Despite its single-floor structure, the game offers immense variety through its recruitment system:

“You are presented with a choice of two doors that forces the party to take an oath, which will stick with them for the rest of the dungeon. Sometimes, you'll get an easy choice; like hell yeah, lower my critical damage, I don't give a .” Indie Hell Zone · 3 years ago

Most roguelikes focus on the "god-run," where a player accumulates power until they become an unstoppable force. Purgatory Dungeoneer takes the opposite approach, functioning as a "reverse roguelike". Each floor of the dungeon forces the player to choose between "oaths"—unremovable debuffs that stack and weaken the party as they descend.

An essay on (often known by its full title: My Grandpa Died And All He Left Me Was This 1 Dungeon In Purgatory Filled With Nihilistic Adventurers ) explores how this indie roguelite subverts traditional power fantasies. The Philosophy of Decline: Subverting the Roguelite