Pathos: Nethack Codex

Name: Pathos: Nethack Codex
Rating: 4.7 (356 reviews)
Author: Callan Hodgskin

Roleplaying

Free · Designed for iPad

356 Ratings
Ages

13+
Years
Category

Roleplaying
Developer

Callan Hodgskin
Language

EN
+ 16 More
Size

148.5
MB

Pathos is a roguelike adventure game inspired by the rule set from Nethack. Choose from 13 classes and journey deep into the dungeon. Descend to hell to defeat your nemesis before escaping the dungeon with all the loot you can carry! Email mailto:hodgskin.callan@gmail.com Twitter https://twitter.com/callan_hodgskin Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/pathos_nethack Discord https://discord.gg/TRhRZhX Made with Invention https://gitlab.com/hodgskin-callan/Invention

Ratings & Reviews

4.7

out of 5

356 Ratings

Amazing game
11/09/2020

Nimitz87
I love this game. I’m always on the look out for a good RPG thats similar to tabletops and this is it. I’ve been playing for a few weeks and I’m still sucked into the game. It does have a steep learning curve but as long as you are prepared to die a lot in the beginning it becomes easier.I do have a couple suggestions about pets/companions...1.There should be experience sharing for party members and pets. Right now experience is only gained by the specific character/pet that kills an enemy. I’m doing the most killing so my pets and mounts are quickly outclassed by monsters and end up dying very quickly. The way it works now it also makes some character almost useless. Necromancers and Druid’s for example are supposed to summon minions to do the actual fighting but then they don’t get any experience if their minions do the killing. 2. I would also like to see a way to improve pets more and resurrect them easier? Maybe a higher riding skill could let them share your resistances? Maybe pets could give you different talents to make them more useful? For example, having a dog companion could give your character ‘searching’ or ‘see invisible’.I realize the game was not designed as a party system but improving pets and mounts would make certain classes and races more playable. As it is, pets/mounts die at almost every boss level and don’t survive beyond 5 lvls making them almost worthless.
Amazing game
11/09/2020

Nimitz87

I love this game. I’m always on the look out for a good RPG thats similar to tabletops and this is it. I’ve been playing for a few weeks and I’m still sucked into the game. It does have a steep learning curve but as long as you are prepared to die a lot in the beginning it becomes easier.I do have a couple suggestions about pets/companions...1.There should be experience sharing for party members and pets. Right now experience is only gained by the specific character/pet that kills an enemy. I’m doing the most killing so my pets and mounts are quickly outclassed by monsters and end up dying very quickly. The way it works now it also makes some character almost useless. Necromancers and Druid’s for example are supposed to summon minions to do the actual fighting but then they don’t get any experience if their minions do the killing. 2. I would also like to see a way to improve pets more and resurrect them easier? Maybe a higher riding skill could let them share your resistances? Maybe pets could give you different talents to make them more useful? For example, having a dog companion could give your character ‘searching’ or ‘see invisible’.I realize the game was not designed as a party system but improving pets and mounts would make certain classes and races more playable. As it is, pets/mounts die at almost every boss level and don’t survive beyond 5 lvls making them almost worthless.
Incredible
06/27/2021

bendbars_liftgates
If you like dungeon crawlers/roguelikes, you’ve hit the jackpot. Pathos is a Nethack clone, but one that refines the original in all the best ways to bring it up to date. Other iOS nethack ports treat the keyboard-input interface like it’s some kind of sacred and essential part of the experience, awkwardly forcing you to bind keys to touch buttons, rather than just scrapping and replacing it like the dated and obsolete remnant if the past that it is. Here we have a full touch interface. You want to move somewhere? Touch there. Want to pick up a thing? Touch it. Want to check it for traps, open it, kick it, lick it, meet its parents? Just touch it. No “q for Quaff, w for wield, period for inspect, comma for take…” it’s all touch menus now, like it should have been since 1990.
Incredible
06/27/2021

bendbars_liftgates

If you like dungeon crawlers/roguelikes, you’ve hit the jackpot. Pathos is a Nethack clone, but one that refines the original in all the best ways to bring it up to date. Other iOS nethack ports treat the keyboard-input interface like it’s some kind of sacred and essential part of the experience, awkwardly forcing you to bind keys to touch buttons, rather than just scrapping and replacing it like the dated and obsolete remnant if the past that it is. Here we have a full touch interface. You want to move somewhere? Touch there. Want to pick up a thing? Touch it. Want to check it for traps, open it, kick it, lick it, meet its parents? Just touch it. No “q for Quaff, w for wield, period for inspect, comma for take…” it’s all touch menus now, like it should have been since 1990.
Too frustrated by lack of mechanics info
03/30/2021

Marcia Gaines
As of 30 March 2021:tldr: Be Nethack or don’t, but address the GUI’s widgets and add an in-game accessible manual for the game mechanics since they differ enough from Nethack’s to make it unwise to assume similarity.Only leaving this review after I ragequit this game (after my first 5 sessions) because the only 2 problems this game has are EASILY corrected, and I really hope that happens because I would be playing this, and only this, if that happens. What seems like a minor problem, is in fact, a major one for a 20yr+ Nethack player like I am - namely, that the “Nethack Codex” thing implies a familiarity for the Nethack player beyond just object labels - and yet the mechanics are massively different without ANY way to even interpret results of actions (let alone the info to judge whether or not to take the action in the first place).That, and having GUI widgets be fixed in size and position is just rage-inducing when one or more of the widgets needs to be open constantly but can’t be left open without impeding gameplay. Having to open and close the “tile” widget so often is the same level of irritating as games with player inventory governed by ridiculously few “bag slots.” These widgets should be customizable in position, size, and opaqueness - and it would be a nice bonus if we could reorder them in the widget bar.The GUI widget issue plus the lack of a tutorial, in-game manual, or context for what little info there is, was just too much annoyance in too short a time for me to keep playing.

Developer Response
Hello,Did you discover the HELP button attached to nearly every element in the game? It is contextual help so you don't need to refer to a wiki. The information can be a little technical to understand at first, but Pathos is known to be transparent about the game mechanics. There's also a series of Guides as well, for a broader explanation of topics. Maybe you missed all of this, or maybe you didn't find it sufficient?I've done my best to make a mobile UX that works well, but you do have to have some patience if you wish to play on an iPhone. I'd recommend an iPad for a more ergonomic experience. I'm not sure I see how custom reorganisation of the UI would help...Anyway, thanks for your feedback and feel free to reach out to me on hodgskin.callan@gmail.com if you'd like to chat. :)
Too frustrated by lack of mechanics info
03/30/2021

Marcia Gaines

As of 30 March 2021:tldr: Be Nethack or don’t, but address the GUI’s widgets and add an in-game accessible manual for the game mechanics since they differ enough from Nethack’s to make it unwise to assume similarity.Only leaving this review after I ragequit this game (after my first 5 sessions) because the only 2 problems this game has are EASILY corrected, and I really hope that happens because I would be playing this, and only this, if that happens. What seems like a minor problem, is in fact, a major one for a 20yr+ Nethack player like I am - namely, that the “Nethack Codex” thing implies a familiarity for the Nethack player beyond just object labels - and yet the mechanics are massively different without ANY way to even interpret results of actions (let alone the info to judge whether or not to take the action in the first place).That, and having GUI widgets be fixed in size and position is just rage-inducing when one or more of the widgets needs to be open constantly but can’t be left open without impeding gameplay. Having to open and close the “tile” widget so often is the same level of irritating as games with player inventory governed by ridiculously few “bag slots.” These widgets should be customizable in position, size, and opaqueness - and it would be a nice bonus if we could reorder them in the widget bar.The GUI widget issue plus the lack of a tutorial, in-game manual, or context for what little info there is, was just too much annoyance in too short a time for me to keep playing.
Developer Response 04/06/2021
Hello,Did you discover the HELP button attached to nearly every element in the game? It is contextual help so you don't need to refer to a wiki. The information can be a little technical to understand at first, but Pathos is known to be transparent about the game mechanics. There's also a series of Guides as well, for a broader explanation of topics. Maybe you missed all of this, or maybe you didn't find it sufficient?I've done my best to make a mobile UX that works well, but you do have to have some patience if you wish to play on an iPhone. I'd recommend an iPad for a more ergonomic experience. I'm not sure I see how custom reorganisation of the UI would help...Anyway, thanks for your feedback and feel free to reach out to me on hodgskin.callan@gmail.com if you'd like to chat. :)
The BEST Mobile Roguelike RPG! NO ADS!!!! NO PAY-TO-PLAY!
11/22/2025

Baaba Yero
You create your character, choose pets, optionally add companions/co-player characters and set out across several different scenarios. Play the classic “Nethack” dungeon - enter on level one, get to the bottom, e.g. level 40+ and then try to get back out again with all the loot - or choose from some different formats. Be as casual or as committed as you want. This game HAS THE BEST IN-GAME help of any mobile game around, with a totally comprehensive guide and index. I’ve already spent several hours on a playthrough and I’m HOOKED. NO ADS and NO PAY-TO-WIN, so if you like it, so give the developer some love.
The BEST Mobile Roguelike RPG! NO ADS!!!! NO PAY-TO-PLAY!
11/22/2025

Baaba Yero

You create your character, choose pets, optionally add companions/co-player characters and set out across several different scenarios. Play the classic “Nethack” dungeon - enter on level one, get to the bottom, e.g. level 40+ and then try to get back out again with all the loot - or choose from some different formats. Be as casual or as committed as you want. This game HAS THE BEST IN-GAME help of any mobile game around, with a totally comprehensive guide and index. I’ve already spent several hours on a playthrough and I’m HOOKED. NO ADS and NO PAY-TO-WIN, so if you like it, so give the developer some love.

- see the full change log in help > updates - swipe from the left edge to save & quit - designed for tablets & phones; landscape & portrait - autosave - resurrect and continue - custom characters - dungeon adventure & overland quest - ride your steed into battle - choose from absurd, classic, geoduck & sonyvanda tiles - 200+ monsters from Slash'em - comprehensive help - hall of fame (top 20) - turn-based & real-time modes - French, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Polish, Hungarian, Japanese, Vietnamese & Italian translations

Version 7.4 Feb 19

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The developer does not collect any data from this app.

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Accessibility

Information

Seller: Callan Hodgskin
Size: 148.5 MB
Category: Roleplaying
Compatibility: Requires iOS 12.2 or later.

iPhone
Requires iOS 12.2 or later.

iPad
Requires iPadOS 12.2 or later.

iPod touch
Requires iOS 12.2 or later.

Mac
Requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.

Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
Languages: English and 16 more

English, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Ukrainian
Age Rating: 13+

13+

Learn More

Frequent
Guns or Other Weapons

Infrequent
Cartoon or Fantasy Violence

Privacy Policy

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Invention Manual

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Pathos: Nethack Codex

Ratings & Reviews

Amazing game

Incredible

Too frustrated by lack of mechanics info

The BEST Mobile Roguelike RPG! NO ADS!!!! NO PAY-TO-PLAY!

What’s New

App Privacy

Data Not Collected

Accessibility

Information

More by Callan Hodgskin

Invention Manual

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Shattered Pixel Dungeon

Resolute Hero RPG

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Slice & Dice

Order of Fate: Dungeon Crawler