10 Best Video Games Like Dungeon Crawler Carl

With Book 8: A Parade of Horribles launching on May 12, 2026, Dungeon Crawler Carl has never been hotter. Besides Matt Dinniman’s incredible novels, Carl and Princess Donut also star in a webtoon and have a Peacock series on the way. Also, Renegade Game Studios’ DCC RPG has reached roughly $10 million in its Backerkit.com campaign, so it is safe to say that the books have their fans. Despite seeming like the perfect fit, we haven’t heard anything about a Dungeon Crawler Carl video game; consequently, we will need to look elsewhere to scratch that itch.

Trapped in a reality show hellscape dungeon by alien conquerors, Carl and his snarky feline friend, Princess Donut, strive to survive absurd monsters, entertain cruel masters, and break the system, a journey that gradually chips away at the everyday hero’s humanity. Despite the books taking plenty of inspiration from video games and RPGs in general, finding similar titles is surprisingly difficult if we don’t prioritize common elements like RPG mechanics or dungeon-crawling. Still, we are going to do just that, by focusing on games that echo specific aspects of DCC rather than searching for something that has everything.

The traditional recommendations: Diablo 4, Skyrim, The Witcher 3, Fallout 4, etc., can definitely do the job for any DCC fans craving a role-playing epic, and they shine in different areas. However, I want to avoid recommending a game solely because it shares RPG or loot mechanics with DCC, as that comparison is not that interesting or specific enough. Also, everybody who likes DCC probably knows that The Elder Scrolls and Diablo exist.

Showgunners & DCC Are Both About Surviving A Reality Show Dystopian Nightmare

The Game Show

While the turn-based tactical combat might not quite match the action-packed thrills of the books, Showgunner feels like a spiritual sibling to Dungeon Crawler Carl in nearly every other way. As Scarlett, players take part in a game show called “Homicidal All-Stars,” as they battle their way through scenarios while trying to outsmart enemies and the god-like director. The latter works splendidly as a stand-in for DCC‘s System AI (minus the obsession with feet), with the Show Director specifically targeting Scarlett with unfair traps, all in the hope of improving ratings.

Similar to how Carl needs to improve his popularity to gain patrons, Scarlett has to interact with fans to increase her Fame level and unlock sponsors, and both of them are treated like brands rather than actual people. Showgunner‘s combat is similar to XCOM and encourages players to take the environment and synergies into account, mirroring Carl’s calculated approach to encounters.

MadWorld Offers Stylish, Vicious Spectacle For The Masses

Dungeon Crawler Carl maintains a pure, unhinged energy throughout nearly all of its books, which reflects the chaotic absurdity of the World Dungeon broadcast and its unpredictable, manic System AI. During one of its more uncontrollable episodes, the latter might create a scenario like MadWorld, a splatter-fest, hyper-violent death game that rewards gore with praise and points. In fact, we don’t have to imagine that, as the dungeon occasionally rewards Carl with loot or achievements for his more creative kills. MadWorld is built entirely around that concept.

This Wii classic centers on DeathWatch, a game show that uses a cutoff city as its playground, featuring contestants trying to kill each other for money and fame. Most of the participants are normal folks, and they have to take part or be killed by pros. Varrigan City is effectively a lawless dungeon, and MadWorld even incorporates sponsors, audience favorites, and main event fights reminiscent of DCC‘s floor bosses.

Finally, MadWorld‘s color commentators might as well apply for DCC‘s announcer roles, as their brand of cynicism and vulgarity would fit perfectly.

Other bloodsport games: Apex Legends, The Finals, Rollerdrome, Dicey Dungeons, Smash TV, and DeathSprint 66

Caves of Qud & Dungeon Crawler Carl Love Breaking The Rules

The System RPG

With its simple visuals and isometric perspective, Caves of Qud might not seem like a particularly great pick for Dungeon Crawler Carl fans, and I wouldn’t recommend it to those who want intense Die Hard-style action. However, Carl isn’t a brute who bulldozes his way through challenges, and he instead relies on understanding and breaking the dungeon’s rules. Caves of Qud is the definitive “system” RPG, with everything being essentially simulated. Rather than handing you a weapon, the game gives you a sandbox defined by strange chemistry and physics. The best route to success is to find combinations of items and mutations that essentially break the game.

Similarities go beyond the meta aspect, too. Caves of Qud‘s world is delightfully bizarre and unconventional, just like the World Dungeon. As a roguelike that allows for permadeath, the game delivers tangible and unforgiving consequences, just like the life of a crawler. If you play a mutated human, the transformations can be really bizarre and unsettling, just like Carl and Donut’s experience with picking their races.

Clone Drone in the Danger Zone Has You Fight To The Death For The Amusement Of Robots

A Spiritual Match to Dungeon Crawler Carl

Clone Drone in the Danger Zone has a shockingly similar premise to Dungeon Crawler Carl, just with a few tweaks. Rather than aliens conquering Earth, robots are trying to complete the deed, and they have enslaved plenty of humans. To keep the masses entertained, they crafted a Colosseum where humans have to fight robots. Also, each human’s mind has been transferred to a robot. So, cool DCC stuff, and there are even two snarky commentators. The robots haven’t actually invaded Earth yet, so the player’s goal is to survive multiple ordeals (with different characters) and save humanity from their incoming rulers.

Due to the arena setup, Clone Drone in the Danger Zone doesn’t have the dungeon exploration element that is a big part of Dungeon Crawler Carl, and the gameplay mostly consists of traditional 3D beat ’em up combat that doesn’t provide too much room to think outside the box. However, you get upgrades when you level up in the arena, so that aspect of DCC is present. Besides a very similar premise, another reason to play Clone Drone in the Danger Zone is that it is, well, pretty great.

DeathSprint 66 & DCC Understand The Power Of Hype

A Televised Bloodsport With A Fame System

Dungeon Crawler Carl isn’t about a bloodsport, but Carl’s horrifying adventures certainly fit that tone. Going down the cyberpunk route, DeathSprint 66 envisions a future where a media network stages “races” that are the most brutal in history, and its audience cannot get enough. Participants must speed through tough-as-nails tracks that are full to the brim with deadly traps that will leave a puddle of blood where a human clone once stood. Yeah, each challenger has access to expendable clones, so they have endless lives.

You cannot have a bloodsport without sponsors, and DeathSprint 66 emphasizes that truth. Players are meant to perform cool and vicious stunts to earn Hype and eventually Fame, the latter of which determines the Sponsors they get. That is basically the life that Carl and Donut have to live to survive. Although its multiplayer is nearly dead at this point (and was never very active to begin with), DeathSprint 66 supports offline single-player content like tournaments, so it is still playable.

The Binding of Isaac Has A Dungeon Even Worse Than DCC

Floor-By-Floor Survival & Body Horror

Dungeon Crawler Carl might start lighthearted and silly, but it gradually becomes darker and heavier. As he ventures further into the World Dungeon, Carl commits acts that not only traumatize him but also physically change him.

The Binding of Isaac is structured like the World Dungeon, with players descending floors that become more horrifying and corrupted. As there is no escape, a feeling of inevitability sets in, and the only option is to press forward into the darkness. Isaac incorporates body horror in several ways, but the most memorable is the player’s transformations courtesy of discovered items, and they are rarely pretty. Even the “rewards” for clearing rooms can make your life much harder, something that matches the random cruelty of the System AI.

Similar to Carl’s tendency to combine inventory in ways that nobody could have predicted, Isaac locks its strongest builds around item combos that feel like a glitch.

Want another reason Isaac is perfect for DCC readers? You can transform into a powerful cat!

Borderlands 2 Is Drowning In Corpo Satire & Loot

Probably one of the more obvious recommendations, but Borderlands is like the looter-shooter alternative to Dungeon Crawler Carl.

BL2 has a charismatic villain, Handsome Jack, who regularly sends sarcastic messages to the player while (initially) acting like their journey is mere entertainment. Corporations control the universe, and every piece of loot is a branded product. Human life means very little to the entities in charge, being reduced to just items on a spreadsheet. The famous “gazillion guns” tagline reflects the addictive nature of collecting loot, triggering a dopamine rush whenever something legendary drops. Heck, Vault Hunters aren’t all that different from Crawlers, many of whom seek riches and fame through life-or-death adventures.

Cyberpunk 2077’s V And Johnny Are Gaming’s Carl And Donut

A Character-Driven RPG With The Same Central Conflict As DCC

Packed with humor and heart, Carl and Donut’s dynamic is one of the best parts of the books, and it is central to Dungeon Crawler Carl‘s identity. Heroes with quirky sidekicks are hardly a new thing, but there aren’t all that many games that also incorporate other elements similar to DCC. However, Cyberpunk 2077 just about qualifies.

Obviously, V and Johnny serve as the RPG’s equivalent of Carl and Donut, even if their relationship is far pricklier. V is stuck with Johnny in his head, a celebrity terrorist and rock star who constantly mocks his host’s ideas and decisions. Like Donut, Johnny thinks he is the main character of the universe, and his presence completely changes V’s life.

With its neon ads, corporation control, and meat grinder psyche, Night City is not that different from the World Dungeon. Sure, its citizens might not be literally trapped, but escaping the city’s cycle is nearly impossible. As the campaign progresses, V gradually becomes stronger by implementing cyberware, enacting physical changes that rip away parts of his human body. Carl’s transformations are pretty similar.

Finally, and most importantly, Cyberpunk 2077 asks V (and the player) if they will live a long, safe life or die young as a legend. Carl is constantly pushed to commit more heinous and legendary acts, as he sprints towards his death while trying to take down the system.

Noita Lets You Think Like Carl

The Power Of Destruction In Your Hands

OK, here is a recommendation that is a bit out of left field, but hear me out. When faced with a seemingly impossible obstacle, Carl reads the environment’s properties to find unique and dangerous solutions that are just as likely to end in his own demise as his target’s. His class specifically revolves around explosions and destruction through alchemy, and Noita‘s physics-based gameplay is cut from the same cloth.

Through wands and modifiers, players unleash attacks designed to trigger a reaction in the environment, be it fire that burns through wood or acid that eats everything. Every part of Noita‘s world has physical properties, turning each pixel into potential ammo. While this can be very empowering, it also means that one unlucky move could spark a reaction that leads to your death, a danger that often scales with the player’s capability.

Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness Has An Even Worse World Dungeon

Welcome To The Abyss. There Is No Escape

Made in Abyss is arguably the closest property to Dungeon Crawler Carl, with both stories involving characters traveling down dungeons with layers that are almost like isolated worlds (and they become progressively harsher). Tonally, they undergo similar shifts too, with Made in Abyss‘ initial adventurous vibe giving way to harrowing dread.

While the manga and anime are the best options, Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness is a decent budget adaptation. Putting aside the mode that adapts the main story, “Deep in Abyss” casts players as a no-name Delver who takes on quests that involve going deeper down the Abyss. They are also accompanied by a companion, Tiare, who is shrouded in mystery. This mode emphasizes survival and preparation, and the Abyss is incredibly hostile while also inflicting a curse that stops people from returning to safety.