Essential experiences: Dungeon crawlers

I love dungeon crawlers. I love the thought of being right there in the thick of it, my party lost in the dark, or backed up against a wall as I hear something skittering about nearby. They feel dangerous in a way few other games do. Scratches on a wall might indicate trouble ahead—or a path to temporary safety. Mechanical and magical traps hide around every corner. There’s a real chance something will sneak up and attack from behind, or above, or below without warning, or even while my party sleeps. I love it enough to want to share these experiences with you, so here’s my meandering stumble through an entire genre’s worth of delights. Just so you know: I’ve limited this feature to examples that play out primarily in first-person, just to try and stop the definition getting fuzzy before completely spiralling away from me into uselessness (for example: is Gauntlet a dungeon crawler? Technically yes, spiritually no). How could I start with anything other than Wizardry: Proving Grounds…

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