Caves and horror are a match made in heaven. Cave systems are at once dark, dank, and dangerous while also being oddly hypnotic, preying on the human desire to follow every path to its very end, just in case something fantastic waits just out of sight. Yearning is a horror-themed TTRPG that uses its cave setting to its full effect, creating an unsettling game that must be played to be believed.
The game starts (as most do) with character creation. Players roll on four tables to learn their character’s name, what compels them to dive into the caves, what they’re hiding from, and what they did. Despite it being one of the book’s first pages, Yearning wastes no time showing off one of its best features, its commitment to its central theme. Every prompt in the “What Compels You?” and “What Are You Hiding From?” is beautifully written, instantly evoking an uneasy tone. This is capped off by the “What Did You Do?” table that features a single option, clearly informing the player that they’re about to go through a mind and psyche-warping experience.
Entering The Mountain Of Madness
At its core, Yearning is a map-making game. At the start of the game, the player puts a sheet of graph paper down in front of themselves. Once the paper is ready, the player rolls a D8 onto the page. Where this D8 lands is the player’s starting location.
Once the player knows where they start, they roll a D4 and a D8 to create a cave passage, with the D4 informing the player how far away the passage is and the D8 deciding what type of passage it is. The player then picks which direction the passage is in (left, right, up, down, etc.) and marks it on their map. They then repeat this process and connect the two passages with a line, forming a cave wall. The player continues generating passages and drawing walls between them until a complete cavern is created.
Once the cavern is completed, the player decides which passage their caver will follow. After choosing, the player looks at the rules for the type of passage they rolled and then rolls on the random events table to find what happens as the caver travels through the cavern.
While exploring the cave system, the player must manage Resources and Panic. The player’s Resources value represents helpful tools and objects the caver has brought or found while on their journey. After finishing an event, the player can choose to spend a resource to set up a camp, which slightly reduces the cave diver’s Panic.
The Unique Panic Mechanic Makes The Game
What really makes the game stand out is its Panic mechanic. Exploring some passages and experiencing certain events will boost the player’s Panic. If this value ever reaches 10, the game ends, and your cave diver fails in their mission. However, when your cave diver reaches 4 Panic, something fascinating happens. Whenever you experience an event, you roll an additional D4. If this die rolls a 4, the cave diver discovers a rune carved into the cavern’s rocky wall.
Your character and the game’s mechanics undergo a terrifying metamorphosis after you discover four runes. After this, your stats change from Panic and Resources to Hunger and Self. However, while Resources and Panic mostly remain separate (with the former just being a way to reduce the latter,) Hunger and Self function as a loop. Hunger grows as the player explores the cave’s various passages and caverns. However, the player can restore Hunger by spending a point of Self, allowing their caver to devour part of their identity. Conversely, the play can spend a point of Hunger to restore some of their Self, though this process involves a dice roll, meaning it isn’t a 1:1 conversion, making careful Hunger management essential to progress.
But, if the character’s Hunger ever reaches 10, the character will become too hungry to continue and head back out of the cave to search for edible prey, ending your TTRPG session. If the character’s Self falls to zero, then the player will have to make a roll to see if they can be revived. However, this is a tricky roll, meaning players shouldn’t bet their entire run on the chance of revival.
A TTRPG That Fully Embraces Its Cave Theme
The best and most instantly noticeable thing about Yearning is how it handles its theme. The game’s introduction quickly establishes a creepy and uncomfortable atmosphere, and not only does this remain throughout the entire game, but it only gets more intense as you play. A big reason for this increasing terror is the game’s many clever touches, all of which seem tailor-made to unnerve the player, from the creepy asides in the text to the example map icons looking like frantic scrawls.
Plus, the game’s text skillfully avoids the common horror pitfall of going into so much detail that the horror becomes dulled or comical. The game gives players just enough information to understand what the author is aiming for while leaving room for the player’s imagination to run wild, leading to many memorably terrifying moments that will linger in your mind long after the game ends.
Going Above And Beyond With Details
Reyes Makes Games’ decision to include the second set of mechanics (Hunger and Self) is also inspired. This element makes the game stand out against similar solo TTRPGs while also dramatically enhancing the game’s creepy atmosphere by mechanically representing the existential horror of losing control of your mind and getting trapped in a self-destructive cycle you don’t fully understand. On top of this, the game’s mechanical structure (Runes only becoming visible after you reach 4 Panic, Hunger only coming in once you exceed 10 Panic) means that the game has a constantly escalating sense of tension and danger, further helping the player feel like they’re losing control of themselves the longer they play.
This is all tied together by the game’s excellently designed map-making element. Having the player make the map helps the game stand out against others on the market, and the act of drawing (and the focus it requires) boosts player immersion, making the scares much more effective. Plus, seeing the twisting cave passages form as you play the TTRPG further adds to the idea that the player is tackling something they can’t fully understand, making them feel even more out of control, which enhances the game’s atmosphere.
Yearning is an excellent solo-horror cave-diving TTRPG that all horror fans must experience at least once. Every element of the game works together to create a palpable atmosphere of creeping dread that perfectly evokes the feeling of classic Weird fiction. On top of this, the game’s excellent writing is a masterclass in TTRPG writing, showing how literary flourishes can enhance rules and improve player immersion, lifting the entire game. Despite being early in the year, I’m certain Yearning will make my best of 2025 list, as even hours after I finished playing it, my time in the caves still weighs heavy on my mind.
