So I've become very excited for the upcoming release of Legend of Grimrock here on GOG. It looks great and the reviews are highly positive so far. Now I'm trying to find other games that are like it. I haven't played a lot of games in this genre. Long ago I played the NES port of Wizardy. I played Arcana on the SNES back in the 90s. I've also played most every entry in the Shin Megami Tensei series where the earlier versions were first person dungeon crawlers.


I know that Legend of Grimrock has a close relationship with the classic Dungeon Master games. I found a download where you can get Dungeon Master/Chaos Strikes Back that has been reverse engineered to work on Windows: http://dmweb.free.fr/?q=node/851

I also finally installed my copy of Stonekeep that I bought on some sale awhile back. I'm loving that game. There is a gripping tension to not knowing what lies ahead in those dungeons and it's terrifying just how lost you can get in a dungeon where all the walls look the same. I can't remember the last game that let me get so lost without suddenly showing some big giant arrow pointing the way to go or some NPC telling me what to do next.

I also bought Lands of Lore 1&2 here on GOG because I heard someone here say it was similar and I have a weakness for FMV.

I also know that the Eye of the Beholder series is considered a classic in dungeon crawler.

Are there others that you guys would recommend I look into to get a broader sense for this genre? I particularly like the ones with tile-based movement.

Realms of Arkania 1-2 might be worth taking a look at. Combat is handled radically different (isometric turnbased tactical), but movement is similar to that of Dungeon Master/Eye of the Beholder. The RoA series is incredibly complex, but also very rewarding.

There were several other D&D based games released during the first half of the 90's that offers tile-based movement along the line of Eye of the Beholder, though I can't vouch for them being any good, other than Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession which was interesting, and offers a rather different setting, though it is by no means perfect. Still, if you find it, it might be worth checking out (it is a decent game).

The early Might and Magic games are similar, I think, but having not played any of the others, I can't really be sure of my comparison.

Dungeon Hack is nice. It's one of those games based on D&D. Has random dungeons, so all in all the puzzles are simple and sometimes the dungeon doesn't make sense :P

*smacks head* Yea, good call, I don't know how I forgot about them. In particular M&M 3-5 should be of interest. Might & Magic 4-5 combine into one super game, and it is really good. M&M 3 is not quite as good, but still very solid.

Also, check out the indie fort bundle. Devil's Whiskey might have a very different combat system, but it should scratch any "old school" itch that you might have, or so I have heard at least, I have not actually played it. Since when have dungeons ever made sense?

Dungeon Hack. It's basically a roguelike version of Eye of the Beholder. The engine and combat is from EOB, Roguelikes contributed the fully randomly generated dungeon. You can set the parameters for the random number generator as well. I spent many hours on this one.

Anvil of Dawn. Only played the demo, but it seems decent.

The Might & Magic series right here on GOG. I've only played #6 and it was great. It has tile-based movement, but they're not just a square grid. IIRC you can move in more than just 4 directions.

I wouldn't place too much stock in the Grimrock reviews, it's pretty much hype and I guarantee it won't live up to it if we keep raising the bar with perfect scores based on photos.

As for a good dungeon crawler I would highly recommend Arx Fatalis. Chose a mage character for a completely different magic system or a fighter for that old-school hack-and-slash feel. It's on this site and in the lowest price bracket :)

Edit: typo

I'll throw in a recommendation for The Bard's Tale (the original release) which is my favourite game in this style. I'll second the recommendation for the IndieFort-featured Devil Whiskey, which is basically an unofficial Bard's Tale sequel.

It's quite a bit more archaic than stuff like Eye of the Beholder and Grimrock, but I love it.

There was an Undercroft for Windows version by Rake in Grass, back in the days when it was a Windows Mobile game. They since sold the game (or something, I'm not too sure), and it is now a free iOS game. Gameplay was a bit similar to Eye of the Beholder trilogy.

Anvil of Dawn is already mentioned above. Very recommended.

Dungeon Hack is also already mentioned above.

Ravenloft series and Menzoberranzan are good too, provided you can get them. IIRC you have options between tile-based and free movement.

Not too sure about Ishar series (they are on GOG.com so you can check them yourself). As for Stonekeep I only played for a while before getting lost (and distracted by other games), so I cannot comment on that.

There's also World of Aden:Thunderscape. I seem to remember that being a tile-based dungeon crawler that had you going outside as well.

The old AD&D games had you crawling dungeons with a view similar to Eye of the Beholder but when it came time to fight you would get dropped into a seperate overhead combat screen.

I can also vouch for Dungeon hack as well. Really nice game and no playthrough is the same.

If you want a really nice set of dungeon crawlers then you can't go wrong with Wizardry VI, VII, and VIII. You can work your way through VI and then import your party through VII and VIII. The only caveat is that they change the class system in VIII so things might be a bit different. Also, when playing Wizardry VII I hear that the DOSBox version is the better version. There was Wizardry VII Gold but for some reason it doesn't come highly recommended.

Don't forget the Might&Magic games since all of those games (not the Heroes versions obviously :D) are dungeon crawlers as well.

Looked it up and, man, that would be a lovely addition to GOG. Is there anything like it in existence today? Didn't the Grimrock guys say there was a chance of them making a random generator for the game or is it just wishful thinking on my part?

Of the few I can think of not mentioned thus far:
Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Story
Digital Devil Story 2: Megami Tensei
Shin Megami Tensei
Shin Megami Tensei 2
Shin Megami Tensei: Revelations - Persona (I realize it's not an ACTUAL SMT title)
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Etrian Odyssey
Etrian Odyssey 2

There are more I know, but I'm blanking at the moment.

I thought they might make a good recommendation being that they are on sale right now. :)

I've only made it through MM1 right now and I wouldn't really recommend it. Back it in they, I'm sure it was great, but it certainly did age. I haven't started on MM2 yet (I'm playing them in order).

The Wizardry Series.... I mean... Crystal Unicorns man!

Hardcore to the max or just plain insane. =P I've never played the first two games before. I tried when I bought the six-pack but the experience is so antiquated now it's hardly anything I could call fun. Is there even any worthwhile story in the first two games?