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Digimon Story Time Stranger
Game
Game2023
Caves of Lore
Developer by Mike Robins
I created Caves of Lore because of my deep love for RPGs. This project took me 6 years to make and I learned a lot about coding, art, and storytelling. If you reach the end then be sure to let me know! Caves has deep combat, classic-styled pixel art, and (of course) LORE! 📖 From the Steam store page
190 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Lemmy, Bluesky) · newest Sep 14, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
88
LovedLoved
161 positive · 23 negative
95% range 82–92%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 161 | 23 | 0 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
6 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
409 of 443 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 190 · most liked first"Not all those who wander are lost.” Caves of Lore (2023) represents a turn-based role-playing game (RPG), developed and published by Mike Robins. The developer took more than 6 years to complete this solo project. Pros & cons: ++ All these pixels form a deceptively homogeneous layer, but once you break through the surface tension, the tactical depth will leave a lasting imprint on your mortal mind. Each opponent has specific weaknesses, both physical and magical; flying and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR: A bona fide, true-to-its-roots CRPG with all the content you could possibly want without being mechanically overwhelming. Puzzles, secrets, exploration, dozens of spells, traits and abilities, and enough combat to make Genghis Khan proud. Vox Populi Caves of Lore unexpectedly caught my attention when it placed 5th in the [url=https://rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=12309]RPGCodex 2023 GOTY vote. It wasn't the first time I heard about the game, but accounts from random YouTubers don't quite…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game starts off pretty strong, and has a lot going for it, but it falls off a cliff as you start to progress. Eventually, gameplay devolves into taking a step or two, then fighting one of the endless slew of battles. By the time you get to the graveyard, the game is nothing BUT battles; all the exploration and world-building goes out the window. The boss for that area ALSO spawns minions constantly - making it a war of attrition. By the time he has 15+ minions on the screen, there's no…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Probably everything you might want from old-school rpg, Caves of Lore has aplenty and in high quality. Dungeons, companions, original enemies, great puzzles and secrets, mysteries, quests... I really enjoyed exploring this colourful, yet somehow melancholic and strangely soothing world. It really has its own unique atmosphere. Special kudos for skills and spells applicable both in and outside of battle, it adds a lot to coherence of mechanics. P. S. If you want to discover other less known…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very fun and cheap with a discount. I really enjoyed it. Has a lot of heart. Cozy. But... there are some much needed improvement to be done (details below) that can tank the fun. At some point I was stuck into the main story and didnt know why. Spent 2h searching all nooks and cranies of the map. Had to search online for the solution on a Japanese guide... what an experience! But I sticked because the game really speaked to me. I would recommend a bit for the solo-dev to do some improvement…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When the time comes, at the end of the year, to give games awards on STEAM, Caves of Lore will be the first I'll vote for. The dev has my thanks, not only for having crafted a real good old RPG on par with the classics, but also for all the work and pain he must have taken to iron details, and implement mechanics that works perfectly every way. Everything is good in this one, even the writing, even the story, and the rich pixel graphics too! ᓚᘏᗢ I'm particularly fond of "small-dev-team indie…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had bought it a year ago played for 10ish hours and stopped playing for whatever reason. But I recently decided to start it up again and I am very glad I did. The game is fantastic; Challenging turn-based tactical combat with lots of abilities and spells to acquire, great exploration with lots of secrets to uncover, and a decent story / lore. Some of the sidequests are a bit uninspired (e.g., "bring me 5 monster tails") but since the game focuses on combat so much I suppose that is to be…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ladies and gentlemen, if you want to play a really good designed RPG game with a lot of easy and hard to find secrets, nice spell system, very good game progress design and nice story, then buy this game, even at full price it's worth it! I finished this game in 70 hours on highest difficulty and was captivated from start to the end. On normal difficulty you can finish it maybe in 40-50 hours. The dev is really active on forum and helping a lot! Buy it and play it, you will not regret it!…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is great and well worth the full price. If you get it on sale, it's a steal. As you can see, it's a traditional party based RPG with up to 6 party members. You create your first and then encounter a variety of potential party members in the world. Writing is minimalist, which is my preference for these sorts of games (unless it's amazing, but let's be real, most isn't) but it gets the point across and there are additional texts and books that you're able to read if you're so…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →* The mechanics/combat system are good. One thing I really liked was that a character can memorize a spell if they use it enough allowing for some interesting and dynamic gearing * Enjoyed the atmosphere and art * Lack of handholding was a plus for me * Mid plot The reason why I can't recommend the game even though it checks every other box for me is the awful quests. Everything is collect X things, kill X monsters, round up some critters. Maybe if the numbers were reduced by a lot I…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →BUG FOUND: On 7/1/25 I discovered that when the game checks for objects, it does not check for objects in containers in your inventory, so if you put a quest item in there you won't get the option to complete the quest, or interact with the corresponding object (like a locked door or mineral deposit.) BUG FOUND: On 7/3/25, I used the summoning spell that lets you hijack a summon. I targeted one of three remaining summoned slimes. I then used the darkness aoe spell to kill the two remaining…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I came in expecting a simple adventure romp The game opened with me being an idiot and falling into a pit, and having Amnesia, pretty classic. Then I learned that I don't have amnesia, I have magically-induced alzheimers, and that it is NOT an isolated incident, and is in fact, the problem plaguing our current world. Uh oh. Then I realized that the game had spells you use out of combat to explore and find secrets in a way that reminds me greatly of Golden Sun. (A game I love and remember…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the best turn based RPGs I ever played. Up there with the likes of FF3 and Chrono Trigger, but way more deeper gameplay. And more addictive than the likes of Wasteland 2&3. With gorgeous pixelated art style, deep character customization, interesting story and tons and tons of spells which I probably wont even be able to try all. I had one single issue, and i hope the author (yes, just one man wrote this game) reads and fixes it. Any bonus damage applied to weapons negated characters…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game isn't terrible but I didn't enjoy it too much. I liked certain stuff in-game but enough people talked about the positives, so I am going to only focus on things that personally bothered me. - UI is quite bad, it does show that it was developed mainly for mobile. For example, ESC key usually returns you to the previous menu/screen, but in certain places it causes a loop between two screens. - I didn't like the combat. Most enemies past the tutorial area feel like damage sponges and can…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had a good time playing Caves of Lore, even though at the end I was so done with the excessive combat I stealthed my way to victory. But for a solo project, this game is kind of amazing and an easy recommendation for any old school isometric CRPG fans. Hopefully one day we'll see a sequel that fixes all the main issues and continues the story. Pros: - Cozy looking - Lots of secrets to find and puzzles to figure out - Manages worldbuilding without wordy dialogue or lots of reading - Good…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wasn't for me, although I can see why it is for some, as the combat and exploration is decent enough. But the combination of awkward UI, excessive loot and lacklustre early questing has just made me want to leave it for now. There seems to be a real lack of cohesion to a lot of the game's elements, and I'm not really keen on the "I kinda think this...but who knows....I lost my memory!" dialogue from everyone early game.....people have lost their memory.....I get it....there's no need for…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wanted to like this, but the systems in this game are range from rough to terrible. - Leveling up doesn't actually give much player power, yet takes forever. - The resistance system means that you'll just run into enemies you can't damage. So you need to change your gear and spells, except now you need to go grind to bring them up to a decent level. The character progression forces specialisation, and then the encounter system expects you to be able to do every kind of damage. - The…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A Bit Flawed (This is a neutral recommendation due to some major issues.) Caves of Lore is much better than I expected judging by the screen shots up there. Those give the impression that the game is essentially just combat, but you actually move around some fairly large regions with a lot of secrets to be found. There are two towns in the game, a bunch of NPCs to talk to and get quests from, etc. The combat is good, memorizing spells by using them is cool, and the loot system is fine, with a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Caves of Lore is a turn-based grid-based RPG with some quite charming writing and fantastic character building. Challenges can get tough which encourages you to exploit crazy combos, but they never feel oppressive and cryptic to the point of frustration. There are a few issues with directions; unlike combat, some objectives actually do get to be super cryptic, and hints for the quests are very sparse and hidden amongst not just your quest log, but also books. You really need to make sure you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →BEST Patient Gamer Games! * The Darkside Detective * Caves of Lore * Children of Morta * Loop Hero * Blasphemous * Total War EMPIRE BEST New Releases! * Ex Astris * Slice and Dice * Codenames * Drop Troop * Halls of Torment BEST GAME OF 2024! * Balatro
unlabelledView post →As far as I know, this game was created by just one guy. If that's true, it makes it even more impressive. It's a fun dungeon crawler with a medieval theme, a quirky sense of humor (reminding me of, eg. the old FF games), and turn based combat. None of this, incl. the writing is trail-blazing BUT you can tell that there's a lot of heart in this. Also, some of the systems are quite fun. Example: You get different spellbooks which you can equip, so you can choose and change your collection of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hmmm. Sadly I am marking this as a not recommend, and I lurve most CRPGs. It has its charms - nice pixel graphics, humorous writing, exploration, amusing details like the dog carrying a torch if it is a 'leader' or dog specific NPC chats... But it is plagued by a zillion trivial combats, each taking a minute or two to win. They are no threat, not interesting and kinda dull ... and that boring time adds up! I feel it wastes my time. Yet skipping them by running or sneaking is itself a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The (solo) dev clearly played some D&D, likely including some of the older CRPGs, and I can see some of the older Ultima IV-VI in here, as well. It feels a lot like that older kind of CRPG that tries its best to emulate the actual tabletop experience, but it uses an unique rules set. The game has levels, but it's mostly a train-through-use skill and spell system. Spells in particular are gained by equipping items that let you use the spell, then casting it until you learn to cast the spell…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The ending is a blatant cliffhanger and a "thank you" letter from developers. The combat is a boring chore and used as filler. It drags itself out with needless animations, screen transitions and (sometimes empy) debriefing screens. You will be constantly interrupted. Fights have no weight to them, you just get spammed by mob all the time. The monster lore system is pointless. Half of the monsters share the same resistances and weaknesses. Stealth, dodge, status spells and many other skills…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Excellent game from a solo dev. Lots of solo projects are either from a programmer with the worst visuals, or from an artist with the most basic game elements. This one does well in all areas, including music and writing. A pretty solid RPG progression with non-trivial encounters that develops into interesting worldbuilding and plot.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It went from amazing to dissapointing in a few hours. ✔ varied, hand-crafted world ✔ no hand-holding, you have to read what NPCs say where the environment pushes you to go ? increasing damage comes mostly from using the same skill over and over. Have fun using a weak spell to level it up. You can also force a party member to train, but they leave your party! Why would I do that? ? exploration is rewarded with secret paths and stashes... except that I never found anything actually cool or…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have played the game on android and I have enjoyed it so much that I have also bought it on steam. The game is awesome, you can clearly feel the passion (not to talk about the hard work) of the one-man army developer who's behind this little gem of a game. I'm not going to dive much into the technical aspects of it. Overall the system is quite solid, it may need some refinements here and there, but it works quite well and I really appreciate that the dev has created a discord channel where…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm giving this a positive review, even though I ultimately didn't like it. And God I wanted to like this game. I know it's made by a solo-developer, I realise the time and effort that must have gone into it. I have to - i mean, HAVE TO - credit the very obvious love and passion and that went into making this. This is the kind of game that inspires other solo-devs. It's just... not hitting for me. I liked the world, and i liked the characters I met within it. The writing is fine (a couple of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An amazing turn-based RPG! Despite the graphics and the somewhat odd UI, this game is a hidden gem and easily one of the best RPGs I've played in years. 9/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very much enjoying this game, and I still have some time to go before I finish. My party is most definitely not all human or even humanoid, which is a pleasant harkening back to games remembered from long ago - the Phantasie trilogy particularly. Some things in the UI are tricky until you figure them out. One thing I'll call out: you definitely need to use both movement keys and mouse-click movement to get to all the places you need to get to - one or the other alone won't cut it. I'm…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →an homage to old school Ultima games, down to the conversation mechanics. beautiful pixel art with modern lighting. wonderful music. pretty good UI. the story is terrific and engaging and interesting. the amount of lore is impressive, especially considering this was a solo dev. polish, also! there are some bugs, but nothing debilitating. sometimes combat is a bit of a slog -- there is a LOT of combat. walking around can be annoying, too, but thankfully there's a "GPS" feature in the map.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game, extreme production value for a game with a single dev. Shame game awards missed this gem, def in my personal top list of games released this year.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like you. You've got great taste in games! Also, is that second photo what the controller looks like folded up? If so, that's awesome! What's the name of that controller, if you don't mind my asking? Some other games in the same vein that I didn't see in your screenshots: Icewind Dale Knight of the Old Republic Titan Quest Hitman: Sniper Siralim Ultimate Streets of Rage 4 Andor's Trail Caves of Lore And some that are in between a console and premium phone experience: Idle…
unlabelledView post →Caves of Lore feels like a love letter to traditional role-playing games, but it is not content with simply copying ideas from the past. Instead, it takes familiar foundations and builds an adventure that captures the spirit of classic CRPG experiences while adding enough personality and flexibility to stand on its own. From its pixel-art presentation to its tactical combat systems and exploration-focused design, the game clearly aims for players who appreciate slower, more thoughtful…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →very enjoyable experience that scratched the party, turn based CRPG itch I had. Love the worldbuilding and mystery, the combat is decent and entertaining, character progression is solid. Overall, a strong recommend for fans of the genre. My only real negatives was a bit too many fights, especially in the latter part of the game. Also, it isn't too hard to break the game balance if you want to. My suggestion for a sequel (which I truly hope for) would be to reduce the number of fights by about…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Anyone complaining that the game isn't "clear" in its systems or that it's too hard are babies who need quest markers to play a game. They should stick to popping balloons on ipads. This game is great, and for a one man project, it's actually insanely good. It's something like Wizardry 8 meets Gold Box meets Avernum, and is what every indie RPG has been trying and failing to do for the past 15 years.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pros: -exploration is fun and rewarding -learn-by-doing skill system -bestiary and adequately preparing for fights is crucial -impressive game especially for a solo dev. looking forward to what comes next. Cons: -Many abilities are useless. Those acquired in the mid to late game take too long to level so I mostly stuck with the same few skills. -Moon puzzles mostly come down to waiting around for extended periods of time
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Old school adventure game that scratches the itch. Good story, lots of secrets to discover, no hand holding, and you get to destroy evil, what's not to like!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →* Old school RPG * Start out with NO MEMORY of how u got into the fog/caves. * Doesnt Hold your hand - I had to restart twice in order to kill first boss * Many party members to be found!? Many hard to find (Max Party 6) * 10-30 secrets per map * Its fun and I cant stop playing it. I guess I only have 22 hours but feels like more. * Skills * Spells * Ability's * So many to choose from. If you like old school RPGs you'll love this game, I promise. I cant stop playing it. Exploring every…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I enjoyed the atmosphere of the game. However, the game has one big showstopper of a bug, which requires you to quit the game to continue since the enemies can stop moving mid-battle. Especially at the last boss, this is felt since the boss takes a lot of hits to kill. The game feels like a beta game where stuff needs to be more fleshed out than it really is ..
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It scratches a proper-rpg itch. Has lots of interesting mechanics that I haven't seen before, but maybe they are present in other retro-leaning games as well. There is a rare mechanic where your characters equip books to cast spells, and they can learn them permanently through casting them many times, hence memorizing them. So anyone can learn any spell (so long as their magic stats allow it) The characters, especially the playable ones are all quite interesting, and NPCs react differently to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a great game, the fact that it was made by a single dev is mindblowing. A uniquely satisfying experience. At about the midway point all the fights become pretty trivial if your builds/items are decent, and the end of the game is kind of abrupt almost like it was early access, but these are all nitpicks basically; this is a solid game that feels great to play and is super cheap. This story really comes to life because of the care that went into crafting every part of the map,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Having a blast! Thanks for making a game like this!! Cheers, and hope you make many more in this style!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Excellent game, especially given that it has been made by a single developer. Interestng setting, dynamic combat (if a bit on the easier side), and most of all - and here I agree with many other reviews - the exploration bit with runes and moons. This system sets this game apart from other titles, it was very fun and engaging to learn and use it. Pros + + world and exploration system with runes and moons + story + diverse and interesting companions + dynamic combat system + decent items…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm not going to write a huge exposition about how good this game is; there is enough of that in other reviews. What I can tell you is that I almost exclusively play CRPGS/JRPGS/RPGS, AAA's and Indie's both; this is absolutely 10/10 and you are doing yourself a huge disservice if you do not at least give this a try. Well done Mike Robins!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you're a lover of the CRPG genre this game is an absolute triumph in every category that matters. It has an ambitious scope which it mostly delivers on, an overall story that's fairly compelling with a run time of 30-60 hours which is bananas at this price point. It doesn't hold your hand, and on the toughest difficulty it presents a solid challenge with a respectable learning curve. My one complaint is that altering your initial party of 6 felt like too much of an inconvenience due to the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An isometric RPG with a lot of really interesting lore and world building going on. The character management system is really flexible, you pull off a lot of really fun and interesting ability combos. The graphics are charming and convey feelings really effectively. However, the game has the vices of its virtues. A fairly open world also provides a lot of opportunities for running into dead ends.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've had more fun playing this game than I have any triple A game I've bought in the last 2 years. I'll support this dev til I perish
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to like this game, but I found myself frustrated a lot of the time and I have to give up for now. I was looking forward to using my controller for this, but that quickly went out the window, the game will detect all of your inputs but the UI is not setup to be navigable with the controller easily. Many instances I ended up not being able to click on or exit something without using my mouse. The UI overall leaves much to be desired, I could make another post on that but while it is not…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's an old school RPG with little to no hand holding and some tricky elements, but overall it's a lot of fun. It's a one man production so keep expectations in line with that, but I've plunked 40+ hours into this thing and I'll probably spend more time on this than Starfield.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →1. Exploration, secrets, puzzles, quests, turn based fights, many passive and active skills and feats to choose from or progress. 2. There are no classes per se, but characters come with a sort of predisposition, and you get better in what you use. 3. Questing is alright. 4. Last but not least, the soundtrack is surprisingly good, and texts are often punchy, on point, and fun to read. --- A well-thought-out, simple-to-look-at-complex-under-the-hood dungeon and outside crawler with every…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Simply amazing game. I've been playing RPG for over 30 years and this is one of the best games I've played in the genre. The storyline, combat mechanics and fun I've had from a game created by one person is simply phenomenal. I can't wait to see more games from this designer. I look forward to the sequel and I hope some big franchise picks up your talent and gives you the freedom and resources to create more traditional RPGs.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A very solid RPG that nails exploration. From the very beginning, the world is filled with interesting things to discover. It's also cool to revisit areas later to find even more secrets. The story, characters, lore, and unique world are all interesting and well written. I found myself far more engaged with this game than was with many AAA titles I've played recently. This game is a true masterpiece, especially considering it's the work of a single person, and I can't wait for the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →1. bad UI 2. horrible controller control scheme 3. being a old school indie doesnt mean you can make the players tolerate the lack of QOL 4. i always dont think a grid based strategy RPG game with lots of minor battles is a good idea, it is repetitive and very very boring. 5. was very interested in the lore/story/setting, sadly i couldnt found any fun out of the first hour or so gameplay
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a lot of fun and so full of depth! I love creating new builds around the many weapons with the Abilities you can use with them, and narrowing the focus on a few good spells for each character so they level them up faster. Rn trying to see how much Acid damage I can do with Web, the only Acid spell in the game (for now).
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fantastic game. Full of creative and surprising new ideas, atmospheric, gently challenging and just lots of fun. I can highly recommend it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Combat grinder, not my thing.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Over 60 hours of old school RPG fun. This brought me back to my younger years playing games like Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Dragon Warrior. I was engrossed in the story and find it amazing that it was made my one developer (who will honestly get back to you with a seconds notice if you have questions). The support and love this game was given has put in one of my top 10 games to play. I would give it a try if you are craving a throw back style crpg as it is a hard game to put down.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Weird but addictive dungeon crawling RPG that's brought down by horrendous UI and unexplained systems. 5.5/10 if you can handle poor UI and can handle figuring things out yourself in game. I've decades of (c)RPG experience and it still took me literally 35 hours to figure out most of the systems... by which time the game was mostly over. There are still things I'll never understand because the game doesn't tell you, forums are dead, and I don't like to use Discord. Also, the game doesn't seem…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →All the essential charms of older RGPs with all the convenience of modern gaming. So, it's a great place to start if you are looking to live/re-live the feeling of olden classics. Even if you are not looking for any of that, it's still an amazing game. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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