Forsaken vs RomM

Forsaken is an open-source emulator frontend that organizes a retro gaming library. It supports more than 65 retro gaming platforms through 159 emulator configurations, with library browsing in Grid, List, or 3D Carousel views. Displays can include box art, screenshots, videos, and fan art. The frontend supports gamepad navigation and keyboard shortcuts, and its download manager tracks queues and progress. Forsaken can automatically detect and download BIOS files, with temporary or permanent storage and smart cleanup options. It is MIT licensed, community-driven, and translated into 14 languages. Listed platforms are Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows; Windows and macOS are identified as build-from-source options using Flutter. Forsaken does not distribute ROMs or copyrighted game files, so users must provide their own legally obtained ROMs. The project invites contributions on GitHub.

RomM is a free, self-hosted app for scanning, enriching, browsing, and playing a ROM collection. The project says it supports more than 400 platforms, including multi-disk games, DLCs, mods, hacks, and manuals. Compatible games can run in a browser through EmulatorJS and Ruffle without setup, while saves and states sync across devices with conflict resolution. Metadata providers include IGDB, ScreenScraper, LaunchBox, and MobyGames; RomM can also fetch artwork from SteamGridDB and track RetroAchievements. A built-in patcher applies ROM hacks and translations. The project lists granular per-user permissions, OIDC single sign-on, a REST API, and exports for ES-DE and Pegasus. Official clients include a Windows Playnite plugin, the Android Argosy handheld launcher, and the Linux Grout handheld client. A native iOS app is a community project, and the team says it does not regularly review community project source code. RomM is AGPL-3.0 licensed, with no tracking or paid features. Setup help and community discussion are available through Discord.