RPGs Coming This Week, 12/1/24

Caves of Qud (Exiting Early Access) – December 5th (Windows, macOS, Linux)

Caves of Qud is both an RPG (think Ultima to the power of ten) and a Rogue-like in the truest sense. It features vast procedurally generated worlds in a fantastically archaic style reminiscent of early ASCII-based games and modern 16-color homages like the inscrutable classic Dwarf Fortress, also published by Kitfox Games.

Caves of Qud boasts a weird and wonderful bestiary of friends, foes, and critters to which you can endear yourself and gain a reputation. Want to ingratiate yourself with the Goatfolk? Share some information about a secret location in the jungle, or better still, just lay some juicy gossip on them; they love it! The developers claim if you can imagine it, you can do it. The whole world and everything in it can be manipulated in some way, potentially triggering unexpected and, most excitingly, unknown emergent effects.

The more I read about this game, the more I realize that just like Dwarf Fortress, Caves of Qud‘s simplistic and dated appearance obscures a deep RPG with seemingly endless replayability. Described as being “15 years in the making,” Caves of Qud has been available in Early Access via Steam, GOG, and itch.io for ten of those years. The developers have used much of this time to incorporate feedback, squash bugs, expand lore, and generally balance this ambitiously complex game.

by Claton Stevenson

Fantasian: Neo Dimension – December 5th (PS5, XSX, PS4, Switch, Windows)

Fantasian: Neo Dimension is significant in more ways than one. On a meta level, this long-awaited release represents a reunion between Square Enix and Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, who left the company in 2003 in the wake of the ill-fated movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.

Sakaguchi’s Mistwalker is working with Square Enix to deliver an enhanced port of the once Apple Arcade-exclusive 2021 RPG Fantasian. It’ll be nice to see those intricate diorama environments in 4K!

Fantasian: Neo Dimension may also be the last game to be fully scored by the legendary Nobuo Uematsu. Don’t get it twisted, though; Uematsu is stepping back from video games, but he has no plans to retire anytime soon.

For more details, I implore you to check out Caitlin Argyros’ reviews of parts one and two. (Per Sakaguchi, Mistwalker split the original release at Apple’s request.)

by Gio Castillo

Chrono Sword (Entering Early Access) – December 6th (Windows)

2024 has one last Souls-like to give us, and where else could it come from except South Korea? Chrono Sword is the latest in a long line of FromSoftware-inspired games from the nation that’s already brought us the likes of Lies of P and Stellar Blade. It’s a veritable Souls-like hotbed out there, and as an aficionado myself, I couldn’t be happier.

But Chrono Sword takes a different tack from the aforementioned; it’s got the bleak, dark fantasy setting down, but it plays from a top-down perspective. Combat is fast-paced and provides an extensive toolkit to handle foes, with a range of weapons amd item buffs on offer. Also, true to its name, Chrono Sword‘s about time travel; you’ll unravel why the world fell to ruin using your unique ability to shift between the past and future.

The Early Access version coming this week will contain about 30% of the full release. That’s a rather extensive portion by itself, spanning three regions and a range of enemy types to contend with.

by Gio Castillo

Path of Exile 2 (Entering Early Access) – December 6th (PS5, XSX, Windows)

Well, this is going to be a big deal. Path of Exile 2 may become the RPG du jour in a few months, and it all starts with its impending Steam Early Access release, which our own Zek Lu recently spent some time with. Released back in 2013, the first game was (and still is) popular, on account of it being (a) free-to-play, and (b) an excellent action RPG in the vein of Diablo.

This sequel, which began life as an expansion, is by most accounts a sprawling adventure that builds on the first in every way, including lore, world design, and the all-important looter/hack-and-slash gameplay. It must be said that Path of Exile 2 will honor your purchases in the first game with limited exceptions, which is a phenomenal pro-consumer move — kudos to Grinding Gear Games for that one.

by Gio Castillo

The Thaumaturge – December 4th (PS5, XSX)

Coming this week to PS5 and XSX is The Thaumaturge, a supernatural, character-driven RPG set in early 20th-century Poland.

by Gio Castillo