I owe Kluwes, if not full credit, then probably about 80% credit1 for finally picking this one up again. Caves of Qud exited early access with its 1.0 release in December 2024, and it has been in my ‘Play Soon’ category in Steam ever since.
I bought it initially back in 2015, and had given it… er, 48 minutes.
Not a bad time for certain activities, perhaps, but not great for a game which How Long to Beat suggests takes a similar number but of hours to complete.2
Given how little I played and how long ago, I was kinda surprised to recognise so many of the things that have changed since I last gave Qud a try.
For instance, that message log in the screenshot above, where you can see I managed to lose rep with ‘succulents’, is new and infinitely helpful in keeping track of what is going on.
The equipment screen now has slots visually represented rather than as text only.
And I think that action bar at the bottom is, I think, new as well. I’m less certain of that one.
Oh- and also, I should just remind you that ‘new’ for me means it could’ve been added any time in the past decade.
But the main new thing to my mind was a tutorial. This most assuredly did not exist when I last played.
Checking out the Tutorial
My advice to Kluwes had been to consider finding a beginner-oriented tutorial or Let’s Play series in order to dive in. Caves of Qud is, after all, a roguelike3
But once I saw that the tutorial was a thing, I had to wonder… Is that still necessary?
And to that, I think the answer is: No, not really.
The in-game tutorial,l combined with even an inkling into the roguelike genre, will see you through far enough to where you can experiment and find your own fun.
The tutorial locks you into a specific character class, build, and starting location, but doesn’t overstay its welcome and drops you out into the world right near the main story’s starting location. I’m not presently clear if the tutorial world is generated to be easier, or whether I just got unlucky with my next two non-tutorial characters’ worlds, but hoo boy.
There was a world of difference in the perceived difficulty, and I died much more rapidly out in the ‘real’ worlds.
That said…
Scratching More than the Surface
While I’m not looking to make Caves of Qud (or Roguelikes more generally) the theme of my Blaugust, the two or so hours I spent with the game today have left me with a taste for more.
I can already see that there is a lot to learn about the game, and there will be surprising interactions to work out, such as the fact that Corrosive Cloud effects can eat through certain walls.
What impressed me most, though, was that the game seems to offer a lot of depth without being dense and impenetrable.
Not what I recall of my shorter visit with the game some years ago.
All to say, I’ll likely get at least another run or two through, and maybe even write up what it’s like and the character I do it with!
This was posted during Blaugust 2025, the annual blogging event normally hosted by Belghast, with a twist this year of being hosted by Krikket. Blaugust is an event aiming to welcome new blogger blood into the fold and revitalise those who’ve been at it a little longer.
The Blaugust Discord is still available to join in, year-round!
Glad I could nudge you into playing!
I recently went through the tutorial and it was much more user friendly than I was expecting. The weirdest thing was using the numpad of movement and getting use to pressing L to look at things.
It’s definitely not as esoteric as I thought it would be though it seems they have added quite a bit of QoL features over the years.
Yeah, the control style is pretty common for roguelikes, but it has been a long time since I played one, so definitely had a bit to adapt to as well.
Agree very much that it isn’t so impenetrable now. I think they’ve done a lot of good work over the years to make that the case. Without spoiling anything though, there is a lot to investigate, find, and work out as the game goes on once basics of survival are locked in. :)
I still know basically nothing, but seen enough to know it’s out there!
It starts with one traditional roguelike, and before you know it, there may be more. :)
After all, a lot of them are available for the price of free, and are chock full of depth.
Might I also recommend a shot at Tales of Maj’Eyal (for those who haven’t tried it)? The skill system used. I find, is fairly familiar to MMO players and a relatable way in. And unlocking something cool to use next time (new race, new class!) per run and eventual death is a nice way to soften the sting of the restart.
I actually played ToME waaaaaaaaaaaay long ago pre-Steam release and enjoyed it enough that I threw them some money when it came out on Steam.
Apparently like Qud, I bought ToME back in 2015 as well. So I probably had played it a year, or two, (or three?) before that.
So very good shout to finally give it some time! :)