Choose Caves of Qud
Choose Caves of Qud if you want the Steam Leaderboards side of the pairing. On Steam, it's the newer release (2024) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 10,368 Steam reviews back the pick.
Caves of Qud vs Cogmind
Caves of Qud and Cogmind both land in Strategy, Indie, Adventure on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Strategy, Indie, Adventure on Steam. Cogmind (2017) is 7 years older than Caves of Qud (2024). Both sit near 95% positive on Steam (Caves of Qud: 10,368 reviews, Cogmind: 1,345). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Cogmind
Choose Cogmind if you want an Early Access experience. 1,345 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Caves of Qud and Cogmind sit in Strategy, Indie, and Adventure on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (95.2% vs 95.6% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Caves of Qud |  Cogmind | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024 | 2017 |
| Genres | Strategy, Indie, Adventure, RPG | Strategy, Indie, Adventure, RPG, Early Access |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Playable |
| Price | 23.99 USD | 24.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.2% positive (10,368 reviews) | 95.6% positive (1,345 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Freehold Games | Grid Sage Games |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- Cogmind (2017) is 7 years older than Caves of Qud (2024).
- Both sit near 95% positive on Steam (Caves of Qud: 10,368 reviews, Cogmind: 1,345).
- Caves of Qud is currently ~4% cheaper on Steam than Cogmind (23.99 USD vs. 24.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: Caves of Qud is Deck Verified, Cogmind is Deck Playable.
Caves of Qud vs Cogmind — FAQ
- Which is better, Caves of Qud or Cogmind?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Caves of Qud sits at 95.2% positive (10,368 reviews), Cogmind at 95.6% (1,345). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Caves of Qud or Cogmind first?
- If you want chronology, Cogmind (2017) came out before Caves of Qud (2024). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Caves of Qud and Cogmind similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Indie, Adventure on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.