Dungeon crawlers have never really stopped being popular, basically from the time they were invented to the new era of dungeon crawlers mostly coming to Steam. Pretty much every major publisher from every country has been known to dip their toe into the genre from time to time, and some studios even make their entire livelihoods on it.

The genre can be incredibly addicting even at its worst, especially if parties and groups of friends are involved. The idea of getting together to take on a common goal is always a fun prospect, but dungeon crawlers make those “just one more run” nights extra exciting with the promise of loot and character advancement.

Thanks to a new Steam release, you can play something that combines one legacy dungeon-crawling IP and another more recent one that’s been catching fire.

Dungeon Crawling Fans Should Take Note

Life Is a Dungeon: Lean into It is a dungeon crawler where you choose from multiple adventurers, all of which play differently and have a unique impact on progression:

“Treasure chests, foes, ore, or materials—each adventurer follows their own compulsion. Set a destination to guide their automatic movement, weigh the risks of shortcuts and detours, and grow through skills combining powerful abilities with troublesome quirks in this dungeon-crawling roguelite RPG.”

The four characters include a Hunter (who needs to open every single treasure chest to progress), a Fighter (who has to defeat every enemy), a Blacksmith (you can’t leave any ore behind), or a Mage (every resource must be gathered).

If you’re interested, Life Is a Dungeon: Lean into It only utilizes mouse-based controls. The idea is to keep things simple and addictive, as you’ll move your heroes around the dungeon while grabbing perk-like “chips” that provide bonuses. Some might automatically use food, others buff food, and some grant magical abilities and powers (like creating a clone or summoning a spell).

Here’s a quick look at what to expect: “As you advance through dungeon floors, you gain random skills. Every dive offers a different combination to play with. And skills do not always have purely positive effects. They are quirks, after all. Use them well, though, and they can become formidable assets. But yeah… they are random. But! You can bring equipment with you! And in this game, equipment comes with skills of its own. Combine the skills fixed to your chosen equipment with the random skills you find inside the dungeon to create a build that is entirely your own.”

You Can Try Life Is A Dungeon Free Now

Although the game doesn’t have a release date yet (or even an estimate), a demo is out now that gives you a taste of the game. Thankfully, Life Is a Dungeon: Lean into It is free to try and doesn’t require a pre-order or any other gimmick.

If you’re a dungeon-crawling fan in general, Life Is a Dungeon: Lean into It could end up becoming something special as development goes on and the full version hits Steam. The idea of baked-in replay value sounds amazing if it’s executed well.

Brand

Valve

Original Release Date

September 12, 2003