dungeon crawler
noun
plural dungeon crawler
: a video game where the gameplay is primarily focused on defeating enemies while exploring a usually randomly generated labyrinthine or dungeon-like environment
A dungeon crawler is a genre of … game where a player must guide a character through increasingly difficult levels of dungeons while confronting monsters, traps, and other obstacles.—
Christopher Breen
Christopher BreenOriginally conceived to be an expansion for Daggerfall, Battlespire is a more "pure" dungeon crawler that forgoes many broader role-playing elements in favor of handing you a weapon, sending you into a dangerous pit, and allowing you to grow … your character as you work your way to safety and glory.—Matthew Byrd
Matthew ByrdExamples of dungeon crawler in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors
The Diablo series is one of the most prolific and influential video games series in history, with the first game in the series having almost single handedly pioneered the modern dungeon crawler RPG genre.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Apr. 2025
This action roguelike co-op dungeon crawler channels the likes of Hades and Diablo but swaps out the Greek mythology and demons in favor of Lovecraftian horrors.
—David Jagneaux, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
The 2000 action-RPG (ARPG) by Blizzard Entertainment has long been considered the gold standard for fantasy dungeon crawlers, and is generally thought of as one of the best games ever made.
—Diego Argüello, Rolling Stone, 6 Dec. 2024
There's a lot of excitement surrounding the dungeon crawler and, as expected, a lot of questions.
—Jason Fields, Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2024
Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment For the unconverted: Diablo is a third-person, top-down dungeon crawler.
—Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 8 Dec. 2022
For the unconverted: Diablo is a third-person, top-down dungeon crawler.
—Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 8 Dec. 2022
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Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Apr. 2025
This action roguelike co-op dungeon crawler channels the likes of Hades and Diablo but swaps out the Greek mythology and demons in favor of Lovecraftian horrors.
—David Jagneaux, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
The 2000 action-RPG (ARPG) by Blizzard Entertainment has long been considered the gold standard for fantasy dungeon crawlers, and is generally thought of as one of the best games ever made.
—Diego Argüello, Rolling Stone, 6 Dec. 2024
There's a lot of excitement surrounding the dungeon crawler and, as expected, a lot of questions.
—Jason Fields, Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2024
Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment For the unconverted: Diablo is a third-person, top-down dungeon crawler.
—Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 8 Dec. 2022
For the unconverted: Diablo is a third-person, top-down dungeon crawler.
—Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 8 Dec. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Dungeon crawler.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dungeon%20crawler. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.
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