Dungeon Crawlers share a lot of common elements, such as traveling further and further to face an ever-widening array of monsters, threats, and traps. Another important aspect all of these games have is getting more and more loot as you make your way deeper into the same or new dungeons within the game.
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This loot can come in the form of items, wealth, or even power itself. The games differ wildly in how they are presented. Some from a first-person perspective, some turn-based, and some aesthetically the opposite of others. Over the decades of games being released, there is indeed a dungeon crawler for every kind of gamer out there.
10Crypt Of The Necrodancer
This is what happens when you mix together the exploration of a dungeon crawler with the beats of a rhythm game. This game developed a dedicated fan base the moment it hit the scene, and many players that were not fans of traditional dungeon crawlers fell in love with the rhythm game elements ofCrypt Of The Necrodancer.
This takes everything that is enjoyable about a turn-based experience and adds some extra tension into the formula. If you are a fan of dungeon crawlers, but not a fan of rhythm games, you may find this could be the one exception.
9Enter The Gungeon
Enter the Gungeontakes a standard old-school formula and gimmicks it up. This is not a bad thing; gimmicks are good. Gimmicks take something that seems dull and stale and gives it new life and can make it really fun to experience.
The game features many different classes and has a heavy focus on ranged combat and keeping distance to stay alive in thisbullet-helldungeon crawler. This allows the players to change what characters they have already used to see what works best for them and try out new strategies.
8Torchlight 2
When the originalTorchlightcame out, people were quick to call it aDiabloclone. However, the more you play Torchlight, the more you realize it is really passionate about what it set out to do. It is less of a clone and more of another entry in the sub-genre. Torchlight has never been a game about large class choices, though.
The first game only features three classes, and thesecondfeatured just one more than that. However, this allowed them to really do a great job at balancing and deciding which class to pick when you have a specific play style in mind.
7The Binding Of Isaac
The Binding of Isaacdrew a lot of inspiration fromThe Legend of Zeldastyle, both in terms of its art and its mechanics. The dungeon rooms will seal up until you have cleared all the enemies inside of it, making running away impossible.
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Allowing players to run away and escape has been an option in numerous dungeon crawlers. Binding of Isaac’s theme of torment, struggle, and making players feel trapped make this mechanic work very well for it.
6Legend Of Grimrock
This game uses a very old-school approach. It mimics the 2D era of 3D exploration by showing players an image and giving them a choice of which direction to move or turn about. Players then click on icons representing their characters to attack anything that may get in their way.
The game also features the management of characters, items, and equipment. This makes the game an extremely strategic endeavor and gives a truly rewarding experience as you get better at playing it.
Diablo 4took 11 years to develop and came out swinging much harder than the last two games in the franchise.Diablo 3was despised for its Real Money Auction house, so much so that it had to be removed and its loot system reworked.Blizzardwas actively booed on stage during the announcement ofDiablo Immortal.
Luckily, it seems the franchise is finally back on its feet thanks to Diablo 4, which added a slew of new mechanics and improvements. While a lot of die-hard fans continue to praiseDiablo 2to this day, it does show its age when compared to what the modern-day gaming community looks for.
4Persona 5 Royal
ThePersonagames are one of the most well-known and beloved anime-themed dungeon crawlers of all time.Persona 5 Royaltakes everything aboutPersona 5and added a slew of new content and quality-of-life improvements.
The gameplay is based on a similar turn-based model as olderFinal Fantasygames. However, over the course of releases, the combat system has become a lot more streamlined and stylized. The franchise is so successful, that there are multiple animes based on them.
3Cult Of The Lamb
Just like The Binding of Isaac drew inspiration from The Legend of Zelda,Cult of the Lambwould draw from The Binding of Isaac.It is not the only one, meaning there are a lot of games like this for players to enjoy. This game also implements rooms that seal themselves off from running away.
Players will need to clear rooms, raid their resources, and then return back to their base and their followers. The game alternates between venturing off into these dungeon raids and returning to build and manage your base to grow stronger and progress further into the game.
Hadesis one of the many video gamesbased on Greek Mythology. While Cult of the Lamb and Binding of Isaac are roguelike experiences, Hades is referred to as a Roguelite. A roguelite means there is much less focus on unlocking long-term goals and new ways to play and more of a focus on the faster-paced elements such as combat and acquiring new abilities that are only present for the current run.
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This is not entirely true for Hades as there is always some long-term progression being made in the game as you press further and further. Overall, making it a very unique and engaging experience that more games could take a page from.
1The Legend Of Zelda Franchise
A lot would argue that The Legend Of Zelda is not a dungeon Crawler. However, the games have always been aboutgoing into elaborate dungeonsto solve all the puzzles, slaying the boss inside and getting loot that makes you more powerful.
Countless dungeon crawlers use mechanics and ideas that were first implemented in games from this franchise. The games also focus on much larger-scale action adventure RPG elements outside these dungeons, leading to a much grander and epic experience as a whole.
