IGN’s Top 10 Dungeon Crawlers of All Time

It’s difficult for me to wrap my mind around a “top” list that spans an arcade game, roguelikes, JRPGs, and CRPGs, but I suppose when the focus is on “dungeon crawlers”, you inevitably open things up to interpretation. Such is the case with IGN’s latest list, which covers everything from The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth to Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (with Sir-tech’s classic on console, apparently):

In 1981, Wizardry sent six-person parties into a huge maze to defeat an evil wizard. It helped define the home-computer archetype of the pure dungeon crawler: sinister traps, strange creatures, secret doors, fabulous treasures, labyrinthine passageways, character progression, and lots and lots of trying and dying.

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The sheer variety of The Binding of Isaac’s collectibles and skills is mind-boggling, and practically every technique is given a marvelous and unique visual presentation. The vast, randomly generated dungeons are stocked with dangerous, gorgeous, and grotesque foes.