Last updated on January 15th, 2026 at 06:39 am
A Dark Room – Adventure Game Review
A Dark Room is a Adventure/Roleplaying game from Amirali Rajan, first launched in 8th November 2013.
It’s rated 12+ and currently has 2,596+ ratings on the App Store.
What Makes A Dark Room Stand Out
awake. head throbbing. vision blurry. the voices say to survive.
- One of Apple's most downloaded apps of 2014.
- Ranked in the top 10 games in 70 countries, #1 app overall in 7 countries.
- No ads, no loot boxes, no IAP, no tracking.
- 100% playable via VoiceOver.
- Relive the glory days of gaming from the era of Zork.
This Adventure game offers engaging gameplay and regular updates for mobile players.
Player Feedback
As a newer release, A Dark Room is building its player community. Early feedback suggests .
Recent Updates & Development
Latest Update: 27th June 2024
Recent improvements include:
- added gamepad support.
- added auto-saving.
- volume levels are saved.
- link to pre-sequel added.
- quality of life updates to loot screen.
Download & Availability
A Dark Room is available through the official App Store for iOS devices.
Requirements: Requires iPhone 5s / iPad Air / iPad Air (Cellular) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina, Cellular) / iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus / iPad Air 2 / iPad Air 2 (Cellular) / iPad Mini 3 or later.
Compatible with iPhone and iPad devices.
Player Experience Highlights
Community Insight:
Truly a unique game. One of a kind. We love this approach to a game, it is very simplistic yet fascinating. Ive never seen anything like it before and never experienced anything like it before. The only thing we would say could be better is adding sound effects (even just button sounds) but the quietness also does liberties to the unsettling feeling throughout. Playing your own music playlist in the background is fun too. We think everyone should try this out, its so fun to figure out the mechanics as you go on, and the story, though vague is so interesting. We hope to get the prequel game and we hope to see more games from the developer one day.
Must play game. Seems slow at first but hang in there.
One of the best games we've ever played this game is amazing compared to any other text adventure games. We also love that you made the game even better for the blind.
The clearest way to win is to be a bad person and that is a very interesting commentary on our social and economic structures.
Im always coming back to this game. The storytelling and text-based gameplay really gripped us.
Excellent game! A bit more than a text-based adventure, it captures the imagination and compels you to keep going. Fun to replay.
Great game. One of its kind tbh. We truly enjoyed it.
Truly one of the best games Ive ever played. Hard stop. We have played on every platform and console, old and new. This game makes you feel a connection to not only the player character, but the builder and the world. This game truly represents the term less is more. Dont forget to listen to the audio journals of the devs when you beat the game.
This game is such a great distraction. Its got a beautiful simplicity and we highly recommend it! May the fire burn brightly for you, may it keep you warm.
We dont know if Ive ever left a review on a game, but noting Ive returned to this game every few years since high school and have now probably played it a good 4 or 5 times, we have to say this game is too notch. Very creative, incredibly atmospheric, and the minimalism is one of its many great strengths. Dont want to say much more than that, as it is worth experiencing blind, but we truly love this game. 6 out of 5 stars if possible.
We spent 228 mins on our first successful run through after about 3 resets (due to learning new mechanics and wanting to access them earlier) so we spent a total of four or five non stop days in hours to beat it(Im slow) but the story and gameplay are phenomenal despite the simplicity and subtlety so full five stars on quality of gameplay and quantity of gameplay.
The no huts ending makes it all worthwhile.
We dont even like gaming but this one is a blast.
We keep replaying it over the years.
We found the game delightful, especially being fairly inexperienced with text based games. We never would have thought to use fists on our own and glad to have achieved this skill/perk on our second attempt after research on the game. During this second attempt we decided to show mercy and thought it really neat to get a sneaky perk. We enjoyed thinking about all the possible strategies. Great game.
The only one we feel that is truly in it for the art of gaming not the money. Having to truly figure everything out for ourselves and feel like we were actually uncovering things yet with such simple graphics was amazing.
We just replayed this after a few years and wanted to hop on to show our appreciation because this is still one of the best out there! The way the story builds mystery and slowly unfolds in unexpected ways is genius. The gameplay is simple but challenging, and is just frustrating enough to make you want to beat it without sucking out the fun. Theres also a prequel game called the ensign, which is equally brilliant (if not more so). If youre considering getting this game, do it!! Its truly one of a kind.
This is the game we always come back to. Remember getting this in middle school and once every few years when Im bored we come back to this for another playthrough. While nothing will ever compare to that first mysterious, engaging, time playing this game still rocks all these years later.
We have been looking for games we could play as someone who doesnt like normal mobile games. This was so perfect it scratched that itch for us.
What can we say about a dark room that hasnt been said? Its the challenging, philosophical, deeply engaging game that starts from first principles and becomes an epic adventure with moral choices and stark dangers. 10/10.
Didnt expect to find an old school style text adventure game this engaging. Worth the few bucks to check out and support an indie developer.
Amazing mysterious and intriguing.
We played this for the first time in 2017 during a plane ride and it blew our mind. We were just tryna survive and before we knew it we were a slave master. Such a great game. We wish we could play it for the first time again. We do redownload this game every once in a while and play it again. Great job, thank you.
Started ADR a few years ago when we were in highschool workin on an island in the middle of a lake with no cell reception. Now almost a decade later we saw it again and remembered how much cool it was back then. Started it while on a flight cross country and finished the game a few days later (Today). It is just as good as we remembered, and then some, especially since we actually completed it this time around. Definitely recommend 100%, this is the first review we've ever written, but it deserves it. No if you'll excuse us, we need to see what's goin on with these huts.
Great experience def deserves the 5 stars.
Absolutely amazing! Do yourself a favor and just buy this game. Don't read anything about it, discovering the secrets for yourself is so much fun! Highly recommended.
Just absolutely fantastic stuff.
This game has kept us comforted in times of low depression, have patience and you will see its beauty shine.
It was a great experience, we only wish there was more.
Check it out. Avoid being spoiled. Theres a great game that feels a little similar about a paperclip factory if you like this one, consider searching that one out.
Fun storyline, great development.
We just recently moved our life across the country and its been alright. Every night we sit outside look at the stars and listen to the wind. Always thinking about the past we remember playing a game where we lit a fire embarked on journeys and finding alien artifacts, never knowing what to do with them. We scrambled for a week trying to find the game we played 8 years ago and here we are. At last we can say we finally found it, beat it and getting a piece of mind. Im writing this listening the wind again wondering where our next journey begins. What an amazing game thank you for the experience again.
We played this game probably 5 years ago and remembered it. Spent all day playing it. Make sure to upgrade your hull at the end.
We used to play a dark room when our sister showed us it a few years back in pc, and we thought nothing of it when we saw it on IOS. That was until we learned that there were different versions, lots of new secrets, amazing hints, and wonderful imagination for storytelling leaving us wanting more.
Hooked from the very beginning, lots of bang for your buck(s).
Really great game and distraction from the pain at the chiropractor.
We love this game. Awesome story telling. Play through both ways, with hits and without huts. Quite the experience.
Love this game! Used to play it online when we were younger; just bought the mobile version and finished the game. Doing it over for a second time. Super excited to play Ensign, and even try Gridland and A Noble Circle among some others Ive heard. Thanks so much, we really needed this.
Such a great game. We were captivated from the start.
Game has multiple endings. Worth the money and never any ads.
Simple but interesting gameplay and a beautiful story, with the perfect balance of each. What more could we have asked for? We cant wait to play the prequel.
If the developer(s) see this: thank you! It was a great experience both playing and enjoying the audio afterwards.
We enjoyed the time we spent with A Dark Room a lot. We think its a good experience. Its all so strange. The Devs talk about an emotional experience and we have to say they nailed it.
What a spectacular game. We love the sense of wonder and awe it invokes with just a few words and simple graphics. Each twist and turn had us glued to the game, but its also simple to put down any time and pick back up, essential for a phone game played in snatches between parenting and work. Thank you.
We loved both versions of this game. It has kept us not only entertained but relaxed as its our go to for stress relief. We highly recommend the game.
This quite honestly could be the best game we ever downloaded. Absolutely amazing how they make you feel like your actually there. Surreal experience.
Its really nice to see the developer(s) keeping up with updates on this game. We find ourselves drawn back to this game constantly and its nice to see its still running smoothly.
This is an amazing game! The story and gameplay are interesting and enthralling. We highly recommend this game.
We truly enjoyed this game and am trying to get the no huts ending. We truly recommend this game to anyone interested. Its stupid difficult but it had us hooked.
We just played through for the first time. Without spoiling so much, the game is phenomenal. An innovator in the world of point and click games that we love so much. But with such subtle yet poignant depth. Playing through again and Im more than happy that this is how Im spending our Saturday night lol.
User feedback from Apple App Store
App Details
- Version: 18.2
- Size: 100.16 MB
- iOS: 11.0 or later
- Languages: EN
- Content Advisory: Frequent/Intense Cartoon or Fantasy Violence, Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes, Infrequent/Mild Horror/Fear Themes
- Developer: Amirali Rajan
Last updated: 27th June 2024 | Genre: Adventure, Roleplaying | Developer: Amirali Rajan