Your favorite dungeon-crawler?

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Hello everyone. :)

I'm just curious - What are some of your favorite dungeon-crawler RPGs? o_O

I ask because I'm a bit new to this sub-genre, with Elminage Gothic being my first real foray into the dungeon-crawler realm.

Of course, I've played Diablo, Sacred 2 and other hack n' slash games, but haven't played much of anything that would really be labeled a true "dungeon crawler".

Elminage Gothic is quite good and I really enjoy it. I would recommend it to anyone interested in this style of game. It has a first-person perspective, party-based gameplay with turn-based combat, and lots of interesting bits to discover in the various dungeons.

So, what are some of your favorite dungeon-crawlers throughout the years? o_O
 
Hmm, if "dungeon crawler" means you spend most of the game in the dungeon and not in the overworld, then Diablo 1 hands down for being the spookiest and most atmospheric, where each new level felt like a big victory.
 
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Hmm, if "dungeon crawler" means you spend most of the game in the dungeon and not in the overworld…

Assuming the same, I'd have to say Arx Fatalis easily wins this category for me. Diablo 1 if we're talking isometric view. Although I suppose I haven't actually played many games that take place entirely or almost entirely underground.
 
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Hm, hard. I really enjoyed Legend of Grimrock, Eye of the Beholder & Arx Fatalis. I guess Ultima Underworld 2 also counts as a dungeon crawler (that one was also great).
 
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Good answers, both of you.

Arx Fatalis is a game I have to play sometime. It's in my massive backlog of games I never had the opportunity to play in their heyday.

Diablo 1 is certainly a dungeon-crawler but it's also *the* title that defined the hack n' slash sub-genre of RPGs as well. The quintessential "action RPG".

Are the Wizardry and Might and Magic games considered dungeon-crawlers? o_O

Legend of Grimrock 2 seems very interesting, simply for the fact that there are outdoor areas. Would that still be considered a dungeon-crawler? :thinking:

Now I'm just confusing myself. :lol:
 
The old Dungeon Master game was probably my personal favorite because it was amazingly awesome back in the day. That day was long, long ago though, so you would be better off with Legend of Grimrock.

I played Arx Fatalis back when it came out but I played as a mage type and was having a rough time of it. Then I read somewhere that the end game basically requires that you use swords (heaven only knows if that was actually true or not) and my will to battle the gesture spell system left me.

Once the dungeon crawler leaves the dungeon it gets a bit murkey. In a game like, say, Wizardry 8 you're still crawling it's just that there's a sky above you sometimes. It sure feels like a dungeon crawler a lot of the time. The presence of actual towns where you can rest and shop might disqualify it, too. At least to me, the definition really isn't all that precise.

How about NetHack? Oh, but that's a Rogue-like! Well, not for me, because I would always back up my saves and restore them if I died. I sure had a ton of fun with that back in the late 80's and even through the 90's. Wands of polymorph + rings of polymorph control... oh so fun! It was fun to find new and interesting ways to die, too. (Killed by an iron ball, killed by an hallucinogen-distorted kobold zombie, killed by eating rotten meat, killed by touching Stormbringer, killed by Death...)
 
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Your favorite dungeon-crawler?
None.

I still play them when I find 'em, but I can't enjoy them like open space games.
The reason is simple. There is nothing epic in dungeon crawlers. Nor can probably be.

Don't get me wrong, unlike the majority, my favorite Alien movie is the claustrophobic third one! Yes, I like it more than the first two just because of that dungeon crawler feel.
But it's a movie, not a game.
 
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ADoM, been playing it on and off for many years, latest versions with tiles and noteye have a 3d view too.

I had Dungoen Master, I never got very far. Played Ultima Underworld a lot back in the day.

Recently, playing Oblivion, I've been really enjoying dungeon crawls. Using the Better Dungeon's mod which is a re-release of a German mod called Snu's Dungeons I think. Makes OB dungeons 100% better with great atmosphere and additions to the layout and clutter. Reminds me a lot of Skyrim when dungeon crawling in OB now and a vast improvement over vanilla.


-kaos
 
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None.

I still play them when I find 'em, but I can't enjoy them like open space games.
The reason is simple. There is nothing epic in dungeon crawlers. Nor can probably be.

Don't get me wrong, unlike the majority, my favorite Alien movie is the claustrophobic third one! Yes, I like it more than the first two just because of that dungeon crawler feel.
But it's a movie, not a game.


The dwemer city ruins in Skyrim was "un-epic"? It was one of my fav discoveries in a game for a while. Or am I misinterpreting dungeon crawler?


-kwm
 
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The Might & Magics had some superb dungeon crawls. The best ones are usually agreed to be 4-7, with 4 & 5 being a bit retro on graphics these days. 6 might have the 'best' dungeons but 7 was a slightly tighter game in design. Your own mileage may vary of course.

One of the best dungeon crawlers on a fun-to-money-spent ratio is Paper Sorcerer (in my opinion.) http://store.steampowered.com/app/263560/
 
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Dungeon Master and Eye of the Beholder would probably be my two top all time favourites. My god, if I could play them on my current machine I don't think I'd ever leave the house, lol.
 
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Great question!

Does System Shock count? If so, then it's System Shock.

If not, I'd have to say Black Crypt :)
 
I wasn't really a fan of Elminage Gothic. I felt like it was an awkward sort of dungeon crawler.

Now, Wizardry - Tales of the Forsaken - there's a great dungeon crawler. Amazing atmosphere and a proper design structure. Unfortunately it is only available on PS2.

Here is a sample video of gameplay from somebodies "Let's Play" series:

 
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Ultima Underworld had some epic moments to be sure... one of my favourites.

Also the really really old game Swords & Serpants.. which is probably my favourite, I played it so much back in the day.... ( Console warning ) on that one though so not sure if it counts...

The beginning of Stonekeep was actually fantastic also in my opinion unfortunately it went downhill from there.
 
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The beginning of Stonekeep was actually fantastic also in my opinion unfortunately it went downhill from there.

It's a shame Stonekeep aged so badly.

That reminds me, the first Lands of Lore game was great for its time. It think it is close enough of a dungeon crawler to count.
 
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That reminds me, the first Lands of Lore game was great for its time. It think it is close enough of a dungeon crawler to count.

Sure does. It had a focus on combat and puzzles, linear progression and tight ressource management. One of my all time favorite games.

Not sure how much of it is owed to nostalgia, but The Aethra Chronicles had atmospherically dense dungeons where you spent most of your time. I loved navigating those and scouting for secret passages.
 
Clans. You'll find it super cheap at Steam, and you'll love it.
 
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