Islands of the Caliph

I did not come close to completing this game, but I had a good time. I have no nostalgia for the era of gaming that Islands of the Caliph is harkening back to, and this is my first time playing a game of this style. The experience was enjoyable in its novelty, but I certainly miss the quality of life features included in modern rpgs. I started taking physical notes on paper to remember which islands sold which products and which towns had which merchants and skill trainers. There's certainly a charm to be had there, but it was not the experience I was looking for in a computer game. If you have nostalgia for this type of game, or just want to experience what the genre is like, I recommend purchasing this and giving it a try.

I’ll save ya’ll the incoherent babble from a non game reviewer
Amazing game from a studio who genuinely cares about the content both lore wise and gameplay wise - I’ve never played a dungeon crawler like this yet it was extremely easy to pick up and get into.
10/10 I might be biased since I’m Arab

This feels to me like a classic adventure game wearing the skin of a dungeon crawler. Where some of the top dungeon crawlers like Grimrock, Might & Magic, or Wizardry have involved combat systems you need to master to progress, this one has a very simple combat system that you don't need to worry too much about, allowing you to focus instead on exploration and discovery of the world.
And unlike games like Minecraft which boast endless lands to explore, this world is relatively small but densely packed with carefully designed secrets to take note of. You start to see how abilities you acquire later could be used in earlier areas to surmount previously insurmountable obstacles, never mind learning which resources are available on each island so you can make some profit from trading. And there can sometimes be multiple ways to complete the quests you're given.
I will say you will want to keep your own notes as you play. There's a quest tracker, but it only tracks quests. Keeping track of routes between islands, notable obstacles, and the clues you pick up along the way are all on you as the player and will make your life easier.
If you're looking for a game with complex combat mechanics you will be disappointed, but if you mainly want a mysterious world that rewards careful observation and experimentation and immersing yourself in the setting, this is up there with the greats. Now I just want more dungeon crawlers in this style.

*Played and finished offline*
An amazing game, with a masterfully created story, well done MKSchmidt, now I *have* to try your other games.
Disclosure: I'm 69 years old and have to resort to C.E. for playing games.
So, for those somewhat impaired like me, please don't pass the chance to fully play this gem: you'll be amply rewarded.
If the dev disagrees with this, just add a comment and I'll erase this hints :
I hope he agrees, as I fervently wish for this marvelous game to be played by young and old alike, the more the better !
*C.E. hints* (select to see)
Everything (health, stamina, xp, stats, items, Torch Burn Time , etc) is Type 4 Bytes, just multiply the value shown by 262144 and search for that result instead, change the values playing, search again till the precise address is found.
You can freeze values by ticking the empty squares, or in some cases replacing the value with a greater one:
Example: 26214400 will be 100, 262144000 will be 1000, etc.
*end hints*

A very nice game influenced by Islamic tradition, there are few hiccups in terms of the guidelines on what to do next and how to move between quests.
My only main issue with the game is the lack of enemy variation, there are like almost 10-15 enemy variations where some of them (like the spiders) are just re-skins of others.
However, for a game made by a lone developer, I will look past these issues, and I look forward to a more expandable game in the future.

Very fun little adventure game with light rpg mechanics. The quests really encourage you to interact with the world and its people; You almost forget that it's a tile game. The controls are fun to use, although I found my hands cramped up after a while. Certainly worth the money I payed for it.

This is a very fun first person dungeon crawler that really shines in its smooth gameplay, exploration, worldbuilding, and original setting. If you like games in this style such as Legend of Grimrock, Eye of the Beholder, etc, I can highly recommend Islands of the Caliph.
The tropical sun, the sea wind blowing over the beaches; jungles, mountains and deserts, maze-like cities, full of markets and strange characters… Coupled with the great soundtrack, the atmosphere in this game is simply great. You are invited to explore... which is the main gameplay focus, and is excellent in this game.
A set of islands is the gameworld, and each island has a different theme and feeling. You will explore jungles, deserts, mountains, undead wastelands, and a few dungeons. Move freely from island to island, as long as you can pay the captain's fee. Moving through this world feels very pleasant; you have the step-based movement as in blobbers, but with fluid transitions.
Note that the game is fully keyboard-based, which may take some getting used to to new players. I have found that this makes interacting with the game smooth and efficient.
The music is excellent. The pixelart is serviceable and does not fall into the trap of a tired, forced, fake retro look. The graphics and music serve the gameplay and atmosphere, and fit the game well.
The main focus of the game is exploration. There is combat and some interaction with NPCs, but these serve the aforementioned focus.
Combat is real-time and not tactical, and perhaps a weaker part of the game. As it is not very difficult, this is not very important.
NPC’s provide information, quests, and shops; there are no real dialogues, but you will be presented with some choices. Some puzzles are based on the information you hear from an NPC. The world feels alive; people are in cities, some hermits outside in the wilderness, there is a lot to explore.
Now, for what makes this game stand apart:
The worldbuilding is excellent. Cities, the island wilderness, dungeons: exploration, being the main gameplay focus, is super fun to do. The islands invite exploring them; interacting with the game sucks you into the gameworld - there are secrets to unravel, treasures to find, monsters to slay, NPCs to find. Most quests are exploration based; finding the right person, place or item is usually the focus. There are a few puzzles, also based on searching. The size of the islands, and the towns they contain, is exactly right; the world is not overly big, but also big enough to reward exploring. It has been a long time since I had so much fun in a 3d game exploring the world! If you’re a veteran blobber player, the dungeons might feel a bit on the small side, though.
Second, the setting: it is unusual to have a game based on Arabic mythology that includes the religion of Islam. Religious practices are implemented in the gameplay. Praying, fasting gives you bonuses; a questline has you travel and visit different religious teachers. All of this is done in an unobtrusive way. You can learn religious practices in a questline from NPCs; yet this is, as most quests in the game, entirely optional. The actions and the way religion is presented is quite unique, and done tastefully, without beating the player over the head with it. The developer definitely deserves praise for this.
Third: the optional nature of quests, and the consequences in choosing to take them or not. There are not many games in which actually doing a quest is the wrong action to take, and actually has bad outcomes! The game does a great job in alerting you to the consequences, and there are ways afterwards to deal with them. Some actions have permanent consequences for the gameworld, which gives the game some replayability.
Minor nitpicks:
The game is overall simple and easy. It does not have the difficulty of older titles such as Eye of the Beholder, nor the party customization, itemization, choices in character progression, and so on. The real-time combat is a breeze if you are a seasoned player of these types of games: just use EoB cheese “dance” tactics and mash the attack button. Money comes easily later on. The hunger and sleep mechanics are (thankfully!) easily managed. For me, these are very good things, as I do not have the time anymore to grind a game for many hours, as I could in the past... It is a light, simple experience.
The character system is very simple and not very balanced. Some skills are not very useful, some it doesn’t make sense to increase. In general you will not gain many levels before finishing the game. All of this doesn’t matter much, as it is not hard to defeat the enemies in the game, and money after some time will come by easily. Again, don’t expect any challenge here; which is good in my opinion.
Note on the save system: I am not sure why the developer chose to restrict saving the game always onto the same save-slot. You can by copying the save folder and modifying its name, move it to a different saveslot, if you want to try out some different quest outcomes.
Minor point for the developer: potatoes are a New World crop that came from Latin America with Spanish colonizers in the 16th century; they could not have been present in medieval Arabia :)
There is a more in depth review over at the website RPGCodex.
Give this one a whirl and support indie one-man developers, making games in this truly classic old-school style!