The Pyraplex vs Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Pyraplex
Build a magnificent pyramid and establish a thriving desert oasis. Attract diverse visitors, cultivate trade, and create amenities to enrich your culture and wealth. Manage resources and design with both form and function in mind to impress the Pyramid Association.
- Pyramid construction
- Desert oasis management
- Attract diverse visitors
- Cultivate trade
- Add amenities and handicrafts
- Unearth hidden treasures
- Annual evaluations
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Transcend the boundaries of space and time to construct a colossal new wonder of the world in this pyramid-building adventure! Make history with the Pyraplex, a desert oasis of commerce and culture far ahead of its time. You may attract visitors ranging from Aztec chiefs to Roman centurions to wayfarers even further from home. Cultivate trade with these civilizations and more to enrich your culture as well as your coffers. Keep your bazaar buzzing by adding amenities and making handicrafts. While quarrying building stones, you'll also unearth hidden treasures with a variety of uses. Of course, building a new wonder of the world is no easy task, so expect an annual evaluation by the Pyramid Association to keep you on track! You'll have to design with both form and function in mind if you want to tower above the rest! Try searching for "Kairosoft" to see all of our games, or visit us at https://kairopark.jp. Be sure to check out both our free-to-play and our paid games!
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Shattered Pixel Dungeon at free against The Pyraplex's paid. Shattered Pixel Dungeon also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.4) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
The Pyraplex costs $4.99 and Shattered Pixel Dungeon $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Shattered Pixel Dungeon holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shattered Pixel Dungeon has 4.2K ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of The Pyraplex's written reviews are positive against 93% of Shattered Pixel Dungeon's.
The Pyraplex ships an update every 6 months, Shattered Pixel Dungeon fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Pyraplex | Shattered Pixel Dungeon |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.4 (17 ratings) | 4.9 (4.2K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 72.2% of reviews | 93.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 17 | 4.2K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #9 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 54 MB | 134 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd | Evan Debenham |
Customer experience
The Pyraplex
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Bugs and requests
The Pyraplex
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
The Pyraplex
No in-app purchases
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is The Pyraplex free?
Is Shattered Pixel Dungeon free?
Which has better reviews, The Pyraplex or Shattered Pixel Dungeon?
Do The Pyraplex or Shattered Pixel Dungeon have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Pyraplex or Shattered Pixel Dungeon?
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