Islands of the Caliph

A good retro Dungeon Crawler game with an interesting religious touch. First of all I loved the art style and the music in this game. All very atmospheric. The different islands and the dungeons are well built and make you want to explore. For me the keyboard only controls also worked fine, even though for me mouse support would have been nicer. At least we get an automap, yay! Now for the mechanics I do have some more mixed feelings. On the positive side there are a few quests that change whole parts of the game depending on your decisions, which I liked very much! But most quests are very simple and all characters only talk some sentences, so I never really connected with the world and its people. Then a lot of backtracking is necessary and the design of (real) fast travel is just bad in my eyes (tuna anyone?). The religious part was interesting in the beginning, but quite tough in the end. You have to get an expert on everything the world tells you (or look it up online if you don't). Doing it yourself, it is crucial to take notes (locked doors, people you meet, information you get, etc.) to be able to find everything later in a reasonable time again. Clues are mostly very generic and you have to interpret and put things in place for yourself in order to progress. Last not least, the RPG upgrade mechanics felt somewhat superfluous to me. Stronger equipment is all it needs to finish the game. At least I did not bother and level ups did not feel exciting at all. All in all, a unique nostalgic and very atmospheric island trip with an interesting religious theme.

just some simple retro fun no matter in 91' or 26'

Islands of the Caliph is a vibrant, nostalgic dungeon crawler that feels like a lost classic rediscovered. Coming from the same developer as Cyclopean: The Great Abyss and Aberration Analyst, this game builds on that old-school foundation but takes it in a more colorful, lively direction. It’s a true Wizardry-like at heart - grid-based movement, methodical exploration - but wrapped in a world that feels far more welcoming and full of character. The mechanics and UI are intuitive, and the gameplay strikes a great balance between classic CRPG depth and approachable design. It almost feels like a traditional JRPG filtered through a first-person dungeon crawler lens. More than anything, it taps into that deep sense of nostalgia, bringing back the feeling of discovering these kinds of games for the first time. If you’ve got a soft spot for retro RPGs, this one is an easy recommendation.

Very basic 80's RPG game, played many of these back in the day on windows98 and on my phone before the androids. The start of the game was rough but once you find your way through it, it opens up more and becomes more interesting. But as for all old RPG games, it's not for everyone. I was honestly getting slightly bored of the game after 2.8hrs because I got so many quests and I was kind of lost with so many islands around me, but I still would recommend it to old RPG lovers.

我是冲着复古像素游戏来的。 没想到是一款彻头彻尾的宗教题材游戏。 忍着打通关了，游戏体验非常无聊。 * 伙计，如果你看不懂，我就直白点。 差评是因为游戏设计十分糟糕，游玩过程非常无聊，以至于里面有价值的内容只剩了下宗教题材。 中文适配很糟糕，地图没有汉化，日志的字体很难分辨，看不清楚内容，还不如切成英文体验流畅。 游戏里移动一次就必须摁一次方向按键，按一次动一次，长摁只动一次，所以你走路跑图就必须一直疯狂的摁你的方向键。 我明白这是复古像素的游戏，但没必要完全复古吧？ 游戏里任务需要你在各个岛之间移动，跑图的距离非常长，玩几十分钟真的很累手。 游戏的经济系统也有问题，岛屿之间的移动需要支付船费。前期还好，后期一次几十的船费，你如果不小心把钱花完了，你就只能靠打野赚钱，一次只能赚几块到十几块。如果你刷的是带毒素的敌人，没准还需要购买解毒剂，又是一笔支出。到处都要花钱，而玩家获取经济的方式过于单一。 等级系统也做的很难评价，升级加点对战斗力的提升非常小，可有可无，似乎是为了凑RPG要素加入的。 评价为一款比较无聊的复古像素小品游戏。如果你不是真的没事情做，还是跳过它吧。

beautifull game, really fun dungeon crawler.

+++++

Gotta be one of the coolest and fun games I've played in a minute. The dungeon crawler 90's vibe is done perfectly, the dev said he was inspired by one from a while ago. That checks out with the style of game play, its fairly unguided and you will find alot of your time is spent exploring the world and dungeons to find a quest which in pair with the combat and graphics is really fun. The art of the game perfectly reflects what you would expect from a old game while having upgrades that old computers couldnt surpass creating a really unique and fun game for both old and new commers to the genre. 9/10

Un gran punto de entreda al mundo de los RPG clásicos! Además aporta un mundo original y no basado en los mismos tropos de siempre.