One of the best and most inscrutable indie roguelikes on Steam (read: “like”, not “lite”) will release version 1.0 on December 5, along with a tutorial aimed at beginner players that was originally scheduled to be released at the same time. Luckily for those of us who want to jump in a little early, this tutorial was there recently added in a regular patch, well before the planned release.
Qud Caves it’s a fantastic, weird, and incredibly easy-to-break game that rivals world-building Dune and the player’s freedom to compete Dwarf Fortress. Otherwise Dwarf FortressHowever, you take on the role of a single adventurer, customized to your liking with a bit of mutation or cybernetics (depending on your faction) before being sent to a terrible death due to the whims of the world. A recent 4-hour train of thought ended because my head was exploded by a psychic enemy lurking outside the tech-savvy bear-people civilization.
Actually the only problem enjoy Qud Caves is learning play Qud Caves. This used to be relegated to forums, YouTube videos, or one of several excellent fan-made resources. In addition to the graphics, which are just shy of pure ASCII, you have to learn to deal with countless keyboard shortcuts, economics, turn rules, and enemy abilities. You will only trade barrels of precious water, for example. But thanks to the beginner’s tutorial, the high barrier to entry became much easier to overcome.
Of course, a miniature tutorial to learn the basics will only get your foot in the door. Your task, for example, is to learn that you can spray inanimate objects with brain juice and dominate their faint minds to turn them into allies.
I think so Qud Caves it has the potential to be a hit upon launch and I would have a challenging time believing it if there wasn’t something like a tutorial in the game. It will certainly remain a niche game, but I’m glad more adventurers can be summoned to the siren call of its fascinating world and systems. Live and drink, water siblings.
