Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Oct 1, 2023

  Interesting and different game. Some things are really done well, like the real-time ship rides between islands. Other things not so much, like the constant management of various health afflictions ranging to poison to fever to stomach pain and even blisters. You also need to eat and sleep. Those mecanics get really tiring and I'm a fairy patient gamer. After two hours, I was annoyed by constantly having to sort out inventory space, with all the food, torches, médecine you need, it barely leaves space for crystals or sellable monster parts, quest items etc. So the game becomes à management nightmare pretty fast. It was after barely two hours of play. Apart from those annoyance, the gameplay felt smooth. JoytoKey with a controller was a blast. The graphics are nice, although the very poorly implemented scanlines need work. The level design is very good and the towns are great. I think the game should have a section in the journal for us to leave our own notes. Not only would it add to immersion, but it would help mitigate the lack of map notes. I would give this game 6,5/10. It has potential for an 8, if certain modifications in the gameplay are made. Keep in mind I played two hours though!
• anvilhand

  Oct 1, 2023

  you're looking at reviews wondering if this game is as good as it looks its better
• gamedeal user

  Oct 1, 2023

  For fans of retro dungeon crawlers. So far it’s fairly linear, but still manages to be interesting. Nice to see a non-European setting in a game for once and many concepts and ideas are portrayed pretty well. As a former Muslim and long time gamer this is the first time I’ve played a Muslim character in my life, which is cool! Much respect to the dev for stepping into middle eastern culture without the feeling of orientalism some other pieces of media have.
• Rakarsi

  Oct 2, 2023

  I'm reviewing at only four hours in. I'm doing this because I am having such a fantastic time with this game that I feel like I've gotten my money's worth already, and because I think the dev deserves as much hype/buzz as can be generated. Plays smoothly and hits just the right old-school PC adventure vibe while bringing a whimsical middle-eastern fantasy setting to glorious pixelated life. It's an excellent offering that I am having a great time playing, and I'd love to see more like it.
• gamedeal user

  Oct 3, 2023

  If you play this game _back up your saves_. When you die, you are given a choice of reloading or 'pressing enter to continue'. I pressed enter to see what would happen and wound up respawning with most of my critical equipment, money, and other random items missing from my inventory. Respawning like this instantly saved over my previous save. In total I had lost about 1200 silver worth of gear, which was maybe 80% or so of the total value I'd accumulated throughout the four hour run. I did not have enough money to leave the island I was on, and this island had no means of getting more money, so after four hours of playing, I would otherwise have to start a brand new run. In actuality, I can just edit the savefile to give myself a bunch of money and then backtrack a bit to purchase replacements, but it's still the principle of having to do this that has soured the experience. The game has been perfectly fine up until this point, so I'm sorry to have to recommend against it because of this.
• gamedeal user

  Oct 1, 2023

  This is such a fantastic little RPG, and it perfectly captures the 1980s dungeon crawler setting it aims to recreate. I love the how it encourages and rewards exploration by tying quests together across the islands. And the mood this game is able to achieve is impressive. I especially enjoy the sound design. I highly recommend this one.
• magreaux

  Oct 2, 2023

  This is the low-pressure, campy RPG I have been looking for, and I have been loving it. It has just enough depth that I am 100% engaged but thankfully I don't need a spreadsheet to keep track of everything like other games. And you can tell that the author(s) really put a lot of thought and love into it. As of 2023-10-02, 2 days after release, it has some small clunky Quality-of-Life issues that I think will get ironed out as people supply feedback. The author seems eager to respond. Very cool
• Sir speedomeedo

  Oct 2, 2023

  This game is a must buy for nostalgia nerds, the developer did his research. Islamic tradition mixed with dungeons and goblins set in a post cataclysmic flood. slay spiders, ghouls and do quests all while learning the pillars of the islamic faith.
• Heinrich

  Oct 3, 2023

  Love the old Might and magic games. This game very much reminds me of this old titles. Unlike other games nowdays there is no handholding. Programmer helps very quick with bugs.
• gamedeal user

  Oct 2, 2023

  Such a great take on old school RPGs. The game mostly focuses on exploration, combat, and inventory management. It doesn't add tons of complexities or get bogged down in its own systems--you quietly gain levels as you fight, you use earned skill points to train specific stats, and you find/buy new gear to conquer dungeons. It's a straightforward enough loop to keep you engaged, but one that isn't so intricate that you feel overwhelmed. Games like this always had their own "language" you had to learn. Not a literal language, but interface quirks, unspoken expectations from the creators, gameplay loop rhythms, etc. You had to leverage trial and error to figure out how the conversation works, then you build upon that as you play. It's not like today when every game feels like it's built from the same sticks and twine, removing the need for guesswork and discovery. Islands of the Caliph doesn't jump into this old school ocean with both feet, but it definitely has a heel in the waters. And this is exactly what I enjoy about the experience. Explore the world, experiment with items and ideas. Do things for yourself and accept that not every choice you make will lead to success. Islands of the Caliph doesn't punish you for non-successes like an old school game would, but it does sting you a little to remind you that there are consequences. This is a great starter game for anyone who wants to get into grid-based first person RPGs. It's also a great game for anyone who knows they like these old school gems and wants to take on a comparatively casual experience.