Simply the best roguelike rpg I’ve ever touched. Procedural generation can be a double-edged sword: too much and it makes a game feel soulless and arbitrary. Where Qud massively succeeds is perfectly balancing proc genned elements with handcrafted content to create a stupendous and dangerous world.

I have to single out the unwaveringly distinct voice of the writing as a high point - every single enemy description, item description, heck even descriptions of usually mundane objects like rock walls and plants fairly drip with atmosphere. Qud is an ancient place and you are a tiny creature rattling around inside of it.

For a game with such depth and complexity I found the new tutorial extremely helpful for getting into the fun of the game.

The prominence of permadeath in a game that supports such long playthroughs (40+ hours) does give me pause - it’s very bold, and I’ve found myself unable to resist savescumming at a few (ok fine, many) moments. But that’s ok!

This is a once in every 10 years sort of game, one I’ve found myself unable to put down, thinking of as I fall asleep at night, cooking up strategies and priorities. The price may seem high at first glance, but I assure you it’s worth every penny. I can only hope we see more of Qud past the 1.0 - I would like to live here a long, long time.