.7%

9th Dawn II

All ratings77 ratings
Positive67.5%
Neutral6.5%
Negative26.0%
Written reviews141 reviews
Positive68.8%
Neutral5.7%
Negative25.5%

Bugs and requests

A Dark Room

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

9th Dawn II

Reported bugs

16 issues
  • Character name input screen freezes on iOS 10 and newer
  • Game crashes after character creation
  • Crashes on iPad 2 and older devices
  • Crashes when low battery warning appears
  • Crashes when opening app or during gameplay
Show 11 more
  • Save file corruption at high levels
  • Skeleton boss AI stuck (unresponsive)
  • Sound effects and music don't play on iPad Pro
  • Glitchy item drop/use interface
  • Enemy AI chases indefinitely across areas
  • Enemies respawn with full health after area transitions
  • Friendly AI doesn't engage enemies
  • Game stutters and drops frames frequently
  • Performance issues on older devices
  • Music stops when moving between map areas
  • Keyboard doesn't appear for character naming

Requested features

22 requests
  • Zoomable world map
  • Dungeon maps that reveal as you explore
  • Teleportation spell or fast travel system
  • Pause option during gameplay
  • Controller support for TV play via AirPlay
Show 17 more
  • Character animation for walking/running
  • In-game pause menu without closing app
  • Item comparison between inventory and equipped gear
  • Quest log improvements with completion tracking
  • Dungeon quest markers
  • Russian language translation
  • Spanish language translation
  • French language translation
  • Better item interaction indicators
  • Rebalanced dungeon difficulty
  • Mana regeneration improvements
  • Crafting system completion
  • Weapon upgrade system
  • Character stat display (attack, defense values)
  • Screen rotation support
  • Manual/guide documentation
  • Multiplayer implementation

In-app purchases

None

A Dark Room

No in-app purchases

None

9th Dawn II

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is A Dark Room free?
A Dark Room costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is 9th Dawn II free?
9th Dawn II costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, A Dark Room or 9th Dawn II?
A Dark Room is rated higher. A Dark Room averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.7K ratings, while 9th Dawn II averages 3.8 from 77 ratings.
Do A Dark Room or 9th Dawn II have ads?
Neither A Dark Room nor 9th Dawn II shows ads.
Which is updated more often, A Dark Room or 9th Dawn II?
A Dark Room ships an update every 2 months, and 9th Dawn II every 3 weeks. Most recently, A Dark Room was updated on October 28, 2026 and 9th Dawn II on October 26, 2026.

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