Crawl through dungeons, hack computers, or explore an undersea base: Dungeon Crawler Jam
Before computers had the hardware for 3D games, some games still managed a 3D view on a limited scale in dungeon crawlers. The 3D views were created with prerendered walls and ground that were composed together. Due to this you were restricted to 90 degree turns and movement was restricted to squares on a grid. The game might draw a few in between frames when walking forward but those were already rendered and you couldn’t stop halfway between these squares.
Last year dungeoncrawlers.org organized the Dungeon Crawler Jam 2021. They returned again this year and over forty games were submitted. Some are very much in the vein of classic dungeon crawlers, while others have modern elements. I have not played through them all but have picked some the entries that I’ve tried and recommend. Games without Linux versions were run on the latest Wine version available on Fedora. There may be some small spoilers in the descriptions but I’ve tried to keep that to a minimum.
An explosion knocked you unconscious while on a school trip to a garden maze. The explosion has spread seedlings everywhere. Most of your classmates are probably infected but you focus on trying to find your friends.
The purple and cyan colors of the environment and monsters contribute to the horror setting. Your health is represented with leaves on a vine which fits the setting. Sometimes the monster graphics didn’t appear but otherwise I didn’t have any problems playing the game.
An alien spacecraft broke apart in low orbit and rained debris and toxic substances down on the earth. Humanity used the alien technology to construct domed cities but cannot repair the machines. You are a relic seeker travelling the wasteland for alien technology to keep the domed cities functioning.
You start in the safety of your vehicle. You can purchase equipment and save before descending into a dungeon. The toxic air requires you to bring your own oxygen which limits the time you have to explore. Beware of the mutant creatures inhabiting the dungeons. After collecting as much as you feel is safe, you can drive to a new dungeon to explore.
You awake with no memory but a voice…
