Caves of Qud

Great visuals, and I am often a fan of settings like these. So I really wanted this game to be good. Unfortunately the gameplay is pretty tedious, and I never felt engaged with Caves of Qud. I think I came into it with rose-colored glasses, and it took me a while to admit that the game isn't very fun. There's certain tasks you need to do every run, which aren't engaging to repeat. For example, having to go around to all the merchants at the Six Day Stilt every run. So boring. It's not very enticing to start a new game where there's paperwork you have to do every time. The main quest isn't engaging either -- might have been better to not have a main quest. I would have liked to be able to explore more, and set my own goals. The community has some weirdness about it, and there's some related sociopolitical messaging in-game. It takes me out of the game world and asks me to immerse myself in contemporary, real-world social issues, which is not what I want to do while gaming. I won't go into details, as you can read about it online and judge for yourself.

Definitely not for everyone. Other than that, it's probably the best game ever made. But, this game demands your time. You don't have an opinion of the game with just a few hours of playing, I don't yet have an opinion of the game. I could easily recommend this game, if you're already interested in similar sandbox roguelike RPGs. Well, I would recommend it regardless. For what is Caves of Qud, you must find out yourself. Live and drink. -Esko

[b]Terrific game, terrible community[/b] Let me start this negative review, ironically, by saying that Caves of Qud is one of the best games I have ever played. My playtime on Steam should be a solid indication of this. It is, however, likely less than half of my total playtime. I own a copy of this game on Good Old Games as well. Yes, I have bought the game twice. It did not bother me one bit to support independent developers responsible for such a great project with my money. At the time of writing this review, however, I regret paying for it even once. Caves of Qud is nothing short of a masterclass in object-oriented game programming. It’s a sandbox in the proper sense of the term: a collection of overlapping, interwoven systems and mechanics out of which can spring a near-infinite assortment of obstacles, surmountable by an equally near-infinite assortment of solutions. The game doesn’t pull any punches, but expects you to approach it with quite the same energy. It can definitely be beaten by “following the rules,” so to speak, but the main draw is finding ways to break them. After losing a dozen characters to rabid raccoons and carnivorous chrysanthemums, you’ll definitely feel like a champ when you figure out a way to whack a genocidal cyborg labelled IMPOSSIBLE in bold red letters. The game is a work of art. And it’s a lot of fun. And although there are some more “technical” flaws with it, they pale in the comparison of all it does well. The slight tedium that may materialize after 600 hours playing this game is not my main gripe. It must be understood that Caves of Qud exists as a part of a broader context. And unfortunately, it does not look good. I would typically not consider the surrounding community when deliberating on a single-player game. In most cases, the community has no bearing on the single-player experience. That being said, I consider Caves of Qud to be an exception for several reasons. First, the open-ended nature of the game combined with the interplay of the ever-present whimsical simulation and procedural generation systems lead to a great deal of quirkiness and unintended hilarity (the Legendary wet Anus springs to mind). This is something that the developers themselves use as a selling point for the game. And rightfully so. The notion of sharing interesting procedural finds online, effectively transforming a solitary, single-player experience into a social one, is not a fringe idea. It is at the heart of wildly popular projects such as Spore or No Man’s Sky and to a lesser extent Minecraft and Borderlands, some of the best selling games and franchises of all time. Secondly, the developers are themselves active members of the community and are on the record talking about the value it has, both in a commercial and cultural sense. So far, so good. But it doesn’t end there. Whoever finds themselves inclined to connect with other players will inevitably rub shoulders with some of the most narrow-minded, austere and bitter wingnuts that can be encountered in a gaming space. Expect to be banned from communities without warning, regardless of your contribution, for failing in your reverent observation of whatever religious dogma is currently held by the moderation team. Many spaces associated with the fandom pride themselves in being inclusive, respectful of people’s lived experiences and committed to nurturing communal bonds, however, nothing could be further from the truth. Slight deviations from the enforced culture or worldview are met with excessive discipline, ridicule or slander. What is particularly jarring is that even contributions (and contributors) that appear to be positively recognized by a wider element in the community receive the same treatment. Considering that the developers overtly and actively embrace and promote such behavior, it has become impossible for me to extract Caves of Qud from the social context it finds itself in. The attitude of the community seriously undermines what could be a major point of appeal and cannot be left unaddressed in any serious review, regardless of how good the game is. For a player like me, someone compelled by the creative and social potential, it jeopardizes my capacity to appreciate the project despite the fact that, by all (other) means, it is definitely worth appreciating. -Jerry Smith

I was disguised as a beetle, skulking through Bethesda Susa. I melted a rocket turret with laser dualies, moments before a two-headed slime came around a corner and electrocuted the puddle I was standing in, killing me instantly. I'm incredibly depressed. 10/10 game.

The game takes some getting used to at first. I had an on-off relationship with it for almost a year until one day I realized what the game wanted from me. What followed were 1.5 weeks with >60 hours of gameplay that had me glued to my chair, literally. I would get up, sit down at the computer, realize in the afternoon that I had forgotten to eat, cook something quick, and continue playing until I went to sleep. Exploring the world, losing myself in epic battles and underground exploration, burning enemies with plasma, or accidentally turning myself into an industrial machine – these are the things that made this game almost irresistible to me. Some things in the world are procedurally generated, but you can tell that the developers have put a lot of thought into the scripted elements of it, offering a broad base of storytelling and content. Overall, the game was a positive surprise for me, and I'm glad I stumbled upon this recommendation. My recommendation for really getting into the game: activate debug mode and quick save. The roguelike experience was too deadly for me when I was getting to know the game with my first character, and this helped me get into the game better.

A slime fell in love with me. I'm not safe any more because interdimensional beings are hunting me. Cloned my self for a long term friend. Also found and decapitated my evil twin. Died to an instant decapitation by a pink crocodile. Would recommend.

Ачивки заставляют тебя сомневаться в своей сексуальной ориентации. Ну не могу же я не приласкать этот разумный дорожный знак с надписью "Jopa" и который явно в меня влюблен (после того как я разбил об него флакон жидкой любовью). Он так мне подмигивал... Да, это игра развивающая аутизм.

I love Caves of Qud and after putting time into a single Roleplay Mode file (3ish years) I finally beat the game and got my first ending! The world building and writing is top tier. Getting a full understanding of this worlds lore is truly a reward worth seeking, my friends. Sit down and accept the offer of a Water Ritual Bond. Enjoy unravelling the games inner meta and simulation to eventually break it. I also recommend the Rogue Like mode though that is the true challenge. A true survival game in a world that feels alive. I don't know what else to say but I feel like I could ramble on with how neat Caves of Qud is. Check it out for sure and of course, Live and Drink.

Got a ironshank, figured out I needed to swallow gel and asphalt(it's random and will be likely be different for you) to heal. The cure would have me burst into flames and I needed to take it for a few in game days. Then got a fungus infection on my arm, I couldn't find the right worm(also random) to eat for the cure so ended up cutting my own arm to regrow one with a tonic. I have been gaming for over 20 years and this is a breath of fresh air when you feel like you have seen everything. This game is so good once you get past the learning curve. You have a learning curve for early game, mid game and end game. If you feel like you plateau, time to read but it's so worth it. I'm at the point where I just read the wiki for fun. Every time that I think that I know the game, there is more WTF content appearing. The difficulty curve is somewhat inverted but you still have a few things that humble you once in a while when you think you can handle everything. There are difficulty spikes but gear spikes are even bigger so that you can stay very ahead of the curve. Few spoilers ahead about what my end game is. [spoiler] I'm currently a level 42 true kin that's farming polygel to boost my stats with a relic injector that I keep duplicating with polygel from vendors that I keep cloning. I also boost my natural armor with neutron flux from a legendary vendor that I keep cloning too. I drink brain brine as well to get mutations(temporal fugue on my first attempt, sooo lucky) to be even stronger. I also clone a book vendor as a fun past time to get XP with how infinite money is by the end game but I don't care much about level ups at this point. The relic injector is so much better(2 attributes points per injector). I slowly farm zetachrome gear to beef up. I feel like hunting the gods but getting OP is so addicting! I have also found a 1500 pound gun that I can't lift but I need to find it back to see if I can mod it to be light. I need to go back to the wiki. :D [/spoiler]