Books like Dungeon Crawler Carl: a LitRPG gateway map
Finished the crawl and need the next hit? Honest if-you-liked-X-try-Y picks: He Who Fights With Monsters, Mage Tank, Discount Dan, Cradle, Ripple System, and more. Tone matches, not just “also LitRPG.”
You finished another floor of Dungeon Crawler Carl and now everything else feels like unsalted crackers. That is normal. LitRPG is huge, uneven, and full of series that share the genre label without sharing what made Carl work: voice, stakes, companion chemistry, and a system that feels like a character instead of a spreadsheet.
This is not a dump of “10 LitRPGs.” It is a gateway map. If you liked a specific piece of DCC, start in that lane. If you only want one next series, I put the default answer up top.
If you force me to give one next series to most DCC readers, it is He Who Fights With Monsters by Shirtaloon. Strong narrator voice, long runway, humor that still lets the world get serious, and an audiobook culture that scratches a similar itch to Jeff Hays without being a clone.
If what you loved was specifically Carl’s foul-mouthed death-game absurdity, jump to Mage Tank or Discount Dan’s Backroom Bargains instead. HWFWM is cleaner and more “failing upward adventurer.” Those two keep more dungeon-dirt under the nails.
Screenshot this. Then stop asking Reddit for a random list.
If you liked Carl + Donut banter / the audiobook high
Try: He Who Fights With Monsters (Shirtaloon)
He Who Fights With Monsters. The default “I finished Carl, what now?” answer for a reason.
Jason Asano wakes up in a magic world with game rules and proceeds to talk his way through disasters. The humor is lighter than DCC. The companion energy and long-series momentum are why people pair them. Heath Miller’s narration is a genre landmark the way Hays is for Carl.
Also try: The Ripple System (Kyle Kirrin), starting with Shadeslinger
Shadeslinger. Frank the talking axe is the companion-shaped hole Donut leaves behind.
VR MMO LitRPG with a chaotic talking axe. If what you miss is the relationship noise between a tired human and an unbearable legendary companion, this is the lane.
Might not work if: you need DCC’s corporate-game-show cruelty as the main meal.
Audio note: both series are audio-first for a lot of fans. Try a sample before you commit to print.
If you liked death-game comedy with teeth
Try: Mage Tank (Cornman)
Mage Tank. The foul-mouthed death-game twin when HWFWM feels too polite.
Arlo dies, gets offered oblivion or respawn, and chooses respawn like a protagonist. Nerdist and a lot of DCC readers flag this as the closest tonal twin: potty mouth, absurd builds, slow-burn progression that still feels like a joke that got dangerous. If Carl’s first chapters felt like home, start here when HWFWM feels too polite.
Try: Discount Dan’s Backroom Bargains (James A. Hunter)
Discount Dan. Backrooms commerce with teeth. Dinniman-warmed for a reason.
Bachelor party goes wrong, Backrooms go wronger, and commerce becomes a survival weapon. Matt Dinniman has publicly been warm on this one, which matters more than a random BookTok stack. Expect liminal horror comedy, shop-building, and the same “laugh then flinch” rhythm Carl fans chase.
Might not work if: you want clean epic fantasy prose with no system chrome.
Pairing tip: Mage Tank for voice. Discount Dan for weird-space dread plus jokes.
If you liked a vain creature stealing the show
Try: Vainqueur the Dragon (Maxime J. Durand)
Vainqueur the Dragon. Ego as a character class.
A treasure-obsessed dragon discovers RPG mechanics and decides the universe exists to feed his legend. If Donut’s vanity was your favorite instrument, Vainqueur plays that melody on dragon trombone. Comedy-forward. Less “Earth got turned into TV,” more “what if the raid boss was the POV and also a diva.”
Also try: Cat Core (Dean Henegar)
Dungeon core story where an elderly cat lady becomes the dungeon and spends mana on furniture and murder-kitties. If you want Donut-adjacent cat energy without copying Carl’s structure, this is the sideways move. Dungeoncore, not crawler POV.
If you liked the climb more than the jokes
Some people finish DCC and realize what hooked them was progression under pressure, not the bit. Cool. Switch lanes.
Try: Cradle (Will Wight), starting with Unsouled
Unsouled. Progression fantasy gateway. Completed series, pure momentum.
No classic floating stat screens, but sacred arts advancement scratches the same “get stronger or die irrelevant” itch. Faster, cleaner, less comedy. Being finished is a gift after living in endless serials.
Sufficiently Advanced Magic. Magic school plus tower dungeon plus system abuse.
If you liked watching Carl break rules by understanding them, Rowe’s tower-and-attunement playground is catnip. More puzzle-brain than stand-up special.
Also try: Bastion (Phil Tucker)
Heavier, more literary-leaning progression with moral residue. Good when you want the emotional hangover of DCC without needing another joke every page.
If you liked the snarky companion / military absurdity
Try: Expeditionary Force (Craig Alanson), starting with Columbus Day
Columbus Day. Skippy the beer can is not Donut. He rhymes with Donut.
Not LitRPG. Still the recommendation people whisper when they want companion banter and escalating galactic nonsense. Skippy is an ancient AI asshole in a beer can. If your favorite DCC scenes were “human + unbearable smarter entity,” this is the cousin outside the genre fence.
Ritualist. For readers who highlighted every skill description in DCC.
Joe uploads into a game world and falls into a secret class that rewards completionist brain rot. Less emotionally annihilating than Carl. More “I would like to optimize this, please.”
Also try: Full Murderhobo (Dakota Krout), starting with Something
Darker training-world premise with a title that tells on itself. If you liked DCC’s willingness to get bloody while still joking, this trilogy opener has that mean streak.
Also try: Noobtown (Ryan Rimmel), starting with The Mayor of Noobtown
The Mayor of Noobtown. Comedy LitRPG staple. Lowest-level life, highest nonsense.
Quick matching table
Miss Donut most: Ripple System, Vainqueur, Cat Core
Miss Carl’s voice most: Mage Tank, HWFWM
Miss the game show cruelty: Discount Dan, Full Murderhobo
Miss getting stronger: Cradle, Arcane Ascension, Bastion
Miss audio performance: HWFWM, Ripple System, Expeditionary Force
Do not read twelve series at once. Pick one lane and finish book one.
What not to do
Do not chase “most popular LitRPG” blindly. Popularity includes endless cultivation clones and 40-book slogs with no joke engine.
Do not expect another Carl. DCC’s mix of satire, media critique, and filthy tenderness is rare. Look for rhymes, not photocopies.
Do not skip audio when the series is known for it. Some of these books are mid on the page and nuclear in the booth.
Watch before you buy
Beyond Dungeon Crawler Carl: 10 Top LitRPG StartsWatch on YouTube
If You Loved Dungeon Crawler Carl, Read These 3 Books NextWatch on YouTube
He Who Fights With Monsters vs Dungeon Crawler CarlWatch on YouTube
If you liked DCC for the duo and the booth, start He Who Fights With Monsters or Shadeslinger. If you liked it for the filthy death-game comedy, start Mage Tank or Discount Dan. If you liked the climb, start Cradle. Everything else is seasoning.
Pick one. Sample the audio. Give it a hundred pages. The crawl will still be there when you get back.
