|| REVIEW || The Cave (PC)
Developed By : Double Fine Productions Published By : Sega
Category : Puzzle, Platformer Release Date : January 24, 2013
The Cave is a game that I started paying attention to a while back, all for one reason. The man behind creating Maniac Mansion is the same mind behind this game, Ron Gilbert. I love wonky puzzle games, even when they're ones that I can't finish. Whether they are complex, sending you to all corners to find and combine random items, or simple platforming puzzlers, it's where I tend to feel the most at home when gaming casually.
You'll begin by being introduced to the cave itself. That's right, a talking cave. He tells you about how throughout time, people have been drawn to the cave, wanting to explore it's depths as well as learning something about their own dark corners as well. As warned by the cave, many come but few survive, which is the perfect chance to be introduced to the game's cast of characters.
There are seven in total, technically eight if you count the fact that one of them is actually a pair of twins. All characters can perform the same actions of walking, jumping, picking up and dropping objects, and they all have their own unique ability they can perform at any point. These will be crucial as you progress through the cave and all of its tunnel systems.
Your characters are as follows, as well as their special abilities. A Knight who can summon a guardian angel to be immune from taking damage, a Hillbilly who brings an air bubble around his head for unlimited time underwater, the Time Traveller who can phase through gates, grates, and invisible barriers, the Scientist who can hack any sort of electronic device, an Adventurer who can use a grappling hook, the Twins that are able to leave behind a ghostly apparition of themselves and travel a short distance, and the Monk who has the power of telekinesis.
How you play the game is you start off by first selecting three characters that you would like to journey into the cave's depths. Normally, in a game such as this, you'd be choosing your characters to experience the exact same game in full, with just minor alterations in how you could get around based on the abilities of the party you've put together. However, that's not exactly how The Cave works.
Remember, you're in the cave to learn about your characters. The way things work is you will progress through a series of specific rooms in the cave, and these rooms can be broken up into two categories. First, there's the main rooms. These are areas that no matter who you have with you, they must be encountered and completed. Then, you'll have the other type : character specific rooms. There is one of these for each character in the cast, but you'll only experience the rooms for those in your party. That means, if you'd like to see everything The Cave has to offer you'll need at least three playthroughs.
On top of all the basic moves and character-specific abilities, each person can pick up and carry one item at a time. These items will, obviously, be key things for getting through the games puzzles. Each room, whether it's a character room or main cave room is filled with plenty of branching chambers offering up plenty of puzzle opportunities.
Since the puzzles appeared to be the main component of the game, I was quite excited to see how they were handled in this title. Playing them didn't fully live up to my expectations, but the puzzles were still a lot of fun and pretty well thought out. One thing that wasn't thought out, or at least appears it wasn't thought out, was the constant repetitive nature of traversing the areas. Countless times you'll have to retrace your steps almost half a dozen times (occasionally) just to clear a series of puzzles. It's not horrible, as the majority of the platforming in the game is extremely simple. However, it can be a little bit upsetting when that lightbulb finally goes off in your head and you figure out the solution, only to realize just what that solution might have in store for you.
Overall, the game is a lot of fun. It's a good thing that it requires multiple playthroughs to see what plays out for all of the characters because it is worth it. If you're a fan of Maniac Mansion, or anything else that has been put out by Ron Gilbert, you'll have a lot of fun with this game. The Cave was done in a different tone, with the puzzles being a lot less random and obscure. These ones are straightforward and make a lot of sense so you shouldn't get too stuck. But, if you do, the narrating cave will chime in with clues after you seem to be making zero progress. Luckily, this doesn't ultimately lead to him just blurting out a solution so if you're the kind of person that hates getting a helping hand, don't worry.
Long story short, if you love platforming, or puzzle games, or both, don't pass this title up. The price listed below is what the game usually goes for, but as of the time I'm writing this it is on sale in the Steam Summer Sale for $2.24, so don't pass this great deal up!
Game Rating : 8/10
Game Played On : PC
Also Available On : Playstation 3, Wii U, Xbox 360, iOS, Android
