Fit check
Is Islands of the Caliph worth it for you?
We tell you who should skip it, too.
Play it if you…
Good fit- Players who enjoy old-school dungeon crawlers and want keyboard-only controls
- Action RPG fans seeking grid-based exploration with real-time combat
- Players interested in open-ended adventures rooted in Middle Eastern folklore
Skip it if you…
Saves you a refund- Players seeking modern control schemes may find the keyboard-only design restrictive
- Players who prefer a tightly directed campaign may not suit the open-ended quest discovery and multiple routes
- Players looking for stealth-focused animal characters may prefer Ghost of a Tale
Our take on Islands of the Caliph
Rather than using a conventional modern action-RPG control scheme, the game limits input to the keyboard and combines grid movement with real-time combat. Its open world also leaves primary quest discovery and route selection to exploration instead of presenting a fixed sequence of objectives.
What is Islands of the Caliph?
Islands of the Caliph is a keyboard-only action RPG set in an imagined seafaring civilization influenced by Middle Eastern folklore and Islamic spiritual traditions.
Exploration takes place in an open world with grid-based movement, while combat occurs in real time. The world contains mythical creatures including spiders, scorpions, ghouls, and jinn, alongside weapons such as scimitars, shamshirs, and jambiyah. Maps update during exploration, with a minimap, full-area map, and world map for locating routes and quests. The primary quest or quests must be discovered through exploration. Different choices can lead toward spiritual awakening or disaster, with several possible paths to the ending.
How Islands of the Caliph plays
- 01Keyboard-only controls
- The game uses keyboard input and adopts control limitations associated with 1980s dungeon crawlers.
- 02Hybrid movement combat
- Grid-based exploration is combined with real-time encounters.
- 03Folklore creatures
- Exploration includes beasts and supernatural beings drawn from Arab, Persian, and African folklore.
- 04Layered mapping
- An updating map, corner minimap, area map, and world map support route-finding and quest location discovery.
- 05Branching exploration
- Choices can direct the story toward different outcomes, including spiritual awakening or disaster.
Islands of the Caliph compared to similar games
Islands of the Caliph combines an open world, grid-based movement, real-time combat, and branching exploration. Ghost of a Tale centers on a mouse minstrel in an animal-populated medieval world with stealth, disguises, and conversations, while Vagante presents a dark fantasy adventure involving monsters, demons, crooks, and cave exploration.
Islands of the Caliph: platforms & release
Is Islands of the Caliph worth it?
It is worth it if: players who enjoy old-school dungeon crawlers and want keyboard-only controls. Skip it if: players seeking modern control schemes may find the keyboard-only design restrictive.
Where can I download Islands of the Caliph?
Use the Download Now button on this page: it opens Islands of the Caliph's store page, where you can choose how to get it.
What platforms is Islands of the Caliph on?
Windows only.
