Cave Crawler
- April 18, 2023
- Technomancy Studios
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"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.
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- Short but engaging horror experience with a unique analog horror style.
- Great atmosphere and sound design that effectively builds tension.
- Interesting story that keeps players intrigued throughout the gameplay.
- Gameplay is very short, typically around 30-45 minutes, which may not justify the price for some players.
- Navigation can be frustrating due to slow movement and winding cave layouts, leading to potential confusion.
- Some players found the scares predictable and the overall experience lacking in depth.
- story58 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is a short yet intriguing horror narrative that captivates players with its atmospheric setting and unsettling premise, though many reviewers noted its brevity and occasional vagueness. While the storytelling effectively builds suspense and mystery, some felt it lacked depth and could benefit from expansion or refinement. Overall, it offers a compelling experience for those who appreciate analog horror, despite some criticisms regarding pacing and reliance on exposition.
“Its a really great experience atmospherically and the story is disturbingly intriguing.”
“The story is really amazing too, and have you wondering all the way through the game, what is really going on down in those mines you are in and why everything is happening like they do.”
“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.”
“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 heavily 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.”
- atmosphere50 mentions
- 70 % positive mentions
- 24 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its unsettling and immersive qualities, drawing comparisons to analog horror and found footage films. While many reviewers appreciate the suspenseful sound design and unique cave setting, some note that the story's vagueness and brevity detract from the overall experience. Overall, the atmosphere is considered the game's strongest aspect, effectively creating tension and intrigue despite its short length.
“Amazing atmosphere, excellent build up, and just all round really well made.”
“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.”
“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.”
- gameplay25 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 76 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
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 short duration of the game, with limited mechanics and a lack of horror elements, leading to a perception that it does not offer sufficient value for its price. Overall, while the story has potential, the gameplay often feels repetitive and underdeveloped, detracting from the overall experience.
“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.”
- graphics21 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's graphics have received mixed reviews, with many praising the effective VHS aesthetic and retro visuals that enhance the horror atmosphere. However, several players reported significant graphical glitches and crashes, particularly with certain graphics cards, which detracted from the overall experience. While the visuals are generally considered appealing and atmospheric, technical issues have impacted gameplay for some users.
“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 had to restart my computer due to it crashing my graphics driver, which is really weird.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively time-consuming and tedious, often requiring a significant investment of time due to slow-paced mechanics.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Very tedious when the drone is as slow as it is.”
- music2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The music is highly praised for enhancing the game's scary atmosphere, complementing its appealing low-resolution VHS aesthetic and well-executed models and animations.
“The low-res VHS look was really appealing, the music was on point, the models and animation were well done.”
“The music is what made it scary.”
“The soundtrack feels repetitive and lacks variety.”
“The background music is often too loud, drowning out important sound effects.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game offers a rich ambience and can be enjoyed in short sessions of 30-45 minutes, but its limited story length and lack of significant replay value make it less appealing for multiple playthroughs.
“The ambience is immersive, and while the story is short and lacks some replay value, it's a great game to enjoy if you have 30-45 minutes.”
“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.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users have reported significant stability issues, including severe graphical glitches that hinder gameplay and freezing during the loading process, particularly at the title screen. These problems have led to a frustrating experience for some players.
“That being said, I had some really bad graphical glitches in the middle third of the game that were almost unplayable.”
“It loads the title screen, but when I hit play, it freezes on the opening warning screen.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
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.”
“The in-game purchases are way too expensive for what you actually get.”
“It feels like the game is designed to push you towards spending money rather than enjoying the gameplay.”
