iNethack2 vs GnollHack
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
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"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
GnollHack
Embark on a perilous quest in a remastered classic roguelike. Explore procedurally generated dungeons, battle monsters, and uncover powerful artifacts. With deep strategy, a rich class and race system, and challenging permadeath, every playthrough offers endless replayability.
- Turn-based roguelike gameplay
- Modern user interface
- Procedurally generated dungeons
- 13 classes and 5 races
- Hundreds of items and spells
- Challenging permadeath mode
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ABOUT GnollHack is a remastered and enhanced version of the classic roguelike game NetHack, one of the most iconic games developed in 1980s and 1990s. With GnollHack, you get: - Traditional roguelike with turn-based gameplay - Modern user interface - Legendary strategic depth of NetHack - Endless replayability - Several new features, enhancing your gameplay experience STORY In GnollHack, you are a hero sent by your deity into the perilous Dungeons of Doom, tasked with recovering the stolen Amulet of Yendor from the clutches of the malevolent god Moloch, who has hidden it in the fiery depths of the underworld. Along your journey, you will encounter formidable enemies, discover great magical artifacts, and strive for glory. You must either triumph or perish in the attempt. ROGUELIKE GAMEPLAY Explore procedurally generated dungeons filled with monsters, traps, and treasures. RICH CLASS AND RACE SYSTEM - 13 classes: wizard, barbarian, rogue, etc. - 5 races: human, elf, gnoll, etc. DEEP ITEM AND MAGIC SYSTEM Hundreds of items, spells, and artifacts with diverse effects. CHALLENGING PERMADEATH (Classic Mode Only) Death is permanent, requiring players to adapt, plan, and learn from mistakes to progress further. TUTORIALS AND GAMEPLAY INFORMATION - GnollHack wiki: https://wiki.gnollhack.com SUPPORT - Discord: https://discord.gg/cQuExnzUQy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: GnollHack at every 5 days against iNethack2's every 2 months. GnollHack also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.4). iNethack2's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
GnollHack holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 137 and 110 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of iNethack2's written reviews are positive against 85% of GnollHack's.
iNethack2 ships an update every 2 months, GnollHack every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 3, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iNethack2 | GnollHack |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (137 ratings) | 4.7 (110 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 84.1% of reviews | 85.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 137 — better | 110 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 771 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Future Shock Software LTD | Hyvän mielen pelit ry |
Customer experience
iNethack2
GnollHack
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
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- 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
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- 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
GnollHack
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
iNethack2
No in-app purchases
GnollHack
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is iNethack2 free?
Is GnollHack free?
Which has better reviews, iNethack2 or GnollHack?
Do iNethack2 or GnollHack have ads?
Which is updated more often, iNethack2 or GnollHack?
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