How Dungeon Stalkers is trying to make the extraction genre more approachable for everyone

As the extraction genre continues to grow and become increasingly intimidating to newcomers, developer Action Square and publisher HYBE IM are trying something different to the likes of Dungeonborne and Dark and Darker with its upcoming PvEvP 18-player dungeon crawler Dungeon Stalkers. 

Take on the role of one of seven Stalkers—growing to nine by Early Access with traditional RPG classes like mage, knight, and cleric to choose from—as you explore a procedurally generated map. Battle enemies and your fellow Stalkers as you try to locate an escape portal before the circle closes and you meet your untimely demise.

If you've previously been put off by the difficulty of the extraction genre, worry not. "We were inspired by the fact that the dungeon extraction genre is quite hardcore, so we wanted to create something that's more light for casual players," Action Square tells PC Gamer. "That's why we added PvE and some fun elements like the Witch's Curse."

The Witch's Curse is Action Square's way of trying to level the playing field between more serious and casual players in a genre that can be incredibly punishing for the latter. It's a mechanic that throws a random, dungeon-wide buff or debuff out every few minutes. It can affect players, the armour they wear, or the enemies they come across.

"The fun part of the Witch's Curse—in a game like Dungeon Stalkers, it's usually easier for high-level players and the low-level players might have much less chance to win a fight against them," Action Square says. "But because of the Witch's Curse, low-level players have the chance to fight against higher level players."

Utilize the darkness and conquer the dungeons

That's not the only unique mechanic that Action Square is adding to Dungeon Stalkers, either. It has a dynamic armor destruction system—take enough damage and parts of your armor will break away, which might make you move faster but can also leave you open to more fatal attacks. Its inspiration comes from an old arcade classic Golden Castle (known as Gladiator outside Japan) where an undefended hit would strip the protagonist of an armor piece, with another hit in the same area instantly killing him.

Action Square hasn't been totally alone in its development. It recently wrapped up its third playtest, taking in community critiques each time. "Player feedback comes first," the developer tells PCG. "We try to listen to the community's feedback all the time whenever we have a test." It's all in the name of trying to gather thoughts from all skill levels, says Action Square "It may be a very hardcore game, but we wanted to make it easier for the casual players, so we wanted to hear more from them as well."

While Dungeon Stalkers will launch with nine Stalkers, the developer has plans to add more after launch. "You will see some new classes, somewhat atypical classes, added into the game," Action Square says. Each Stalker also has their own background story: "The players will read about the unique stories behind why each Stalker decided—or were forced—to join the dungeon, and also why this dungeon actually was created in the first place."

As for players who might still be a bit apprehensive about diving into the extraction genre for the first time, Action Square has this to say: "We believe that Dungeon Stalkers is a good game to start with for this specific genre. Even if you're not into the genre, we believe it has a low barrier to entry. You can play in either co-op mode with your friends or as a multiplayer game."

You can wishlist Dungeon Stalkers on Steam now, with a planned release date of 2024.