Adventure Game Studio vs Castle Game Engine

Adventure Game Studio is a free, open-source IDE and engine for creating and running point-and-click adventure games in the style of classic Sierra and LucasArts titles. Its editor is supported only on Microsoft Windows or Windows emulators such as WINE, while games can target Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android. The Editor includes a component for preparing Android builds, and AGS Player runs compatible games on Android. The runtime engine also has ports for iOS and a web version that runs in a browser when served from a web server. Plugins can add game functionality, but a compatible plugin build is needed for each target platform. AGS was created in 1999, became open source in 2011, and is developed by contributors under the Artistic License 2.0. Its terms say the software is provided as-is without warranty and prohibit charging money for AGS without written permission from its authors. The manual recommends community forums for development help.

Castle Game Engine is a free, open-source engine for building 2D and 3D games with a visual editor and an Object Pascal API. The editor supports designing game worlds and interfaces, then building projects for multiple platforms. Listed targets include Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS, with mobile export, console export, and multiplayer tools. Graphics capabilities include shader effects, physically based rendering, shadows, mirrors, bump mapping, and post-processing. Supported formats include glTF, X3D, sprite sheets, and Spine 2D animations. The project lists Visual Studio Code, Lazarus, Delphi, Blender, and Sketchfab among supported tools and services. A command-line build tool, Docker image, and CI setup documentation support automation. The engine can be used for proprietary applications. Provided Linux binaries require GLIBC 2.34 or newer; older systems can compile from source. Supported operating systems must still receive vendor security support, with Windows 10 temporarily supported as of 2026.