How can we save dungeons and varient.

[Rufalus]

Yeah this is actually the optimal dungeon design. Even if you added extra side paths, no one would take them.

What if it wasn't a choice of shortest linear path or longer linear path.

It could be a wider area that doesn't have an always optimal route, due to dynamically changing things like the movement of patroling mobs and trap activation. So you go in and make decisions in the moment based on the moving pieces of a dynamic area. Each run can be a bit different with rng and time-based things.

Removing everything can't be optimal design. It got so streamlined that it's questionable whether it was worth creating them in the first place.