When comparing Angband Variants vs Darkness Survival, the Slant community recommends Angband Variants for most people. In the question“What are the best roguelikes on Android?” Angband Variants is ranked 25th while Darkness Survival is ranked 26th.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Contains ToME 2.3.5 -- which is a fan favorite
Pro Can be customized
Using the right app you customize the variant through the files.
Pro Based on Tolkien universe
Being based on the Tolkien universe makes for a familiar environment for fans as well as a deep offering of texture that would be hard to match from scratch.
Pro Five variants in one game
There are 5 variants of the original Angband included in this app, Sangband, Steamband, ToME, NPP Angband and Sil. With 5 games in 1 this app offers a robust offering of playtime.
Pro Learn spells
There are magic scrolls that work once and rarer scrolls that let you learn the spell for the rest of the run.
Pro Can play for free
You can buy the premium currency, but you get enough of it through normal play that it's not required.
Pro Four character classes
One of them is a rogue, but you have to unlock it.
Pro Permanent upgrades
Each time you die or defeat a boss (every five floors) you get permanent upgrades, in the form of Runes (which you can swap out to customize your class at the start of each game) or Recipes (which you can use to craft items from materials found in-game).
Cons
Con You need a physical keyboard to really enjoy this game
You can't select / customize software keyboards, which makes controlling the game more difficult than using a real keyboard that can.
Con Cannot change the game
It always starts with ToME.
Con Enemies can target from off screen
While enemies can target from off screen the player is unable to target them until they show onscreen, which means the player can get hit from enemies they can not see or retaliate.
Con Has ads
You can skip them with the premium currency. But the ads are always triggered by user action, so they don't randomly interrupt your games. This means they're also technically optional, but they give you bonuses you'll probably want.
Con Mediocre translation
While the basic spelling and grammar seem correct, the writing could really be better. It's often not clear what things do, even when they're documented.
