Books Like This Used to be About Dungeons

Loved This Used to be About Dungeons? Here are the closest LitRPG and progression-fantasy reads, ranked by trope and theme overlap. Each pick lists the elements it shares with This Used to be About Dungeons so you can pick by what you actually want next.

  1. Star Wars: A Penumbral Path cover

    Two Padawans train under rogue Jedi Masters, forging their own path between the Order’s light and the war’s encroaching darkness.

  2. Eterna's Source cover
    #2

    Eterna's Source

    match 57%

    Sery’s rare magic amplifies Eterna’s power, but rival factions will stop at nothing to reclaim the Source they see as property.

  3. I Built This City [LitRPG, Lateral Progression, City Builder, Clones] cover

    Ellen's dungeon mishap spawns a clone every time she dies, forcing her to build a city of unruly selves while evading a vindictive dungeon core.

  4. Shade Touched cover
    #4

    Shade Touched

    match 54%

    A curious little monster ventures beyond her wild instincts, discovering whispering ruins and forgotten magics—but the wilderness guards its secrets with tooth and claw.

  5. In the Ranger’s Shadow (Pokemon) cover

    Charlie wakes in Almia as a non-human anomaly, his arrival awakening an ancient threat the Pokémon Rangers may not be equipped to face.

  6. Dungeon Planet: The Healer Always Leaves Alive cover

    Miles trades violence for healing magic in the Spiral, where planets with clashing laws collide and kindness is just another currency.

  7. Wander West, in Shadow (Rough Draft) cover

    A man bonded to a sentient shadow that devours darkness must master its hunger before it consumes him in a world of eternal twilight.

  8. Wander West, In Shadow [Slow Burn Dark Fantasy] cover

    A young wizard follows his brother’s trail into cursed lands where demons trade secrets and a village’s stolen futures fester beneath the thorns.

  9. Cloneborne: Mahou Legacy Kuron Uchuu Story! cover

    Clones of a forgotten magical girl struggle to survive on a toxic, kaiju-infested planet while eavesdropping on distant civilizations for a chance at first contact.

  10. The Ballad Of A Semi-Benevolent Dragon cover

    A selfish dragon protects a village—not out of kindness, but because dead peasants can’t pay tribute to his hoard.

  11. The Land of Broken Roads cover
    #11

    The Land of Broken Roads

    match 49%

    Dirt, a nameless scavenger in a monster-ruled wasteland, must unravel his forgotten past before the wilderness claims him for good.

  12. Edge Cases [STUBBED/COMPLETE/BONUSES] cover

    A team of adventurers exploits rare class abilities that break the system, uncovering glitches that distort monsters, people, and even gods.

How we pick "similar"

Each pair gets a similarity score based on shared tropes, tags, tone and pacing. Top tropes carry the most weight; raw rating only nudges ties. No black-box ML — the pipeline is explained on our About page.