Caves of Lore

App Store Editors’ Notes

Fantastically Detailed Retro-RPG

It’s a Friday night in 1994. Your mom said you can rent one video game from blockbuster. At the store, you look around for what’s new and you end up zeroing in on an RPG you’ve never heard of before because, hey, you liked exploring caves, killing monsters, learning magic, leveling up a party, and decking them out in mystic loot as much as a next kid. And the box art said it all. It might have come with a manual, or it might not have. It didn’t matter because figuring it out was half the fun; there was no internet to speak of, no strategy guide - there was just you, your friends, and your collective thirst for investing hundreds of hours conquering a sprawling and unforgiving fantasy sandbox that you knew would actively try to conquer YOU. And it ended up being one of your favorite games ever. Caves of Lore is that. It respects your intelligence and demands to be -played-, not just clicked on. Never stop looking for clues. Don’t ignore the dialog. Subtle solutions are hidden everywhere and if you’re not paying attention to your surrounding you’re going to get mercilessly thrashed - just like a real amnesiac trapped in a underground death maze!

Great RPG with some flaws

First of, this is a really fun RPG. I’m a bit into Act 2 and am really enjoying myself. There are some challenges though - it doesnt seem like I can raise base stats like Strength which makes it impossible to get to a point where a character can finally equip a cool weapon i found earlier - that has been a fundamental leveling up benefit in most RPGs and that it’s missing here turns a lot of gear into junk. It is also hard to see what you can interact with at times. Sometimes I accidentally move the right joystick button and it shows me that there is a door I can open…wouldn’t have seen it otherwise and now I feel as if I constantly have to “check” the area by using the button (which I wish wasn’t even there as it confuses more than helps). The sun/moon system is too complicated and at this point I have lost interest trying to figure it out. Having said all that it’s still an enjoyable game.

Baldur’s Gate 3 in the palm of your hand

Many other reviews have stated all the positives already. I just want to say this: if you’re now into CRPGs because of games like Baldur’s Gate 3 or Divinity Original Sin, buy and support this game! This game is essentially like those games, just in a smaller form. Great gameplay, beautiful low pixel graphics, fun story, and just so much to explore and do. 50 hours of gameplay easily if not more. It’s worth way more than $8, this is a steal and no brainer if you like these types of games. Also while it is on PC, it’s works extremely well on mobile with touch screen controls and looks fine even on a smaller iPhone screen

Mechanics are a lot for a simple game.

The mechanics in the game are wonderful but it just feels like all the work went into mechanics and not actual gameplay. The fights are really boring which is a bummer considering how much work you have to put into leveling your character. What I mean is you’ll spend 2-3x as much time in stat and level up screens as you do in battle. There is no respec so look up plenty of walkthroughs and explanations on google so you don’t waste points on abilities that you won’t end up using. The magic and skills are kinda boring to use which again is a bummer considering the way you get spells in the first place is kinda cool. Feels wasted. Ultimately I feel like if you add all the mechanics to a completely different game it would be really cool. But there’s too much tedious stat managing for such simple gameplay

One of a Kind

While based on older titles and certainly drawing inspiration from them, Caves of Lore manages to set itself aside as an astonishing example of what a solo developer is capable of. From the story to the lore-rich world absolutely saturated with dialogue and even the dozens of books filled with actually interesting stories, Caves of Lore will keep you invested for days and then long after you’ve consumed the story as well. The combat in the game is fluid and very satisfying, with tons of ways to play. The unique system for learning spells from books also solidifies the importance of the lore filled world and the incredible efforts the dev had put into making it shine. If that wasn’t enough, the game also has incredible replayability. From testing yourself to finding new ways to overcome challenges or secrets you may have missed. Finally, the game’s Developer participates in active feedback with their community. If you haven’t played it, check it out!

Wonderful game

Picture the scene: you’ve had a long day at work and you are taking the bus home. You are faced with a dilemma: what game should you choose to play on the bus. You want something to bring you back to your childhood, when you didn’t need to worry about taxes. Introducing: caves of lore. I never write reviews on App Store but this game is above and beyond. The puzzles don’t insult your intelligence, the story is involving, and there is better gameplay than even some AAA games. All in all, a wonderful game well worth your time.

I would’ve bought this game for twice the price

It’s fun, plain and simple. It’s everything I loved about CRPGs but now I can take it anywhere, play short sessions while I’m at work, pick up and put down without worrying with the autosave feature. But even better than that - the dev is awesome. I DMed two small suggestions on quality of life improvements literally 2 weeks ago, and they’re already implemented in this update. This dev is incredible and so is the game. Buy it!!

Old Skool Dungeon Crawler

THIS is a beautiful call back that makes me reminisce about dungeons and dragons when it first came on the scene of RPG. I'm only at the very beginning of the very first cave to explore and I am completely hooked. The pixel art is adding to the throwback feel. Haven't tested the new joystick update that just dropped but was ironically thinking I wish it had an option to slow down the movement. It felt a little twitchy and overreactive. So far I am 100% in with this feel good adventure.