The cave is a puzzle platform adventure game developed by double fine and distributed by Sega. The game was created based upon a 20 year old idea by Ron Gilbert, who has created other games by the names of Maniac Mansion and The secret of Monkey Island.
The aim is to survive the caves daunting tasks (I say survive but there is no way to die in the cave really, isn’t he nice?). These daunting tasks come in the form of puzzles (more about these later) to solve, which will need the use of characters.
There are seven characters to choose between upon starting the game, from which you need to choose three to start your journey through the cave. Each have their own special ability and reasons for the expedition into the cave. They are as follows;
Twins
These two are on the search for their parents in the cave; already a duo the twin’s special ability is to clone themselves to perform small tasks.
Adventurer
On a search for her two lost companions and some ancient treasure with the special ability of being able to use a hook/rope combination to swing over wide gaps. This can however only be used in certain places.
Knight
He is on the hunt for a very special sword that holds great power; to help him on his hunt he has the power of becoming invulnerable to taking damage.
Time Traveller
Has been sent to right a wrong that was a long time in the making, she has the ability to teleport short distances.
Scientist
Has the important task of finalising that great discovery which could help save a mass amount of lives. Along the way she can hack consoles to help her find her way.
Monk
With the skill to summon visible objects to him that have a clear path to get to him, the monk is on a voyage to find his master
Hillbilly
On a quest for love throughout the cave, with the magnificent ability to breathe under water for an infinite amount of time.
One thing to note when choosing characters at the start is that your choice will determine your route through the cave, so there is defiantly some replay ability within this game as you will not be able to do everything on your first run through. My first choices were the knight, adventurer and time traveller.Puzzles will normally require all three characters that you have selected to complete them.
They vary from using levers to open a door, standing on platforms to move forward to pull a lever, moving items from one place to another and more. A character can only carry one object at a time, so it is key to use each wisely to make the puzzles that bit more efficient.
The controls are pretty simple to get to know with a bit of playing about with them as you are not told upon start up, which some people prefer to see.
Along the journey you will find snapshots to unlock for your chosen characters. These depict their stories and show you what they are doing there. They are represented by glowing white diagrams on walls.
Graphics 4/5
The art of the games was very impressive; each area was designed differently but with fluidity. The areas specific to characters tied in well to their stories and are bound to be enjoyed by any player.
Sound 4/5
The cave is your narrator throughout the game, informing you of where you are and the on goings throughout your journey. Not only do you have the witty and funny statements from the cave, you also meet many people who had found themselves to be stuck; the funniest of which I found to be the miner who had lost his mining carts or the princess who was “looking for love”.
Game play 3/5
After a while the game does become pretty repetitive and at times an effort to do, but what else is to be expected from a game like this, some people do enjoy the whole running around the same area a lot to solve the puzzles to progress further. But for me, it is something I do not enjoy, I prefer to just progress through.
Closing comments
For me personally the irritations of the game outweighed the good sections, which was unfortunate. I enjoyed the game at the start but the repetitiveness and the puzzles become more of a chore the further you get into the game. This is not to say that I wouldn’t recommend you to try it out for yourself, after all this is only my opinion, you may love the game, just be prepared for what is to come.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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