Cave Crawler

About

"Cave Crawler" is a single-player Horror Point and Click game with an intriguing story and a dense atmosphere. Players control the "Cave Crawler" drone, searching for a missing hiker in a new cave system. The game features realistic drone controls, lifelike caves, and many objects to scan, creating an analog horror inspired experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 738 reviews

story36 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

The game has a great atmosphere and effectively builds tension, making it a captivating short horror experience.
For its low price, the game offers an interesting story and unique gameplay mechanics, reminiscent of analog horror.
Many players found the game enjoyable and worth the price, appreciating its eerie vibe and engaging narrative.

The game is very short, with most players completing it in under an hour, leading some to feel it lacks value for the price.
Navigation can be frustrating due to the winding cave systems, and the slow movement speed can detract from the experience.
Some players reported technical issues, including crashes and unresponsive gameplay, which hindered their enjoyment.

story
116 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
66%
3%
The game's story is a short yet intriguing exploration of horror themes, set against a captivating atmosphere that keeps players engaged. While the narrative has potential and offers unsettling moments, many reviewers noted that it could benefit from further refinement and expansion, as it often feels vague or predictable. Overall, it provides a compelling experience for a brief playtime, but leaves players wanting more depth and clarity.
- “Superb atmosphere and sound design, an interesting and captivating story, a true mystery that is slowly uncovered as you continue playing, and a disturbing premise.”
- “This game did a wonderful job with storytelling, keeping me interested in it for the entire game.”
- “The story is really amazing too, and has you wondering all the way through the game what is really going on down in those mines and why everything is happening like it does.”
- “Game has great atmosphere, but the vagueness in the story leaves a lot to be desired. You've got an interesting premise with potential, but it's not taken as far as it could have been.”
- “The object-finding mechanics are accompanied by text that tells a story about spores and unexplained reactions, but this narrative feels inconclusive and confusing.”
- “However, the developers lean heavy into word dumping exposition on us in between levels to tell the story, and I wish they would have taken a different approach to tell a story within their means and within the confines of the gameplay through action rather than writing.”
atmosphere
100 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
70%
27%
3%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its unsettling and immersive qualities, drawing comparisons to analog horror and found footage films. Many players appreciate the unique cave setting and effective sound design, which contribute to a suspenseful experience, although some note that the story's vagueness and brevity limit its potential. Overall, the atmosphere is considered the game's strongest aspect, providing a captivating and eerie backdrop that keeps players engaged.
- “I really enjoyed this game; it was very atmospheric, and 'Cave Crawler' felt like a love letter to analog horror, and it shows in its style and presentation.”
- “Amazing atmosphere, excellent build-up, and just all around really well made.”
- “Superb atmosphere and sound design, an interesting and captivating story, a true mystery that is slowly uncovered as you continue playing, and a disturbing premise.”
- “Although the atmosphere is well constructed, it fails to evoke the dread it promised.”
- “The game banks entirely on the analog horror vibe, so much so that it doesn't try to develop its own controls, story, or even atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere is all here at first, but it goes away quickly, and as the game is literally beatable in like 20 minutes if you don't get lost in the caves, it is indeed very quick.”
gameplay
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
80%
8%
The gameplay is characterized by its slow pace, which some players find effective for building tension, while others criticize it as tedious and unengaging. Many reviews highlight the game's short duration, limited mechanics, and reliance on exposition rather than interactive storytelling, leading to a perception that it lacks depth and excitement. Overall, while the atmosphere and retro graphics are appreciated, the gameplay experience is often deemed unsatisfactory and not worth the price.
- “Gameplay is slow at times, but it was helpful when it comes to building the tension.”
- “A short but really good game; the gameplay is quite simple, but the story is thrilling and the ending is unexpected and well written.”
- “Short little horror game with an interesting mechanic and great retro graphics!”
- “20 min game, boring gameplay and almost no horror aspects.”
- “Very short, very limited gameplay, and very slow gameplay.”
- “I understand that this is a very cheap indie title, but for how much game and story is here, and the fact that the majority of the gameplay is arduously spinning around in circles, I really believe this should've been free to play, or like 50 cents maximum.”
graphics
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
71%
10%
The game's graphics are praised for their effective VHS aesthetic and retro style, contributing to a creepy atmosphere that enhances the horror experience. However, several users reported significant graphical glitches and crashes, particularly with certain graphics cards, which detracted from the overall enjoyment. While the visuals are generally considered appealing and immersive, the technical issues have raised concerns about stability.
- “The game has some great visual appeal - the VHS aesthetic is very effective and the sparse audio was surprisingly immersive.”
- “I really love this style of horror; the atmosphere reminded me a bit of how 'Iron Lung' and 'The Other Side' felt, with the grainy and dark visuals, shrouded in mystery and leaving you constantly anxious.”
- “The atmosphere is great, and along with the early PS1 style graphics, it makes for more second guessing if you actually saw something or if your eyes are playing tricks on you.”
- “That being said, I had some really bad graphical glitches in the middle third of the game which were almost unplayable.”
- “Game made my graphics drivers crash so hard they got corrupted and I had to reinstall them.”
- “I like the game and its atmosphere, sadly though I can't play it because my AMD Radeon RX 5700 graphics card keeps crashing on the game.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, often requiring a significant time investment, likening it to needing a "second life" to manage the slow pace of progression, particularly when using the drone.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Very tedious when the drone is as slow as it is.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music in the game is highly praised for enhancing the overall scare factor, effectively complementing the low-resolution VHS aesthetic. Reviewers note that it is well-executed and contributes significantly to the game's atmosphere, alongside the quality of the models and animation.
- “The music is what made it scary.”
- “The low-res VHS look was really appealing, the music was on point, the models and animation were well done.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The game offers a rich ambience and can be enjoyed in short sessions of 30-45 minutes, but its brief story and limited replay value make it less appealing for multiple playthroughs. Overall, while it provides a satisfying experience, it lacks significant incentives for replayability.
- “The ambience is filling, and though the story is short and lacks replay value in some sense, it's a good game to chew on if you have 30-45 minutes.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has significant stability issues, with users reporting severe graphical glitches that can render parts of the game nearly unplayable. Additionally, there are frequent freezing problems when attempting to start the game, particularly at the opening warning screen.
- “I had some really bad graphical glitches in the middle third of the game which were almost unplayable.”
- “It loads the title screen, but when I hit play, it freezes on the opening warning screen.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users feel that the monetization strategy is misleading, as advertisements suggest a more substantial experience than what is actually delivered in the game.
- “The advertisement made me believe there was going to be more to it than this.”

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