[2] Dunjonquest introduced the concept of having room descriptions presented as detailed text printed in the game's manuals,[3] similar to role-playing solitaire adventures.

The fictional character Brian Hammerhand regularly appears in semi-comedic short story sections in the manuals of Dunjonquest games as an introduction into the fantasy world and narrative.

[6][7] The Hellfire Warrior expansions The Keys of Acheron and Danger in Drindisti instead have brief introductions that address the player directly in the second person.

Unlike most RPGs it has no specific goal, and the player merely explores the eponymous temple to amass treasure and gain experience.

[13] The first expansion pack to Hellfire Warrior drops the story of Brian Hammerhand or William Nailfoot in the manual and only gives a short introduction to the mission.

The player once again explores four dungeon levels to find the four eponymous Keys of Acheron, while being stalked by a demon who tries to prevent this.

[15] The second expansion to Temple of Apshai, Curse of Ra, is set in ancient Egypt and has higher difficulty than the previous two parts.

[16] Like Upper Reaches to Apshai, the level design and room descriptions were created by Tim Bird, Mark Madrid and Andrew Martin.

Since the lack of room descriptions in level 6 and 8 are a restriction of the Hellfire Warrior program, the dungeons were built around that fact and are supposed to be played out of order.

The game was published on a cartridge, is controlled with the joystick and runs in real time with a focus on fast action.

The player character has attributes for strength, agility, luck and health, which are randomly increased each time a dungeon is completed.

After the release of Temple of Apshai, Automated Simulations launched a second line with a science fiction setting and the label Starquest.

Rescue at Rigel uses a modified version of the same engine as Temple of Apshai, and a hybrid form of room descriptions along with time limited play.

The mechanics build upon the same core system as the Dunjonquest games, with semi-real time gameplay and keystroke controls.

[31] Alan Isabelle reviewed Dunjonquest (specifically, The Temple of Apshai, The Datestones of Ryn, and Morloc's Tower) in The Space Gamer No.

"[32] The Dunjonquest method of listing detailed descriptions of places and events in the manual was adopted by SSI's Goldbox series of official Dungeons & Dragons computer adaptions and Interplay's Wasteland.