Dota 2: All the mini-games that stick around in the Crownfall Archive

Luke Warr Published February 7, 2025

Dota 2’s Crownfall event may be done but its mini-games are sticking around thanks to the Crownfall archive, and it’s worth taking stock of all the games that have been permanently added to the game.

Crownfall was an undeniable success for Dota 2, when Valve actually shipped updates for it. Though the game didn’t have record-breaking player counts, it did something that Dota has rarely done; give fans a reason to return. It did so through familiar means, steadily expanding Cavern Crawls in particular, but added some extra flavor with various mini-games.

Though not all the mini-games are beloved among fans, everyone had something to enjoy. Thankfully, they’re set to stick around.

Crownfall Archive makes mini-games a permanent fixture of Dota 2

The Crownfall Archive is adding the various mini-games of the event a permanent fixture in Dota 2. Alongside this, players will be able to refer back to their progress in the cavern crawl portion of the event.

“One consistent and recurring bit of feedback we got from the community over the course of Crownfall was what a bummer it would be not to be able to play their favorite minigame now that the event was ending…We agree…and so we’re happy to announce the Crownfall Archive,” Valve said in a statement on the official Dota 2 website.

With the addition of the Crownfall Archive, players have access to the different mini-games that appeared during the event. There aren’t direct rewards for participating, but it gives players a great way to kill time during long queue times.

Each game also still has an individual leaderboard. This lets players see how their top score compares to those of their friends.

Of course, players shouldn’t expect these to remain in Dota 2 forever. While they’ll likely stick around for a good while, Dota 2 has let many in-game features break over time before being cut out entirely. That will likely happen eventually, but players can still enjoy a bit of shoot ‘em up action or a brain-challenging puzzle between games for now.

What every Crownfall mini-game is based on

Valve drew inspiration from a variety of different popular games to create the mini-games that appeared in Dota 2’s Crownfall event.

Here’s a full breakdown of what classic title each of these mini-games is based on:

• • Fishing– Stardew Valley
  • Bat Racer– Flappy Bird
  • Sleet Fighter– Street Fighter
  • Dragon Chess– Candy Crush Saga
  • Zaug’s Lair– Ikaruga
  • Castle Carnage– Worms
  • Spleen Sweeper– Minesweeper
  • Spoon Man– Bomberman

While Spleen Sweeper is effectively a reskinned Minesweeper, not all of them are one-to-one remakes. Sleet Fighter pulls elements from a few different fighting games, with narration similar to Soulcalibur and controls akin to Mortal Kombat. Zaug’s Lair has Ikaruga-like gameplay, but has a horizontal orientation similar to other shoot ‘em ups.

The various fishing mini-games are also most similar to Stardew Valley. Though Stardew Valley doesn’t have the same emphasis on aiming the cast, the system for reeling in fish was pulled from the cozy life sim.