Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos

About

Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos is a single player role playing game. It was developed by Lucas Dieguez and was released on August 25, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and neutral reviews from players.

Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos is the official sequel to the classic ADOM roguelike game, offering modern gameplay with endless procedurally generated dungeons, monsters, and crafting. The Save the World Edition includes a soundtrack, wallpapers, and supports cancer research, donating 10% of proceeds to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Join the fight against corruption and cancer with this replayable dungeon-crawler.

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Play Modes

Single-Player

Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos screenshot

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42%

Audience ScoreBased on 336 reviews

gameplay13 positive mentions

stability32 negative mentions

The game has a lot of potential with interesting mechanics like grafting monster limbs onto yourself.
The graphics and art direction are appealing, providing a modernized look while retaining the essence of the original ADOM.
The character development system offers a variety of possibilities, allowing for unique builds and playstyles.

The game is riddled with bugs, including crashes and freezing issues, making it frustrating to play.
Many promised features from the original ADOM are missing, leading to a feeling of incompleteness and disappointment.
The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, making inventory management and gameplay cumbersome.

gameplay
68 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
69%
12%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with players noting interesting mechanics like grafting and a variety of classes, but many also criticize the lack of depth, incomplete features, and numerous bugs. While some appreciate the graphics and potential for engaging gameplay, others find it repetitive and lacking in challenge, with significant performance issues and a cumbersome interface detracting from the overall experience. Overall, the game shows promise but feels unfinished and in need of substantial improvements to reach its full potential.
- “If you are new to ADOM, this game is pretty good, entertaining, with a couple of interesting mechanics like grafting monster limbs onto yourself for a third or fourth weapon slot, and a pretty tile set.”
- “The accessibility of the various control schemes, neat tutorial, and clear explanations around skill choices make this game much more beginner-friendly, while also allowing for more optimized gameplay.”
- “Into a world providing a canvas for your imagination with a multitude of ways to play, endless variety, incredible mechanics, and even more incredible ways to die.”
- “Game mechanics and stats (charisma) that have no function, non-existent quests, an empty dungeon with no NPCs outside of the first couple of floors, and a difficulty level that makes the game yawn-inducing.”
- “The current version is rife with bugs, and many mechanics are just outright broken or missing from the game.”
- “Repeatedly dying, spending more time rummaging through my bags than exploring, not knowing what all that crap even is, being unable to feel any kind of accomplishment or progression, not being able to immerse myself in a character/run for more than a few minutes at a time, not having any framework for understanding any of the game's mechanics or explanation of what to expect, not knowing if this is all as intended - it's not fun.”
graphics
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
57%
6%
The graphics of Ultimate ADOM have received mixed reviews, with some praising the colorful and charming art style, while others criticize the simplistic and sometimes janky 2.5D visuals that feel outdated for a 2024 PC game. While many appreciate the graphical overhaul from the original ASCII version, there are concerns about the quality and execution of the graphics, with some users noting glitches and placeholder visuals. Overall, the game features a visually appealing design that may attract new players, but it struggles to meet the expectations of those familiar with modern gaming standards.
- “Ultimate ADOM is a very well done graphical overhaul of the original ADOM ASCII, with most of the same expansive features, just easier for new players to grasp.”
- “Great to see a refreshed version with nice graphics and classic mechanics.”
- “The graphics are lovingly designed and, as far as I understand, of high quality for the genre.”
- “The game features somewhat lazy, simplistic 'retro' looking 2.5D graphics, and it's hard to say if this is due to the age of the assets used, if it's a deliberate attempt for the game to look bad/retro on purpose, or if the assets are just, well, terrible looking.”
- “Considering this is being evaluated as a PC game in 2024, such poor quality 2D graphics in the 3D era just aren't good enough. Whether it's a deliberate design fault on behalf of the developer or they just couldn't manage to do any better, this is a compromise gamers shouldn't have to put up with.”
- “What a letdown, it's a graphical version of Nethack and not even as good as that, really.”
stability
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
94%
The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, crashes, and freezing issues that significantly hinder gameplay. Many users describe it as unfinished and in a "buggy mess" state, with a lack of developer communication exacerbating concerns about its future. While some players have experienced minimal issues, the overall consensus is that the game is currently too unstable and incomplete to recommend.
- “Simple, fun, and runs great!”
- “Gameplay was fairly bug-free for me, but others seem to be saying otherwise.”
- “When I restarted the game and tried to load a save, the level does not load and then it freezes again...”
- “This game is abandonware, buggy, and without a whole lot of content.”
- “It crashes, freezes, fails at basic math, is janky as hell, and has an absolute ton of incomplete or broken features.”
story
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
74%
15%
The game's story is widely criticized for being virtually nonexistent, with many reviewers noting a lack of quests, plot development, and meaningful narrative elements. Instead of a cohesive storyline, players encounter repetitive gameplay and procedural generation that fails to engage. While some appreciate the atmospheric elements and potential for future storytelling, the current experience is described as a raw and unstructured dungeon crawl with minimal narrative depth.
- “It has been a joy to discover the many different ways that I can interact with different magics, the environment, and story.”
- “The overall atmosphere, story, crafting, and skill tree complexity, along with the countless different types of monsters you will face, are amazing.”
- “The execution of ADOM: Caverns of Chaos definitely nails the landing; just from the few story hooks I've gotten, I'm really looking forward to seeing where things develop.”
- “The game features no proper level design or game/story flow/plot, as they opted to try to use samey repetitive procgen algorithms as a substitute for adding such content to the game, to avoid doing the important job of level/map design.”
- “Only a dungeon without story...kill and loot and die...rinse and repeat...ad nauseam.”
- “There's no quests or story to navigate right now, so you're in for a very raw experience.”
optimization
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The game's optimization is severely lacking, with numerous performance issues, frequent crashes, and soft-locks reported by users. Despite some minor improvements in stability, overall performance remains a significant drawback, particularly affecting inventory management and causing lag even on capable hardware. The game's development appears unfinished, with critical mechanics and optimizations still missing after several years.
- “Overall performance and stability have improved somewhat.”
- “Laggy, some pathfinding algorithms really need to be optimized; on the long path, my PC almost freezes.”
- “There could be some serious optimization done to square this away.”
- “Game is unfinished, has performance issues and is abandoned.”
- “Prone to soft-locks or just crashing due to optimization issues.”
- “Nice isometric-hybrid, of sorts, but so poorly optimized that slowdown and crashes are inevitable for any level of hardware.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
30%
30%
The music in the game has received high praise for its catchy and atmospheric qualities, significantly enhancing the overall experience. Reviewers noted that the soundtrack is both enjoyable and complements the game's visuals and sound effects well, contributing to an immersive atmosphere. However, some users experienced technical issues that affected their enjoyment of the music, such as choppiness in the main menu.
- “The music brings an incredible amount of atmosphere to the game, complemented by the sound effects.”
- “Outstanding music.”
- “Wonderful soundtrack.”
- “I got to get into the main menu, where I'm greeted by a 1 fps choppiness and music.”
- “The dungeons can be rotated, visuals are sharp and colorful, music is catchy, skills are varied, displayed statistics are fully customizable and the controls, clunky as they are, do work.”
- “On a positive note, the graphics, music, art direction and particularly the UI are top notch.”
replayability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
22%
11%
Overall, the game exhibits a high replayability value, with players enjoying its fun mechanics and varied gameplay experiences despite some current faults and bugs. While many find it engaging enough to revisit, some express concerns about its unfinished state and lack of content compared to its predecessor, which may affect long-term replayability.
- “Certainly worth the wait for future updates, but even at the current level, it has a high replayability value.”
- “But regardless of all its current faults, this game is really good, really fun, and very replayable. The basic mechanics are easy to learn, but don't mistake this game for being too easy, as it can unexpectedly challenge you.”
- “ADOM - Caverns of Chaos is great for replay value!”
- “Various types of issues: lag, crashes, game freezes, and some random errors. I wish the team had more time to make the game more playable before the release.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
86%
43%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its absurd and unexpected moments, such as wielding a severed arm as a weapon, which adds a comedic twist to gameplay. Players appreciate the game's ability to blend fun and humor with a variety of abilities and spells, making it an enjoyable experience. However, some critiques suggest that certain aspects may lack depth, leading to mixed feelings about the overall comedic value.
- “It was so funny when I lost my arm and found out that the severed arm was in the inventory and possible to wield it as a weapon in the remaining arm.”
- “Cant even be mad at it because it was hilarious.”
- “The game is fun, funny, and amazing for the immense range of abilities and spells.”
- “Calling this 'ultimate' when it's utterly threadbare compared to the original is an unfunny joke.”
- “The attempts at humor fall flat and feel forced, making the experience more cringeworthy than entertaining.”
- “I expected clever wit, but instead, I was met with tired clichés and predictable punchlines.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game is perceived as tedious and frustrating, often feeling like a mindless chore rather than an engaging experience. Players express dissatisfaction with repetitive tasks and the lack of meaningful rewards, leading to a sense of futility in their efforts. Overall, the grinding mechanics detract from the enjoyment, making progression feel more like a chore than a challenge.
- “Tedious.”
- “Breaking down items for experience and health points seems tedious.”
- “No matter how much care and thought I put into preparation, they're just going to die in some boring random way, and no amount of care will make any difference at all - you're just going to die, over and over, really quickly, before anything interesting happens.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of Ultimate ADOM has been criticized as a blatant cash grab, with reviewers feeling that the game lacks originality and depth, merely leveraging the established franchise to attract players in the mobile market. Many recommend the original ADOM instead, viewing the reboot as a low-effort attempt to capitalize on nostalgia.
- “Ultimate ADOM is an insipid and toothless reboot of the franchise that accomplishes nothing and makes you think that this was little more than a cash grab meant to reel in the mobile game market using an established and beloved IP.”
- “If you are even the slightest bit interested in this game, turn your sights to the original ADOM instead because, at the moment, this game feels like just a very polished cash grab, to be honest.”
- “The original ADOM was a roguelike classic; unfortunately, this game is related in name only and appears to have been a low-effort cash grab.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive storytelling, intricate crafting and skill systems, and a diverse array of monsters. The music and sound effects significantly enhance the overall experience, contributing to a captivating and engaging environment.
- “The overall atmosphere, story, crafting, skill tree complexity, and the countless different types of monsters you will face are amazing.”
- “I really love the music, which brings an incredible amount of atmosphere to the game - complemented, of course, by the sound effects.”

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70%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews

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26h Median play time

20h Average play time

14-30h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos is a role playing game.

Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac OS, PlayStation 4 and others.

On average players spend around 20 hours playing Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos.

Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos was released on August 25, 2021.

Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos was developed by Lucas Dieguez.

Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos has received neutral reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its stability.

Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos is a single player game.

Similar games include Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar, ADOM (Ancient Domains Of Mystery), Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem, Rogue Fable II, Torchlight III and others.

Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos

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