Islands of the Caliph

Islands of the Caliph is a retro-style first-person role-playing game (RPG) set in a Mediaeval Islamic fantasy world, with grid-based movement and real-time combat. The player controls a nameless adventurer who one day sets off to do quests for the various characters inhabiting several islands that were once part of a single landmass. As the game progresses, more parts of the game world open for the player to explore, as travel routes to new islands become available and paths open to previously blocked-off locations, while already visited areas slowly repopulate with monsters and useful items.

The player character levels up by gaining experience points from fighting enemies. Trainers can be found on the islands who will raise the character's stats when stat points become available. The character must also eat and rest to remain in shape. However, the most unusual mechanic in this game is that it gradually introduces the player to the foundations of the Islamic faith, including prayer and fasting, which here become actual in-game actions that the player character regularly performs alongside the more usual routine of fighting monsters, buying equipment and talking to NPCs.

Islands of the Caliph uses a retro aesthetic and runs at a low screen resolution with a CRT screen imitation shader. The game is entirely controlled with the keyboard only as an homage to the classic dungeon crawlers from the 80s.