Comparison

A Dark Room vs Shattered Pixel Dungeon

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

Shattered Pixel Dungeon

Embark on a challenging roguelike dungeon crawl with six unique heroes. Explore procedurally generated levels, collect hundreds of items, and battle diverse enemies and bosses. Master unique hero mechanics and unlock powerful abilities to survive the depths.

Highlights
  • Six unique heroes with distinct playstyles
  • Procedurally generated dungeons and randomized enemies
  • Hundreds of items to collect, upgrade, and craft
  • Talent trees and subclass progression for heroes
  • Challenging bosses and optional achievements
  • Regular content updates
Read full description

Shattered Pixel Dungeon is a traditional roguelike dungeon crawler RPG that's simple to get into but hard to master! Every game is a unique challenge, with six different heroes, randomized levels and enemies, and hundreds of items to collect and use. ShatteredPD is also updated with new content roughly every three months, so there's always something new. ◀ Choose Your Hero ▶ Each of ShatteredPD's six playable heroes has their own unique mechanics and gameplay style. Cut down foes as the durable Warrior or deadly Duelist, fry your enemies as the arcane Mage or divine Cleric, or use terrain to your advantage as the stealthy Rogue or the markswoman Huntress! As you progress through the dungeon you'll earn points to spend on talents, choose a subclass, and gain powerful lategame abilities. You can turn the Duelist into a dual-wielding Champion, the Cleric into a righteous Paladin, the Huntress into a precise Sniper, or explore loads of other possibilities! ◀ Explore the Dungeon ▶ ShatteredPD's dungeon is procedurally generated with random layouts, room types, items, traps, and enemies. In each game you'll find equipment and collect or craft consumable items to power you up or help you out in a pinch. There is a huge variety to what you might see from run to run and region to region. As you progress through the dungeon you'll find equipment that can be enchanted, upgraded, and augmented as you outfit your hero. Set foes ablaze with an enchanted weapon, wade through enemies with upgraded armor, or gain powerful damage, defensive, or utility benefits from one of the many magical wands, rings, artifacts, or trinkets. ◀ Succeed or Die Trying ▶ The Dungeon is filled with enemies, traps, hazards, and bosses intent on ending your run! Battle hostile wildlife in the sewers and caves, mad thieves and guards in the prison, occult servants in the fallen dwarven city, and maybe something even worse further down... All these hazards can make the game quite tough, but don't be discouraged! You probably won't win on your first try, but there are many tricks and strategies to discover and learn on the path to getting your first win. Afterward, there are optional challenges and achivements if you want to put your skills to the test! ◀ Over A Decade in the Making ▶ Shattered Pixel Dungeon is an open source game based on the source code of Pixel Dungeon by Watabou (first released in late 2012). It started in 2014 as a project to rebalance Pixel Dungeon but has steadily grown into its own game over the last 10 years! Features Include: • 6 Heroes, each with 2 subclasses, 3 endgame abilities, and over 25 talents. • Over 300 items including equipment, consumables, and items crafted via alchemy. • 5 dungeon regions, 26 floors, over 100 room types, and trillions of possible floor layouts. • Over 60 regular enemy types, 30 traps, and 10 bosses to test your skills. • An in-game catalog to fill in, with just over 500 entries. • 9 stackable challenges and over 100 achievements for completionists. • Interface modes for large and small screens, and support for multiple input types. • Updates roughly every 3 months with new content, fixes, and improvements. • Support for many languages thanks to the game's dedicated communities.

Screenshots

A Dark Room4 screens
Shattered Pixel Dungeon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Shattered Pixel Dungeon at fortnightly against A Dark Room's every 2 months. Shattered Pixel Dungeon also leads on chart position (#9 vs #32) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). A Dark Room's advantage is price ($1.99 vs $4.99). On rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

A Dark Room costs $1.99 and Shattered Pixel Dungeon $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for A Dark Room against 4.9 for Shattered Pixel Dungeon. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.7K and 4.2K respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 93% and 93% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

A Dark Room ships an update every 2 months, Shattered Pixel Dungeon fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
A Dark Room versus Shattered Pixel Dungeon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterA Dark RoomShattered Pixel Dungeon
Price$1.99 — better$4.99
Rating4.8 (2.7K ratings)4.9 (4.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews92.7% of reviews92.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.7K4.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#32#9 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size103 MB134 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperAmirali RajanEvan Debenham

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%

Shattered Pixel Dungeon

All ratings4,210 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral0.6%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews971 reviews
Positive92.9%
Neutral1.5%
Negative5.6%

Bugs and requests

A Dark Room

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Shattered Pixel Dungeon

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Sound effects not working on iOS
  • Occasional crashes or freezes

Requested features

3 requests
  • Permadeath optional mode
  • Ability to continue progress across devices
  • More character classes and customization options

In-app purchases

None

A Dark Room

No in-app purchases

None

Shattered Pixel Dungeon

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is A Dark Room free?
A Dark Room costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shattered Pixel Dungeon free?
Shattered Pixel Dungeon costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, A Dark Room or Shattered Pixel Dungeon?
Shattered Pixel Dungeon is rated higher. A Dark Room averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.7K ratings, while Shattered Pixel Dungeon averages 4.9 from 4.2K ratings.
Do A Dark Room or Shattered Pixel Dungeon have ads?
Neither A Dark Room nor Shattered Pixel Dungeon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, A Dark Room or Shattered Pixel Dungeon?
A Dark Room ships an update every 2 months, and Shattered Pixel Dungeon fortnightly. Most recently, A Dark Room was updated on October 30, 2026 and Shattered Pixel Dungeon on October 30, 2026.
Which is more popular, A Dark Room or Shattered Pixel Dungeon?
A Dark Room currently peaks at #32 in the App Store charts, and Shattered Pixel Dungeon at #9. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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