iNethack2 vs Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iNethack2
Embark on a single-player dungeon crawl to collect treasure, find the Amulet of Yendor, and survive perilous mazes. This port offers graphical tilesets, touch controls, and customizable shortcuts for an enhanced roguelike experience.
- Single-player dungeon exploration
- Treasure collection and escape
- Multiple graphical tilesets
- Touchscreen gesture controls
- Customizable keyboard shortcuts
- Bones file sharing integration
Read full descriptionHide full description
"NetHack is a single player dungeon exploration game. Your goal is to grab as much treasure as you can, retrieve the Amulet of Yendor, and escape the Mazes of Menace alive." -- iNethack2 is an iOS port of Nethack 3.6.7. Original port in 2009 by Dirk Zimmermann which was called iNethack. Updated by Jeff King to work on modern devices, and renamed iNethack2. Initial 3.6 update by Joe Doucette. Various other contributions from the open source community. iNethack2 features: · 9 graphical tilesets (plus IBMGraphics mode, and regular ASCII mode in color and monochrome) · 1 animated tileset: DawnHack Animated · Touchscreen gesture controls: swipe to pan, pinch to zoom · Customizable keyboard shortcut controls · Hearse (bones file sharing) integration · Works on iOS12+ Some facts about NetHack: · The first version of NetHack was released in 1987 · NetHack was a roguelike before people used the term roguelike · You can play NetHack for years and still make new discoveries · NetHack is one of the greatest games of all time
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
Read full descriptionHide 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
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: iNethack2 at Free against Shattered Pixel Dungeon's $4.99. Shattered Pixel Dungeon's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.4) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
iNethack2 is free to download; Shattered Pixel Dungeon costs $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 4.1K ratings behind it against 137, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of iNethack2's written reviews are positive against 93% of Shattered Pixel Dungeon's.
iNethack2 ships an update every 2 months, Shattered Pixel Dungeon fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 3, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iNethack2 | Shattered Pixel Dungeon |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.4 (137 ratings) | 4.9 (4.1K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 84.1% of reviews | 92.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 137 | 4.1K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | — | #7 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 131 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Future Shock Software LTD | Evan Debenham |
Customer experience
iNethack2
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
User reviews
iNethack2
From 137 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎮 Faithful port of classic NetHack game
- 📱 Well-designed touch interface for mobile
- 🎨 Multiple tileset options available
- ♾️ Infinite replayability and depth
- 🆓 Free to play with no paywalls
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
- 💾 Game files corrupted or lost unexpectedly
- ⌨️ Limited external keyboard support
- 🎮 Clunky movement controls
- 🖱️ Double-tap sensitivity issues
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
From 4.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Endless replayability
- 👍 Polished and well-designed
- 🎨 Excellent pixel art and aesthetics
- 💡 Innovative mechanics and depth
- 🕹️ Challenging yet rewarding gameplay
Room to improve
- 🤯 Extremely challenging and punishing
- 🕰️ Runs can feel too long
- 🤖 Overpowered enemy mechanics (e.g. evasion)
Bugs and requests
iNethack2
Reported bugs
14 issues- Game crashes when using inventory (I command)
- Crashes on Plane of Water during save restore
- File corruption errors when switching apps
- Game freezes with Chinese pinyin keyboard input
- Crashes when equipping rings
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- Crashes when dropping items
- Crashes when accessing discoveries list
- Cannot open level files error (501mobile.50)
- Game unrecoverable after certain actions
- Double-tap causes unintended character movement
- Floor tiles not rendering in corridors
- Crashes on iOS 11+ when dropping items
- Waiting for logfile access message loops
- Game crashes immediately on startup for some users
Requested features
17 requests- Separate button labels from command values
- External Bluetooth keyboard support
- Directional pad for movement
- Swipe-based movement controls
- Character name customization
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- Pet naming functionality
- Partial item stack management
- Cloud save synchronization across devices
- iPad Magic Keyboard support
- Japanese language localization
- Toggle for sparkle effects
- Multiple simultaneous game saves
- NetHack version 3.6+ support
- Slash'Em port for iOS
- Voice over support for accessibility
- Options file editing capability
- Discoveries list access without crashes
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
iNethack2
No in-app purchases
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is iNethack2 free?
Is Shattered Pixel Dungeon free?
Which has better reviews, iNethack2 or Shattered Pixel Dungeon?
Do iNethack2 or Shattered Pixel Dungeon have ads?
Which is updated more often, iNethack2 or Shattered Pixel Dungeon?
Other comparisons















