Icemaze Cave: Skate Escape
- May 18, 2022
- Ornbjorn
Get on SteamIcemaze Cave: Skate Escape is a 2D logic puzzle game where you skate through a sprawling icy cave, attempting to find your way out while solving puzzles and collecting minerals. With 100 levels of increasing difficulty and the need for spatial memorization and path planning, this game offers a challenging and nostalgic experience for fans of retro adventure games. The game also encourages players to find the most efficient solutions for additional rewards.
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Reviews
- Charming visuals and soothing music create a relaxing atmosphere, making it feel almost meditative.
- The game features a gentle difficulty curve, making it accessible for beginners while still providing a challenge for experienced players.
- The nostalgic elements and satisfying gameplay evoke fond memories for fans of classic puzzle games.
- The game lacks originality in its mechanics, relying solely on sliding, which can lead to less engaging level design.
- Some puzzles have forced moves that limit player decision-making, making certain levels feel easier than intended.
- The game is relatively short, with only 100 levels, which may leave some players wanting more content.
- music14 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The music in the game is characterized by a pleasant, calming single track that enhances the relaxing puzzle experience, evoking a meditative atmosphere. Reviewers appreciate the nostalgic 8-bit sound, which, along with satisfying sound effects, complements the charming sprite work and whimsical art style, contributing to an overall cozy and enjoyable gameplay experience.
“The relaxing puzzles together with the calm music makes the game feel almost like meditation.”
“Soothing background music and satisfying, clicky sound effects subtly and skillfully complement the retro-inspired whimsical art style.”
“Great music, cozy art and slick gameplay.”
“The relaxing puzzles together with the calm music make the game feel almost like meditation.”
“Nostalgic, 8-bit music.”
“The music lacks variety and quickly becomes repetitive.”
- story10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game's story is presented in a minimalist style, reminiscent of FromSoftware titles like Dark Souls, encouraging players to piece together the narrative through environmental clues. This approach fosters a sense of discovery and interpretation, with the main story taking approximately 10 to 20 hours to complete if focused on.
“The creator has seemingly drawn inspiration from FromSoftware titles such as Dark Souls, where showing less of the story makes the player discover and draw connections from clues in the environment.”
“I want to note that the story parts of this review are my own interpretation of the game.”
“The story is quite brief, taking only a few hours (10 - 20 hours) if you focus on the main narrative.”
- gameplay8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily centered around a single mechanic—sliding—which limits its originality and challenge, making it easy to achieve perfect scores. However, the game compensates for this simplicity with a variety of polished levels, complemented by great music and cozy art.
“Great music, cozy art, and slick gameplay.”
“The worst thing about it is that there are no mechanics other than sliding, so the level design is not very interesting even at its best. It was not challenging for me to get a perfect score on every level.”
“This game has no originality in its mechanics, but it makes up for it with a variety of polished levels.”
“The worst thing about it is that there are no mechanics other than sliding, so the level design is not very interesting even at its best. It was not challenging for me to get a perfect score on every level.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The graphics of the puzzle game are characterized by a retro-inspired whimsical art style that is both simple and charming. The visuals are complemented by soothing background music and satisfying sound effects, enhancing the overall experience.
“This puzzle game is very good with a nice curving challenge and with simple but charming visuals.”
“Soothing background music and satisfying, clicky sound effects subtly and skillfully complement the retro-inspired whimsical art style.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is described as soothing and immersive, creating a sense of comfort that makes players reluctant to leave the cave environment.
“The general atmosphere is quite soothing, and sometimes you question if you ever want to leave the cave.”
“The general atmosphere is quite soothing and sometimes you question yourself if you ever want to leave the cave.”
