As part of the litRPG genre, Dungeon Crawler Carl contributes to the growing popularity of narratives that incorporate game mechanics into the story structure. Players assume the roles of characters within a narrative and make decisions that shape the story. The genre blends gaming mechanics and immersive storytelling, and it often includes character progression, quests, and leveling systems that reflect the structures of video games and tabletop role-playing games. One of the defining characteristics of litRPG is its focus on character development and progression, which Dungeon Crawler Carl features in its narrator Carl and his companion, Donut. Carl and Donut start as novices when they enter the dungeon on Level 1, and as they defeat monsters, they gain experience points, increase their skills, and gather equipment. This process mirrors many role-playing games and is particularly reminiscent of the classic tabletop RPG, Dungeons and Dragons, which also requires players to tailor their own backstories, talents, and skills. Within the mechanics of Dungeons and Dragons in particular, each player has a series of statistics quantifying everything from their current skill level to their personality traits (e.g., dexterity, charisma, wisdom, intelligence, etc.