I'm giving this game a thumbs up with a caveat that it's for a very specific kind of player. You have to be into 2D roguelikes with turn-based combat. You have to enjoy the particular post-apocalyptic cyberpunk atmosphere that the game is going for. And you have to have a great deal of self-control to not ruin your own experience. Qud is a fantastic roguelike and a horribly, horribly broken game. You can play through the game blissfully unaware of the cracks in the fabric of the universe, but once you realize the cracks are there, you have to specifically avoid stepping on them because they ruin the game if you use them to your advantage.

Specifically I'm referring to three mechanics which give you every reason to make your own gaming experience less fun in order to gain an advantage in the game: 1.) infinite reputation grinding, 2.) infinite merchant refreshing, and 3.) infinite item duping. All three of these things are possible to abuse very early on into the game, and they give you the possibility to throw away hours of your time to make the game as easy as you want, exchanging difficulty for tedium. If you want to spend sixteen hours walking up and down the desert for no reward other than reducing the number of enemy factions attacking you, then you can do that. If you want to check the merchant, walk five tiles on the world map, and then check it again, you can do that as many times as you want until the item you want shows up. If you want to duplicate the merchant who sells the merchant duplicating liquid, then you can do that and refresh him ad infinitum till you dupe him again and again into 100 liquid merchants. Yes, the game is that broken, and it's kind of fun to break it at first, but it very rapidly deteriorates into a disgusting experience if you play the game that way because it is not only tedious, it is in a technical sense optimal. Compared to breaking the game, every other "fair" way of playing the game ends up feeling bad.

If you put these flaws aside, Qud is a beautiful game with intricate character building and a fascinating world. Play Qud and enjoy it for what it is, but don't try to optimize it. Keep your hands inside the rollercoaster at all times, and enjoy the ride.

Was fun at first, then got incredibly tedious and boring, especially when you have seen most of what the map offers.. Although most roguelikes suffer from this, this one takes the cake. Gave it like a 6 month break and I just can't get back into it.

1. I have a job. Full time even.
2. I have had this game less than six weeks.