Caves of Qud
Caves of Qud is a science fantasy roguelike epic steeped in retro-futurism, deep simulation, and swathes of sentient plants. The game weaves a handwritten narrative through rich physical, social, and historical simulations. The result is a hybrid handcrafted & procedurally-generated world where you can do just about anything. Assemble your character from over 70 mutations and defects, and 24 castes and kits - it’s all the character diversity you could want. Explore procedurally-generated regions with some familiar locations - each world is nearly 1 million maps large.
What it feels like
The depth of sentient plants, bizarre mutations, retro-futurism, and layered civilizations invite childlike wonder and discovery.
What it's about
The science fantasy setting draws heavily on retro-futurism, robots, cybernetics, and futuristic technology as core worldbuilding elements. Augmentation and transcendence of the human body through mutations and cybernetics is a defining mechanical and thematic pillar. Thousand-year-old civilizations layered atop each other, ruins, and a grim decayed world create a dark fantasy tone within the sci-fi setting.
How it plays
The game's core identity centers on densely interlocking physical, social, and historical simulations that produce emergent, unscripted outcomes across a handcrafted-and-procedural hybrid world. Over 100 mutations and cybernetics combined with 24 castes and kits enable deeply theorycrafted, highly diverse character specialization. As a roguelike, character death is permanent and resets progress, making each choice weighted with consequence.
How it looks and sounds
Retro-futurism aesthetic is evoked through pixel graphics, a defining visual characteristic evident from steam tags and genre.
How it's structured
As an award-winning roguelike, play is organized into discrete permadeath-driven runs where progression resets on loss, with meta-progression systems carrying forward. Nearly 1 million procedurally-generated maps form the explorable world, with algorithmic generation ensuring each playthrough differs while some handcrafted locations persist. Designed as a solo experience with no multiplayer component, emphasized in features.
Kindred games
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Both lean into Run-Based, Meta-Progression, Turn-Based Combat, Character Builds.
Shares Run-Based, Procedural Levels, Permadeath, Character Builds.
Both lean into Run-Based, Procedural Levels, Permadeath, Character Builds.
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