Roguelike Comparison

👉 GnollHack runs on NetHack's own code, Pathos borrows only its monsters and items, and Shattered Pixel Dungeon comes from another family of games, Pixel Dungeon.

📖 Overview

Game	First Release	Based On	Main Inspiration	Graphics	Complexity
NetHack	1987	Hack	Rogue	ASCII text; tiles in some interfaces, such as the Windows GUI, released in 2002	Hardcore
GnollHack	2023, on mobile; developed since July 2019	A fork of NetHack 3.6.2	NetHack	Animated high-resolution tiles	Hardcore–Midcore
Pathos	2015	Written from scratch, with its own rules	NetHack	2D tiles; the Steam edition has four tile sets: two in pixel art, one semi-realistic, and one ASCII-style	Midcore
Shattered Pixel Dungeon	2014	A fork of Pixel Dungeon	Brogue	Pixel art	Midcore–Casual

Shattered Pixel Dungeon has six heroes, each with two subclasses and over 25 talents to spend points on.

📦 Availability

Stores

Platform	Store	NetHack	GnollHack	Pathos	Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Android	Google Play	❌	✅🆓	✅🆓	✅🆓
iOS	App Store	✅🆓 Unofficial (iNethack2)	✅🆓	✅🆓	✅💲
Linux	Steam	✅💲 Unofficial (NetHack: Legacy)	✅🆓	⚠️💲 Through Proton	✅💲
macOS	App Store	❌	✅🆓	✅🆓	❌
macOS	Steam	✅💲 Unofficial (NetHack: Legacy)	✅🆓	❌	✅💲
Windows	Steam	✅💲 Unofficial (NetHack: Legacy)	✅🆓	✅💲	✅💲
Steam Deck	Steam	✅💲 Unofficial (NetHack: Legacy)	✅🆓	⚠️💲 Through Proton	✅💲

• 🆓 Free
• 💲 Paid
• ⚠️ Not a native version: the Windows version runs through Proton

Pathos's Steam edition was released on November 4, 2026. Pathos is free on Google Play, the App Store, the Microsoft Store, and its website.

ℹ️ Note: Proton, Valve's compatibility layer, runs most Windows games from Steam on Linux and the Steam Deck, but not on macOS. GnollHack's Windows version does not run on Proton; the Steam Deck runs its native Linux Version instead.

GitHub

All GitHub downloads are free.

Platform	NetHack	GnollHack	Pathos	Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Android	✅ Unofficial	❌	❌	✅
Linux	✅ Unofficial	✅	✅ Unofficial, runs the Windows version with Wine	✅
macOS	✅ Unofficial	✅	❌	✅
Windows	✅ Unofficial	✅	❌	✅
Steam Deck	❓	❌ Get it on Steam	❓	✅

None of the four games has an iOS download outside the App Store. Only NetHack and Pathos offer downloads on their own websites: NetHack for Windows, and Pathos for Windows and Android, along with a version that runs in a web browser.

✨ Features

Feature	NetHack	GnollHack	Pathos	Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Animations	❌	✅	✅	✅
Music	❌1	✅	✅	✅
Voiceovers	❌	✅	❌	❌
Difficulty levels	❌	✅	❓2	❌
In-game item information	❌	✅	✅	✅
In-game hints	✅3	✅	✅	✅
Full mobile UI4	❌	✅	✅	✅
Game Advisor	❌	✅5	❌	❌
Several languages	❌	❌	✅	✅
Party play and local co-op	❌	❌	✅6	❌
Plays in a web browser	✅7	❌	✅	❌

• ¹ All four games have sound effects, but NetHack 5.0 has only a few (musical instruments, squeaky boards, gaining or losing a level), and no music.
• ² Steam lists Pathos under Adjustable Difficulty, but its store pages do not describe a difficulty setting.
• ³ But consulting the Oracle costs gold.
• ⁴ No on-screen keyboard.
• ⁵ The Gnoll Overseer uses frontier AI models for its advice.
• ⁶ A party of up to six heroes, and split-screen co-op.
• ⁷ On public servers such as NAO and Hardfought, in a web terminal.

🎮 Controller Support

A game has real controller support when it reads the controller itself and has an interface built for it. A game without it can often still be played with a controller on Steam, because Steam Input can map the buttons to keys and the mouse, but then the controller merely works: you move a mouse cursor with a stick and press buttons that stand in for keys.

Game	Controller Support	Details
NetHack	❌ None	Keyboard and mouse only. NetHack: Legacy on Steam has no controller support either.
GnollHack	✅ Dedicated	Radial menus, on-screen button hints, and controller navigation of every menu, the settings, this wiki, and the Gnoll Overseer. Works with the Steam Deck's built-in controls and with controllers such as Xbox controllers on Windows, Linux, and macOS. Not available on Android or iOS. See Steam Deck Controls.
Pathos	⚠️ Partial	Steam lists partial controller support, and the Steam page mentions controller support on the Steam Deck. The interface is designed for touch first.
Shattered Pixel Dungeon	✅ Dedicated	Built into the game since 2022, with an analog stick cursor, button bindings, and radial menus.

🖼️ Screenshots

NetHack

The Windows GUI with the Nevanda tileset, which has 32x32-pixel tiles:

GnollHack

Pathos

Shattered Pixel Dungeon

📖 See Also

• Comparisons to Other Games

📅 Validity

The GnollHack details are valid for GnollHack 3.39 (4.3.0 Build 39), checked on November 8, 2026. The store listings, prices, and platforms of NetHack, Pathos, and Shattered Pixel Dungeon were checked on the same day.