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Top 34 Dungeon Crawler Games of All Time

By YPB Team

Some of these were drawn in ASCII and others in lavish hand-painted art, yet every one asks you to go one floor deeper than you planned.

  1. Diablo II — ranked #11
    Diablo II
    The 2000 sequel whose loot, skill trees and online play made it the benchmark every action RPG dungeon crawler is still measured against.
    1000pts
  2. Legend of Grimrock II — ranked #22
    Legend of Grimrock II
    The 2014 sequel that moved the grid crawl onto an island full of open-air puzzles and hidden secrets.
    848pts
  3. Shiren the Wanderer — ranked #33
    Shiren the Wanderer
    Chunsoft's Mystery Dungeon roguelike, beloved for its tightly designed turn-based dives and harsh item management.
    775pts
  4. Hades II — ranked #44
    Hades II
    Supergiant's 2025 sequel following the witch Melinoë through the Underworld and up to Olympus.
    705pts
  5. Torchlight II — ranked #55
    Torchlight II
    Runic Games' bright, fast 2012 action RPG made by Diablo veterans, loved for its pets, mod support and co-op.
    705pts
  6. NetHack — ranked #66
    NetHack
    The 1987 open-source roguelike infamous for its depth, emergent interactions and brutally hard dives for the Amulet of Yendor.
    660pts
  7. Path of Exile — ranked #77
    Path of Exile
    Grinding Gear Games' free-to-play 2013 action RPG famed for its enormous passive skill tree and endless map-based endgame.
    610pts
  8. Legend of Grimrock — ranked #88
    Legend of Grimrock
    Almost Human's 2012 indie revival of grid-based, real-time dungeon crawling with traps, puzzles and party combat.
    610pts
  9. Hades — ranked #99
    Hades
    Supergiant Games' 2020 roguelike action crawler in which Zagreus fights his way out of the Underworld, run after run.
    553pts
  10. Dungeon Master — ranked #1010
    Dungeon Master
    FTL Games' 1987 real-time first-person crawler that pioneered direct item interaction and inspired a generation of blobbers.
    553pts
  11. Etrian Odyssey — ranked #1111
    Etrian Odyssey
    Atlus's 2007 Nintendo DS crawler where players draw their own labyrinth maps on the touch screen.
    553pts
  12. Diablo IV — ranked #1212
    Diablo IV
    The 2023 open-world return to Sanctuary with darker tone, seasonal dungeons and the Nightmare Dungeon endgame.
    553pts
  13. Grim Dawn — ranked #1313
    Grim Dawn
    Crate Entertainment's grim Victorian-fantasy action RPG with a dual-class system and deep build crafting.
    488pts
  14. Path of Exile 2 — ranked #1414
    Path of Exile 2
    The 2024 early-access sequel that brought weightier combat and a new campaign to Wraeclast's loot-hunting formula.
    488pts
  15. Eye of the Beholder — ranked #1515
    Eye of the Beholder
    Westwood's 1991 Dungeons & Dragons crawler that brought real-time grid exploration beneath the city of Waterdeep.
    488pts
  16. The Bard's Tale — ranked #1616
    The Bard's Tale
    Interplay's 1985 first-person crawler through the city and dungeons of Skara Brae, a cornerstone of early computer RPGs.
    488pts
  17. Crypt of the NecroDancer — ranked #1717
    Crypt of the NecroDancer
    Brace Yourself Games' 2015 rhythm roguelike in which every move through the dungeon has to land on the beat.
    488pts
  18. Ultima Underworld — ranked #1818
    Ultima Underworld
    Blue Sky Productions' 1992 Stygian Abyss, a first-person 3D dungeon crawl that anticipated immersive sims.
    413pts
  19. Wizardry — ranked #1919
    Wizardry
    Sir-Tech's 1981 Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, the party-based first-person maze crawl that shaped Western and Japanese RPGs alike.
    413pts
  20. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth — ranked #2020
    The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
    Edmund McMillen's 2014 remake of his twin-stick roguelike basement crawl, with hundreds of item synergies.
    413pts
  21. Gauntlet — ranked #2121
    Gauntlet
    Atari's 1985 four-player arcade maze crawler whose warrior, valkyrie, wizard and elf fought hordes for food and keys.
    325pts
  22. Titan Quest — ranked #2222
    Titan Quest
    The 2006 mythology-themed action RPG that took the Diablo formula through ancient Greece, Egypt and China.
    325pts
  23. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky — ranked #2323
    Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
    The 2009 Pokémon roguelike crawler remembered for its emotional story and randomly generated dungeons.
    325pts
  24. Slay the Spire — ranked #2424
    Slay the Spire
    Mega Crit's 2019 deckbuilding roguelike that turned climbing a monster-filled spire into a card game.
    325pts
  25. Cult of the Lamb — ranked #2525
    Cult of the Lamb
    Massive Monster's 2022 mix of roguelike dungeon crusades and cult-management in a cute but sinister world.
    325pts
  26. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance — ranked #2626
    Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
    Snowblind's 2001 console hack-and-slash that brought couch co-op dungeon crawling to the Forgotten Realms.
    325pts
  27. Dungeon Siege — ranked #2727
    Dungeon Siege
    Gas Powered Games' 2002 party-based action RPG known for its seamless, loading-free world and squad combat.
    222pts
  28. Enter the Gungeon — ranked #2828
    Enter the Gungeon
    Dodge Roll's 2016 bullet-hell roguelike crawl through a fortress of guns in search of a weapon that can kill the past.
    222pts
  29. Children of Morta — ranked #2929
    Children of Morta
    Dead Mage's 2019 story-driven action roguelike in which members of one family take turns delving the caves.
    222pts
  30. Diablo — ranked #3030
    Diablo
    Blizzard North's 1996 action RPG that sent players down sixteen randomized levels beneath Tristram and defined click-to-kill dungeon crawling.
    222pts
  31. Darkest Dungeon — ranked #3131
    Darkest Dungeon
    Red Hook Studios' 2016 gothic roguelike where a crew of heroes cracks under stress during expeditions beneath the hamlet.
    222pts
  32. Diablo III — ranked #3232
    Diablo III
    Blizzard's 2012 action RPG that, after the Reaper of Souls expansion, became a polished loot-driven crawl through Sanctuary.
    0pts
  33. Rogue — ranked #3333
    Rogue
    The 1980 ASCII dungeon crawler whose permadeath and procedurally generated levels gave the entire roguelike genre its name.
    0pts
  34. Last Epoch — ranked #3434
    Last Epoch
    Eleventh Hour Games' time-travelling action RPG praised for its crafting system and flexible class masteries.
    0pts

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