One of Steam’s best, and most impenetrable, indie roguelikes (read: “like,” not “lite”) is slated for a 1.0 release on December 5, with a tutorial aimed at onboarding beginners originally planned to release at the same time. Luckily for those of us who want to jump in a bit early, that tutorial was recently added in a regular patch, well ahead of its scheduled release.
Caves of Qud is a fantastic, weird, extremely breakable game that sports worldbuilding to rival Dune and player freedom to rival Dwarf Fortress. Unlike Dwarf Fortress, though, you play as a single adventurer, customized to your liking with a smattering of mutations or cybernetics (depending on your faction) before being sent to die horribly at the whims of the world. A recent 4-hour-long run of mind ended because my head was exploded by a psychic enemy lurking outside a civilization of tech-savvy bear people.
The only problem with actually enjoying Caves of Qud is learning to play Caves of Qud. This was once relegated to forums, YouTube videos, or one of several excellent fan-made resources. Beyond the graphics, which are only about half a notch away from being pure ASCII, you’ll need to learn to grapple with a myriad of keybinds, economics, turn rules, and enemy abilities. You’ll only be trading, for instance, in drams of precious water. But, thanks to the beginner tutorial, a high barrier to entry just got a lot more surmountable.
Of course, a brief tutorial to learn the basics is only going to get your foot in the door. It’s up to you to learn, for instance, that you can spray brain-juice on inanimate objects and dominate their feeble minds to turn them into allies.
I think Caves of Qud has the potential to make a bit of a splash when it launches, and I would’ve had a hard time believing that if there weren’t something like the tutorial present in game. It’s sure to remain niche, but I’m glad more adventurers may be beckoned by the siren song of its enthralling world and systems. Live and drink, water sibs.
Published: Nov 9, 2024 10:30 am