The Cave – Casual Gamer Column

I’ll be honest with you, I’m not very good at gaming. I enjoy the experience, the stories, sitting in front of my computer for hours on end – but the number of games I have abandoned in a fit of rage doesn’t bear thinking about. So, when I stumbled across The Cave, I was intrigued. The Cave is a puzzle platformer with an interesting narrative – a rare breed. As you begin the game, you select three different characters from a selection of seven to spelunk into the depths of the cave and as such, into each character’s psyche.

I often find that when the puzzles are too complex, I don’t bother finishing. The Cave seems to have struck the right balance.

The narrator, the cave itself, watches over the characters, voicing his cynical opinions on the actions you must guide the character through. Each character has a section within the cave, where you explore their individual stories but there are sections in the game which you will replay with any characters you choose. The fact you have to replay these can be frustrating, but the sections are short enough that it doesn’t detract too much from the experience. As someone who often lacks the efficiency to actually get through an entire game, I found the puzzles great as they enhanced rather than weakened the experience – they are still complex, but not frustratingly difficult (except for one which made me rage quit repeatedly for about a week). I often find that when the puzzles are too complex, I don’t bother finishing. The Cave seems to have struck the right balance. My only complaint would be that once you have played all of the characters there really isn’t anything else to do. The atmosphere is enjoyable enough that you can replay it – and I have – but it really is just re-hashing old scenes. Playing with a different combination of characters doesn’t really make that much difference, which is a shame as they could have really expanded this feature. Overall, this is a hugely underrated game – charming, funny, unique and perfect for those of us who like to pretend we’re actual gamers.