Caves of Qud has been under construction for 17 years, and its recent 1.0 release demonstrates how inspiringly deep this teenage sci-fi roguelike can get. Its elaborate twists — including many player character mutations, sentient, curling plants, and an opulent RPG narrative — seem overwhelming at first, unless you take the Caves of Qud devs' advice and start swinging around a meaty sword as soon as possible.
"Qud [...] has an extremely disorienting world, by design," says Caves of Qud co-creator Brian Bucklew during a recent Reddit AMA. "It doesn't lean on existing semiotics. Do you know what a snapjaw is? A decarbonizer? A galgal? Crysteel? The problem with starting with a very complex character is that you're doubly disoriented, and that can make the game really hard to get your footing in!"
Bucklew recommends players begin Caves of Qud with what I like to call the "Braveheart mindset." I use it nearly every time I begin a complicated RPG like Baldur's Gate 3, or even step foot in one of FromSoftware's ghostly action RPG worlds. First, I clear my mind of any image other than of abs. Then, after spending six hours or so in the character creator making my protagonist as gorgeous as possible, I prioritize getting her jacked and giving her a sword that's bigger than Saturn.
Or, in Caves of Qud language, Bucklew says "I always suggest playing a really basic true kin praetorean with high toughness and just hit stuff with your big sword while orienting yourself to the world.
"Then try to loot armor and get your AV up to 6 or 7 as fast as you can," he continues, "which will help a lot with survivability."
