Caves of Qud is a roguelike RPG developed by Freehold Games and published by Kitfox Games. It has been in development for 15 years and recently left early access. So, after such an extensive development, let’s delve in and discover how the game is in our Caves of Qud Review!
The question is this: After 15 years of cooking, is it good?
Yes. Yes, it is.
LOW-RESOLUTION THEME
In our World of Horror review, I mentioned how the developer went to great lengths to create the impression of classic PC-9800 games. It’s a similar affair to Caves of Qud, and just like World of Horror, it helps cover the experience with a layer of charm.
The visuals mimic the feel of early DOS-era games, including how the UI is organized. This retro feel is further established with simplistic animations for projectiles, smoke, glitches, and fire. The sprite differences are subtle enough to make every class and faction identifiable.
While the primary color palette of the game is swampy greens (to embrace the DOS vibe further), there are exceptions. Gem yellow. Flowery pink. Blood red. Bold tones are used cleverly, helping separate enemies, environmental assets, and points of interest. While a small thing, it aids the user in orienting themselves and gives each biome its personality. You have salt deserts, flower fields, jungles, swamps, and rust wells filled with turrets and baboons. Primary locations are always identifiable on the map. Different color combinations are also used for some more unique/important items.
While low-res, the developer has attempted to fill the world with as many distinct creatures as their imagination could conjure. Almost every bit of Qud can be examined, and plenty of dialogue can range from flowery and humorous to cold or insane. The weirdness extends to the music. One moment, you have synthesizers; the next, you have tribal drums or piano strings; all these musical elements mesh together surprisingly well.
Most of the game’s lore is conveyed through item descriptions and readable items. Besides wading through a hostile alien world with little guidance, the game expects you to piece the lore yourself. Going through Qud can feel like reading a weird fiction pulp magazine or engaging in a session of Numenera. You have the low-tech mixed with biopunk, eldritch, and sci-fi. The stuff that would make Harlan Ellison proud.
It is a world built upon centuries of history and contrasts in all senses of the word. This weird, abstract narrative forces you to use your creativity. If you have a fertile imagination, it’ll be easy to appreciate the setting. If not, you’ll miss out on much of the game’s enjoyment.
WEIRD AND COOL CREATIONS
If you’re into fast-paced, straightforward RPGs, then Caves of Qud isn’t for you. However, if you don’t mind trial and error and rich character creation, keep reading.
Many of Caves of Qud’s mechanics are lifted directly from classic pen-and-paper RPGs. You have dice rolls. Then you have checks. And dodge and armor value equivalents. And between these mechanics are enemies willing to rip you apart, often without warning. The game is challenging, though not on the level many people have come to believe.
There is a tutorial, difficulties, and premade characters. While the tutorial is short and teaches you the core mechanics, the game expects you to learn the finer details independently. Each premade character has different approaches and a different level of survivability. Players are strongly advised to finish the tutorial and experiment with the premades before delving into the character creator. Caves of Qud’s RPG mechanics shine the brightest once you create a custom character.
Character creation/progression is broken down like this:
- Genome: Mutated Human or True Kin. Each genome has different available callings.
- Calling: This is your character’s class, which also determines their sprite. Each class has different starting attributes, abilities, and items. Calling is the general direction you are pushed; you are free to progress your character however you want.
- Mutations and Cybernetics: Mutated Humans can select different mental or physical mutations, while True Kin rely on cybernetics. With these, you can have vastly different experiences.
- Attributes: Your character’s stats influence everything you do. Specific skills require you to meet an attribute threshold.
- Skills: There are many skill trees in Caves of Qud. Skills offer passive or active benefits. Different callings provide different starting skills. To unlock skill trees and purchase the abilities within, one must use skill points acquired through leveling up.
The game is upfront that some builds offer an easier time than others. For example, Yoan The Gunslinger—A cowboy blessed with high agility, high toughness, easily dominating ranged combat and managing to escape thanks to his high HP and double heart. Axl The Wanderer, on the other hand, a melee-savvy scavenger with low toughness, can decipher artifacts and whip out an amazing meal, but combat is an issue. The game allows you to select your starting location immediately if you want an easier or harder time. So overall, it’s not as merciless as many think. The developers want you to experience challenges, but not without giving you convenient ways to master them.
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ROBUST RETRO COMBAT
There will be an in-depth guide on the combat, but for now, let us focus on the basics and why they’re good.
Each attribute starts at 10, with a -3 modifier to actions related to that attribute. Raising an attribute will increase stats and, when high enough, will provide a bonus modifier to related actions. The amount of starting points allows for safe and exotic builds.
Movement is based on a grid system, and combat is turn-based. You have an array of melee weapons, ranged weapons, spell equivalents, throwables, armors, clothing, medieval and sci-fi like masks composed of sap or moisture suits. Different weapon trees have their own quirks, and the number of dice rolls happening in the background means there’s a fair bit of uncertainty in each fight. I found myself enjoying the combat and exploration with few complaints. That’ll come later.
What was really surprising was how much emphasis the game put on positioning. Getting swarmed and cornered is very easy, so paying attention to surroundings and enemies felt essential for survival. The game even lets you examine enemies in detail, including telling you outright how hard they are to beat. While enemies are challenging, the game lets you deal with them however and whenever you see fit. If you can’t complete a quest now, come back when you’re stronger.
The game has a regen mechanic, and while it is suitable for gaining a bit of health while exploring, the slow rate discourages jumping blindly into battles. Combine that with a fog of war, thirst, light system, hunger, and some procedural generation, and trying to play like an early-game destroyer of worlds is going to result in a lot of frustration. You’re always rewarded for properly assessing the situation, as well as your limitations.
Over time, items will degrade and become unusable, done in order to push you towards selling, repairing, or using them. Again, think ahead. Leveling up provides higher health, attribute points, and skill points, with True Kin and Mutated Humans getting extra abilities their own way. There’s a cool crafting system, and you have a reputation in case you want to get chummy with the factions, which are…a lot. To say the game allows you to roleplay however you want is an understatement. Whether you’re playing K’ormahn, The Titan Destroyer, or Kowalski, The Undying Nerd, it’s all viable in the long term.
LITTLE, SMALL, TINY COMPLAINTS
Over time, the game has been made more beginner-friendly through collaboration between the community and the studio. However, there are plenty of beginner traps in Caves of Qud. It’s like getting lost and stumbling on a pack of snapjaws. Or doing the early game quests and getting into constant uphill battles and or getting sniped by a turret around the corner or offscreen in the wilderness. Playing a safe build, like high Toughness and Agility, will alleviate a lot of early-game frustrations, but you are still likely to have at least some cheap deaths.
There’s a fair bit of RNG in the game. However, that can be more a bane than a boon at times. The frequency with which your character gets lost without the proper skills can break the game’s flow. Sometimes it’s borderline irritating. Random enemy placements mean that sometimes you can die shortly after reaching a new location. It’s a lot less annoying when you’re using settlement checkpoints but that is still progress lost that you’ll need to grind for again.
CONCLUSION
Iffy RNG aside, Caves of Qud is one of the best RPGs I’ve played in a long while. Its simple appearance hides a well of mechanics and lore and encourages you to play whatever you want. Even if you’re not really into roguelikes, it’s still worth checking out.
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