Roguelike Comparison

👉 This page provides a comparison between NetHack, GnollHack, Pathos, and Shattered Pixel Dungeon, highlighting their features, target audiences, and user interfaces.

📖 Overview

Game	Description	Audience
NetHack	A foundational, deeply complex roguelike first released in 1987. It is known for its intricate mechanics, where countless item interactions and emergent strategies are possible.	Hardcore players seeking a traditional, challenging text-based experience where survival relies on discovering the game's many secrets over multiple runs.
GnollHack	A modern remaster of NetHack 3.6.2 that bridges the gap between classic complexity and modern accessibility. It retains the deep ruleset of the original game but updates the experience with graphical tiles, animations, a full soundtrack, voiceovers, and difficulty settings.	Hardcore-to-midcore players who want to experience NetHack's depth with modern presentation and touch-friendly mobile controls.
Pathos	A streamlined adaptation of the NetHack ruleset, coded from scratch for modern devices. It simplifies the user interface and inventory management while preserving the challenging core mechanics with standard graphical tiles and smooth touch controls.	Midcore players looking for an accessible entry point to classic roguelike mechanics on mobile or PC.
Shattered Pixel Dungeon	A highly polished, standalone roguelike originating from the Brogue lineage. It features streamlined gameplay, distinct hero classes with customizable skill trees, and charming pixel-art graphics.	Midcore-to-casual players looking for a visually appealing, intuitive, and engaging roguelike experience with a balanced difficulty curve.

📊 Feature Comparison

📦 Availability

🏪 Stores

Platform	Store	NetHack	GnollHack	Pathos	Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Android	Google Play	❌	✅🆓	✅🆓	✅🆓
iOS	App Store	✅🆓 Unofficial (iNetHack2)	✅🆓	✅🆓	✅💲
Linux	Steam	✅💲 Unofficial (NetHack: Legacy)	✅🆓	❌	✅💲
macOS	App Store	❌	✅🆓	✅🆓	✅💲
macOS	Steam	✅💲 Unofficial (NetHack: Legacy)	✅🆓	❌	✅💲
Windows	Steam	✅💲 Unofficial (NetHack: Legacy)	✅🆓	✅💲 Coming soon	✅💲
Steam Deck	Steam	✅💲 Unofficial (NetHack: Legacy)	✅🆓 Coming soon	❌	✅💲

• 🆓 Free
• 💲 Paid

🧑‍💻 GitHub

All GitHub downloads are free.

Platform	NetHack	GnollHack	Pathos	Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Android	✅ Unofficial	❌	❌	✅
iOS	❌	❌	❌	❌
Linux	✅ Unofficial	✅	✅ Unofficial	✅
macOS	✅ Unofficial	❌	❌	✅
Windows	✅ Unofficial	✅	❌	✅
Steam Deck	❓	✅ Coming soon	❓	✅

🏠 Website

Platform	NetHack	GnollHack	Pathos	Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Android	❌	❌	✅	❌
iOS	❌	❌	❌	❌
Linux	❌	❌	❌	❌
macOS	❌	❌	❌	❌
Windows	✅	❌	✅	❌

🌐 Localization

Feature	NetHack	GnollHack	Pathos	Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Multilingual	❌	❌	✅	✅

✨ Features

Feature	NetHack	GnollHack	Pathos	Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Graphics	✅1	✅	✅	✅
Real animations	❌	✅	✅	✅
Sound effects and music	❌	✅	✅	✅
Voiceovers	❌	✅	❌	❌
Difficulty levels	❌	✅	❌	❌
In-game item information	❌	✅	✅	✅
In-game hints	✅2	✅	✅	✅
Full mobile UI3	❌	✅	✅	✅
Game Assistant	❌	✅4	❌	❌

• ¹ Support varies by platform and solution.
• ² But consulting the Oracle costs gold.
• ³ No on-screen keyboard.
• ⁴ The Gnoll Overseer uses frontier AI models for its advice.

🎯 Audience and History

Topic	NetHack	GnollHack	Pathos	Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Game complexity	Hardcore	Hardcore–Midcore	Midcore	Midcore–Casual
Codebase based on	Hack	NetHack 3.6.2	Coded from scratch	Pixel Dungeon
Graphical user interface release year	2002	2023	2015	2012
Main inspiration for game design	Rogue	NetHack	NetHack	Brogue

🖼️ Screenshots

🏛️ NetHack

⌨️ NetHack's Traditional ASCII UI

A screenshot of NetHack's traditional ASCII (text-based) UI:

🖥️ NetHack Windows GUI

A screenshot of NetHack Windows GUI with the Nevanda tileset (32x32-pixel tiles):

🐺 GnollHack

A screenshot of GnollHack's modern Windows client:

⚔️ Pathos

A screenshot of Pathos on Windows:

💎 Shattered Pixel Dungeon

A screenshot of Shattered Pixel Dungeon on Windows:

📖 See Also

• GnollHack vs. Pathos vs. NetHack
• Comparisons to Other Games