Caves of Qud's immense depth and expansive scope has made it downright infamous among roguelike fans - as has the fact that it's been in development for 15 years. After repeatedly teasing a 2024 launch for the 1.0 version, the devs have confirmed that the game finally comes out for real this December.
Caves of Qud launches for PC across Steam, Itch.io, and GOG on December 5 for $29.99. The Early Access version of the game is currently on discount through October 29, and if you want to pick up the game you might want to do it soon. A press release suggests that the current $16.99 cost is "the lowest price it will ever be."
At its most basic level, Caves of Qud is a roguelike RPG. The devs took inspiration from Dungeons & Dragons - and more specifically a post-apocalyptic derivative called Gamma World - to put a big focus on player agency and emergent narrative. The game generates a robust fictional history to fill out the sci-fi world every time you play, and you'll find an array of factions to align yourself with as a result of it all.
The game robustly simulates the physical properties of the world around you, so you can, say, dig through an inconvenient wall with the proper tool. The Steam page rather ominously promises that "yes, every wall has a melting point," and if the notion of a game where you might want to calculate just how hot you can make an object intrigues you, Caves of Qud might be for you.
The 1.0 version Caves of Qud is set to add a final quest to the main storyline so you can finally finish it - presuming, of course, you don't choose to stick with the blisteringly hard difficulties where death lurks around every corner. This version also introduces a fresh tutorial to help new players come to grips with all its many complexities.
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