A torch-lit, turn-based roguelike: ten floors, one life, the Hollow King below.
Deep Crypt is a turn-based dungeon crawler in the classic roguelike tradition. You carry a single torch into ten procedurally generated floors of rooms and corridors. Every step is a turn: you move, the monsters move. Nothing happens until you decide, so every fight is a small puzzle of position, timing and resources.
Darkness is the fog of war. You only see what your torchlight and line of sight reach; places you have been fade to a cold memory. Potions, scrolls, rings and wands are unidentified, and their colours and labels are shuffled every run, so the murky potion that saved you yesterday might poison you today. Death is permanent. Reach the bottom, and the Hollow King is waiting on his throne.
How to play
- Move with the arrow keys, WASD or the numpad (diagonals included), or click / tap a tile to walk there. Walk into a monster to attack it in melee.
- Your readied missiles or wand fire at the highlighted target with F. Tap or click a distant monster to throw at it directly. Pick up items with G and open your pack with I.
- Unknown potions (Q to quaff) and scrolls (E to read) reveal themselves when used. Try them when you are healthy and safe, or read a scroll of identify.
- Find the stairs down on each floor (Enter or G on the stairs). Floors get deeper and deadlier; floor 10 is the Hollow King's throne room. Defeat him to win.
- Press Tab at any time to switch to the classic ASCII view of the same game, and back.
- Score = 1,000 × the deepest floor reached + all gold collected + 5 × the experience value of every monster you kill, plus a 10,000 bonus for defeating the Hollow King.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Touch | Gamepad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move / attack | Arrows, WASD, numpad, or Y U B N for diagonals | Tap a tile or a monster | Left stick / D-pad |
| Walk to a tile | Left click | Tap | — |
| Fire / throw readied item | F (C cycles targets), right click a monster | Fire button, or tap a distant monster | X (LB / RB cycle targets) |
| Pick up / take stairs | G (pick up), Enter or > (descend) | Pick-up button | A |
| Inventory | I (Q quaff, E read) | Pack button | Y (radial menu) |
| Wait / rest | Space, Z or numpad 5 (hold to rest) | Wait button | B |
| Auto-explore | X | Explore button | RT |
| ASCII view | Tab | ASCII button | LT |
| Pause / restart | Esc / R | Pause button | Start / Back |
Every action can be remapped in Settings.
Modes
- Descent
- A fresh crypt every run: ten floors, the Hollow King at the bottom, one life.
- Daily Seed Daily
- Today's crypt, identical for everyone: same floors, same items, same potion colours. One attempt counts.
Tips & strategy
- Fight in corridors. In a doorway only one or two monsters can reach you at a time; in the open a pack of jackals will surround you.
- Rest before you open the next door. Hold the wait key (or the Wait button) to recover health when nothing is chasing you.
- Every floor hides at least one potion of healing, and you start knowing its colour. Save them for emergencies.
- Test unknown potions at full health with no monsters around. Most are helpful, and identifying them early pays off for the rest of the run.
- Darts and throwing knives soften up dangerous monsters before they reach you. Walk over the spot afterwards and pick them up again.
- Wands are strongest against big threats: keep firebolt and lightning charges for ogres, trolls and the Hollow King.
- Ranged monsters such as goblin archers, fire imps and dark mages need line of sight. Break it by stepping around a corner and make them come to you.
- The Hollow King summons the dead and grows furious at half health. Kill his skeletons quickly and keep a healing potion for phase two.
Achievements
- Into the DarkReach floor 3Locked
- Deeper StillReach floor 6Locked
- The Throne RoomReach floor 10 and face the Hollow KingLocked
- KingslayerDefeat the Hollow KingLocked
- AlchemistIdentify 8 kinds of item in one runLocked
- Crypt SweeperSlay 50 monsters in one runLocked
- Grave RobberCarry 500 gold in one runLocked
- VeteranReach experience level 8Locked
- Perfect StrikeLand a critical hit for 15 or more damageLocked
A short history of the genre
Roguelikes take their name from Rogue, a 1980 dungeon crawler for university mainframes that drew its dungeon in text characters. Its ideas defined a genre: procedurally generated levels, turn-based tactical combat, items you must identify by use, and permanent death that makes every decision matter.
Over the decades the genre grew into sprawling text games with deep systems, then inspired modern 'roguelites' in every style. Deep Crypt keeps the classic core — turns, fog of war, identification, permadeath and a final boss — and presents it as a torch-lit 3D dungeon, while letting you switch to the traditional character-cell view whenever you like.
FAQ
Is Deep Crypt free?
Yes. Deep Crypt is free to play in your browser with no download or sign-up. The site is supported by unobtrusive ads that never cover the game.
Can I save and continue later?
No. Like classic roguelikes, Deep Crypt uses permadeath: each run is a single life from floor 1. Runs are short enough to finish in one sitting, and your scores, best runs and achievements are saved in your browser.
What is the Daily Seed?
A crypt generated from the day's date, identical for everyone: the same floors, items, monsters and potion colours. It changes at midnight UTC, and your best result of the day is saved so you can share it.
Why don't I know what my potions do?
Potions, scrolls, rings and wands are unidentified. Each run shuffles their colours, labels and materials. Use an item to learn what it is (the game remembers it for the rest of the run) or read a scroll of identify.
What does the ASCII mode do?
Press Tab (or the ASCII button) to see the exact same game drawn as classic text characters in a crisp grid: @ is you, letters are monsters, ! potions, ? scrolls, > the stairs. Press it again to return to the 3D view.
Does it work on phones and with a gamepad?
Yes. On touch screens, tap where you want to go or tap a monster to attack, with buttons for your pack, firing, picking up, waiting and auto-explore. Gamepads use the stick or D-pad to move and a radial menu for your pack.
How is the score calculated?
1,000 points per floor reached, plus all gold you collect, plus five times the experience value of each monster you defeat. Slaying the Hollow King adds 10,000.
Updates
- Deep Crypt launched with Descent and Daily Seed modes, ten floors, the Hollow King and a classic ASCII view.
