Caravan

About

Caravan is a single player survival role playing game with a historical theme. It was developed by it Matters Games and was released on September 30, 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Caravan combines strategy with RPG elements resulting in a trading and exploration game packed with suspense and challenges. In a pre-medieval Oriental setting players will send their caravan from town to town. On their way, they will experience dangerous, mystical adventures, embark on rewarding quests in towns, and fight against dangerous bandits, beasts, ghoulish creatures and djinns.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

71%

Audience ScoreBased on 354 reviews

story33 positive mentions

grinding32 negative mentions

Unique and refreshing setting inspired by Arabian Nights with authentic cultural and historical references.
Relaxing, casual trading gameplay combined with light RPG and exploration elements.
Beautiful hand-drawn art style and atmospheric music that enhance immersion and mood.

Repetitive gameplay with limited variety in random events and combat making it tedious over time.
Lack of manual save and slow, unskippable animations cause frustration and slow pacing.
Combat and haggling mini-games lack depth and suffer from poor AI, reducing challenge and engagement.

story
192 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
76%
7%
The game's story is a simple, linear narrative set in an Arabian Nights-inspired world, focusing on a caravan master's journey involving trading and fetch quests. While some find the storyline charming and atmospheric with cultural and mythical elements, many criticize it for being repetitive, shallow, and lacking meaningful choices or depth. Overall, the story serves as a modest backdrop to the trading gameplay but may not engage players seeking a complex or richly developed narrative.
- “Caravan is a very special videogame, an excellent addition to the trading genre, with an amazing story at its core.”
- “The story is very interesting and it’s based on the original myth of Iram of the Pillars, the Arab equivalent of Atlantis, and also features some historical details like the Roman occupation of Palmyra and other cities in the Middle East.”
- “Relaxing game with interesting story, great graphics and relaxing music that nicely convey the 'Arabian Nights' feeling.”
- “Firstly, the story feels a bit wooden and over the top fantastic.”
- “Secondly, the quests are quite limited in my view: mostly travel to another city to do some task, it's very linear with little to deviate from that.”
- “Overall, there are too many pointless features, and the story is not engaging enough for me.”
gameplay
107 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
57%
15%
The gameplay features simple trading and combat mechanics centered around tactical dice-based rock-paper-scissors, which many find repetitive, overly simplistic, and lacking challenge or depth. While some appreciate its casual and atmospheric flow, others criticize the slow pacing, grind-heavy progression, and limited variety in encounters that lead to monotony. Overall, the gameplay is seen as accessible but shallow, with potential for improvement in complexity, AI, and event diversity.
- “Gameplay is not very challenging - buy where prices are low and sell where they are high, with trades and combat being conducted via tactical dice selection from a pool shared with the opponent.”
- “It does a good job of teaching you what you need to know as you play, and the gameplay is challenging enough, but not overly difficult.”
- “The whole managing part about trading goods, caravan members, animals and water through the Arabic desert gives a neat, but not overloaded mechanic to the game, while following the mysterious storyline.”
- “The gameplay gets monotonous and repetitive just after a few hours, as you’ll spend most of your time doing the same tasks: managing inventory, buying items cheap and selling the same items for a higher price, and moving from city to city while facing the same five or so different kinds of encounters.”
- “Added to this is the fact that the trading mechanics are completely pointless, as you can see on the overmap all the prices for goods in other cities, meaning it's simply a matter of buying cheap in one city and trekking over to another one where it's expensive.”
- “Grinding to accumulate funds for hero upgrade makes monotonous gameplay even more tedious.”
music
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
47%
7%
The music is praised for its calming, atmospheric, and fitting Middle Eastern style that enhances the game's relaxing and immersive "Arabian nights" vibe. However, many users find it repetitive and monotonous due to constant looping of the same tracks, which can become annoying over time. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong point for setting the mood but may benefit from more variety.
- “Relaxing game with interesting story, great graphics and relaxing music that nicely convey the 'Arabian nights' feeling.”
- “The artistry is breathtaking — from the hand-painted scenes to the soft, ambient music that sets the tone for every scene.”
- “The art-style and the music create a wonderful atmospheric oriental world to explore, and the gameplay has a decelerated and relaxing effect.”
- “Music is a repetitive crap that I've turned off during the first hour.”
- “And the music, for Christ's sake... I believe there's only one music in constant loop, very annoying.”
- “Well, the music is okay, but it gets extremely repetitive since you hear the same tune every time you set out with your caravan, and eventually it becomes annoying.”
graphics
53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
39%
6%
The game's graphics receive generally positive feedback for their beautiful, stylized art and fitting "Arabian Nights" atmosphere, with many praising the relaxing visuals and cohesive art style. While some note the graphics are simple, somewhat mediocre, or occasionally buggy, they are considered adequate and charming for the genre, enhancing the overall immersive experience despite lacking flashy or high-end visuals.
- “Relaxing game with interesting story, great graphics and relaxing music that nicely convey the 'Arabian Nights' feeling.”
- “The art style is beautiful and it’s a joy to play.”
- “Beautiful graphics, excellent sound space, simple yet flexible mechanics.”
- “Graphics are on the lesser end of things.”
- “On the graphical side 'caravan' is quite mediocre.”
- “The graphics are poor, but adequate for the genre.”
grinding
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is frequently described as repetitive, tedious, and lengthy, especially in the latter stages where players must accumulate funds and level up heroes for progression. While the initial gameplay and systems might be engaging, the heavy reliance on grinding—through trading, combat, and resource management—often leads to monotony and diminished interest. Players who enjoy trading sims and don't mind repetitive tasks may appreciate it, but many find the grind undermines the overall experience.
- “Grinding to accumulate funds for hero upgrade makes monotonous gameplay even more tedious.”
- “Unfortunately it requires some grinding that is not quite pleasant and requires you to go through tedious back and forth trips just to manage to make some profit which is mandatory for proceeding with the main quest line.”
- “The game is extremely grindy in chapters 1 and 2: very boring, I even fell asleep.”
atmosphere
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
72%
16%
12%
The game is widely praised for its authentic and immersive Middle Eastern atmosphere, featuring detailed art, relaxing music, and a casual, decelerated gameplay flow. While some find the setting somewhat stereotypical, many appreciate its unique cultural focus and the engaging mood created by the soundtrack and market exploration. Overall, the atmosphere significantly enhances the experience, making it a standout element despite limited strategic complexity.
- “I really appreciate the quality of the art, as well as the attention to detail when it comes to the setting and atmosphere.”
- “The art-style and the music create a wonderful atmospheric oriental world to explore, and the gameplay has a decelerated and relaxing effect.”
- “Love the atmosphere of the game; the gameplay, narration, music and art.”
- “So this game is good for 2022, but for 2030 it will not be good enough, because by then there will be games with the same genre and atmosphere, but much better.”
- “The concept is not extremely original, as I've already seen other orientalist trading games, and this atmosphere is actually kind of stereotypical, though it's still nice to have games centered on non-Anglo-Saxon cultures.”
- “That's not a complex strategy game; it's more about the atmosphere and the story, which may not satisfy players looking for deeper gameplay.”
replayability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
42%
33%
The game generally lacks replayability, with a linear story and repetitive events that limit incentive to play again once completed. While some players find minor value in replaying for achievements, most agree the content and choices are insufficient for multiple playthroughs. Enhancements in content and variety would be needed to improve the game's replay value.
- “These add to the replayability and rewarding nature of the game.”
- “I can definitely see some replay value in this as well!”
- “It doesn't have what I feel is a lot of replay value unless you missed achievements and want to play through a second time to get them.”
- “A lot of repetitive events and not replayable once the campaign is finished.”
- “It is very basic but efficient gameplay: buy cheap, sell high, travel, fight, negotiate, accomplish quests, and encounter various random events during your journey. It has no replayability once finished and becomes extremely repetitive after a while.”
- “All in all, it is a fun first playthrough, but I think I won't be replaying this game; it doesn't have nearly enough content to be replayable.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game's stability is mixed, running smoothly on some systems like iMac with Big Sur but experiencing bugs such as UI unresponsiveness, freezing in dialogue, and issues when speeding up with cheat tools. Users report occasional need for repeated clicks and difficulty accessing certain screens.
- “Way too slow, a little buggy when you speed it up with Cheat Engine though.”
- “I like many details of the game but the UI is very buggy; sometimes I had to click a button multiple times for it to respond.”
- “Can't open my character screen; the game freezes during dialogue.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Caravan is praised for its deeply emotional storytelling and beautiful hand-drawn art, creating a memorable and heartfelt experience. Players appreciate its focus on meaningful interactions and quiet, poignant moments over traditional action, making it a touching journey for those seeking emotional depth in gaming.
- “Caravan is more than just a game; it’s a treasure chest of memories wrapped in beautiful, hand-drawn art and emotional storytelling.”
- “One of the most heartwarming moments for me was when I encountered a particularly solitary character, an older woman who had been carrying a heavy load of memories with her.”
- “It’s a game for those who seek a little more meaning in the digital worlds they inhabit, for those who understand that sometimes the greatest adventures aren’t the ones filled with action and combat, but with heartfelt conversations and shared silences.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game features impressive visuals and a fitting soundtrack while maintaining smooth performance, indicating good optimization without demanding excessive system resources.
- “These problems can be caused by the game requiring too many system requirements or the game not being optimized.”
- “These problems can be caused by the game requiring too many system resources or the game not being optimized.”
- “Visuals are lovely, soundtrack was fitting and I had no issues with performance.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is limited and not player-driven, with many users criticizing the character designs, particularly the faces, as unattractive.
- “The character designs are not my favorite; in fact, most of the faces look terrible.”
- “Character development isn't under your control.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization is primarily driven by advertisements, and users suggest purchasing the game only if you genuinely want to support it after trying it through ads.
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor is appreciated for its clever use of pop culture references, providing amusing and relatable moments for players.