The Cave

75%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,302 reviews
  • story
  • humor
  • graphics
The Cave Game Cover
The Cave is unique, has a ton of fun puzzles and multiple playthroughs, it does have some technical issues and can look way better. However, if it wasn't for the unique art-style and feel then it could of been way worse.
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"The Cave" is a puzzle-platformer adventure game where players explore a mystical cave filled with weird and wonderful characters, each with their own unique story. Players can form a team of 3 adventurers from a choice of 7, and must work together to solve puzzles and uncover the cave's secrets. With its witty humor and beautiful hand-drawn art style, "The Cave" offers a memorable and challenging experience.

  • iPad
  • iPhone
  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Phone
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Android
  • Linux
  • Mobile Platform
  • Ouya
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station 3
  • Tablet
  • Wii
  • Wii U
  • Xbox
  • Xbox 360
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

75%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,302 reviews
story138 positive mentions
grinding65 negative mentions
  • The game features a wonderful blend of humor and dark storytelling, with each character having a unique backstory that unfolds as you progress.
  • The puzzles are engaging and logical, providing a satisfying challenge without being overly difficult.
  • The art style and voice acting, particularly the narration by the Cave, are charming and add to the overall experience.
  • The game requires multiple playthroughs to experience all character stories, leading to repetitive gameplay and tedious backtracking.
  • Controls can feel clunky and unresponsive at times, particularly during platforming sections.
  • Some puzzles can be frustratingly obscure, requiring players to rely on guides to progress.
  • story383 mentions

    The game's story is a highlight, featuring seven distinct characters, each with their own unique backstory and darkly humorous narrative. Players must complete multiple playthroughs to fully experience each character's storyline, which can lead to repetitive gameplay, but the engaging writing and quirky humor keep many players invested. While the individual stories are well-crafted, some reviewers noted that the overall narrative lacks depth and cohesion, making the experience feel somewhat tedious after several runs.

    • “It's dark, eerie, humorous, with multiple exciting storylines and a beautiful music score.”
    • “The story dives deep into the characters' desires and backstory.”
    • “The humor and storylines in this game are great!”
    • “The gameplay is clunky, tedious, and requires a full three playthroughs of slogging through the same puzzles in order to experience the entirety of its underwhelming storyline.”
    • “You will need to replay the common areas of the game three times to see each story, which becomes tedious very quickly, as you are often forced to backtrack in these stages.”
    • “The stories for the individual characters are serviceable but kind of shallow, so it’s not really a strong storytelling game.”
  • humor357 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its cleverness and dark undertones, often delivered through a witty narrator and quirky character interactions. Players appreciate the blend of light-hearted and macabre humor, reminiscent of classic titles from Double Fine, though some note that the humor can become repetitive over multiple playthroughs. Overall, the game's comedic elements significantly enhance the experience, making it enjoyable for fans of dark and whimsical storytelling.

    • “The humor is tops, and has a full Double Fine feel to it - that is, dark but somehow light, irreverent and wacky, broad but somehow detailed.”
    • “The cave is a really enjoyable humorous game with such a great atmosphere to it; the narration is top-tier, and the characters are well-developed, even for the simplicity of the gameplay.”
    • “This game is hilarious! The puzzles are tricky, the jokes are laugh-out-loud funny, and the characters give the game a perfect touch of dark humor.”
    • “The narrator is not funny.”
    • “It's flashy graphics, a bad story, inappropriate, and not funny.”
  • graphics176 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique and charming art style, with many reviewers highlighting the beautiful visuals, character animations, and colorful environments. While some players noted that the graphics are not groundbreaking, they effectively complement the game's dark humor and engaging narrative. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's atmosphere, making it an enjoyable experience despite some minor technical issues.

    • “The art style is one of my favorites because of how specific and unique it is, and the character animations are super cool as well.”
    • “Great, stylized visuals, solid music and sound design.”
    • “Absolutely beautiful art style, puzzles are just the right amount of difficult without being infuriating, and the story is great.”
    • “The zones are boring and the graphics are both dated and lackluster.”
    • “30-fps limitation ruins the game because it’s jerky regardless of graphics settings and computer performance.”
    • “Personally, the walking around wouldn't have been so bad if the visuals were amazing, but they were only average and didn't keep my attention after crossing by them 4 to 6 times each puzzle, which is why I can't personally recommend this game.”
  • gameplay154 mentions

    The gameplay of "The Cave" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its charm and humor but criticizing its lack of depth and challenge. While the character-specific puzzles and mechanics offer some engaging moments, the overall experience is often described as tedious and repetitive, particularly due to excessive backtracking and simplistic puzzles. Despite its appealing graphics and storytelling, the gameplay mechanics can feel clunky and unrefined, leading to a less enjoyable experience, especially for single-player modes.

    • “The gameplay mechanics are well-crafted and immersive.”
    • “The integration of character-specific puzzles adds depth to the gameplay, encouraging players to experiment with different combinations to uncover hidden treasures and secrets.”
    • “The gameplay is simple and the puzzles are not terribly difficult, but are still engaging.”
    • “Overall, the cave is a middling game with generic music, a decent story, and relatively boring and repetitive gameplay.”
    • “The gameplay is clunky, tedious, and requires a full three playthroughs of slogging through the same puzzles in order to experience the entirety of its underwhelming storyline.”
    • “Gameplay is tedious and boring: the puzzles involve a lot of backtracking, which makes the game feel like busy-work instead of an adventure.”
  • replayability126 mentions

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with many players appreciating the variety offered by multiple characters and their unique storylines, which encourage several playthroughs to experience different endings. However, some reviewers noted that the repetitive nature of certain sections and the necessity to replay similar content can make the experience feel tedious after a few runs. Overall, while there is significant potential for replayability, it may not sustain long-term interest for all players.

    • “The replay value is high and being able to do that with someone else raises it to the next level.”
    • “You may not love it as much as I do, but I suspect you'll have a memorable experience, and the cast of characters (each with a unique chapter to explore) gives the game a healthy dose of replayability.”
    • “Awesome replayability because there's 7 characters to choose from, you only head into the cave with 3 of them and depending on what 3 you choose the stories and missions change every time.”
    • “Overall the game is fine, it's a story-based platform game that is definitely worth playing, but once you get all the achievements it doesn't really have much in replay value.”
    • “The only downside is that the beginning and end of the game don't change, so while it has a bit of replayability, it can be a bit tedious to repeat these parts.”
    • “This game has several issues although the story is good, it offers little to no replayability.”
  • grinding66 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for its tediousness, with many players noting the repetitive nature of puzzles and the necessity to backtrack frequently. While some puzzles are enjoyable, the overall gameplay often feels like busy work, requiring multiple playthroughs to experience all character endings, which can become monotonous. Despite its clever narrative and engaging world, the mechanics detract from the experience, making it less enjoyable over time.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Grinding in this game is both rewarding and engaging, making the effort feel worthwhile.”
    • “The grind is challenging but offers a great sense of achievement with every milestone.”
    • “The game starts out well enough but gets tedious and repetitive pretty quickly.”
    • “Gameplay is tedious and boring: the puzzles involve a lot of backtracking, which makes the game feel like busy-work instead of an adventure.”
    • “The gameplay is clunky, tedious, and requires a full three playthroughs of slogging through the same puzzles in order to experience the entirety of its underwhelming storyline.”
  • music49 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its charm and ability to enhance the atmosphere, while others find it forgettable or generic. Many highlight the soundtrack's fitting nature for the game's themes and characters, contributing positively to the overall experience, though some note a lack of music during gameplay that can detract from immersion. Overall, while the music is appreciated by some for its creativity and style, others feel it falls short of leaving a lasting impression.

    • “It's dark, eerie, humorous, with multiple exciting storylines and a beautiful music score.”
    • “The game's soundtrack further enhances the immersive experience, perfectly complementing the mysterious ambiance.”
    • “The music is great and the replayability of going through the different characters and combinations of abilities is appreciated.”
    • “As for the music, in all honesty, it's pretty forgettable.”
    • “Overall the cave is a middling game with generic music, a decent story, and relatively boring and repetitive gameplay.”
    • “There was nearly no music most of the time and the dialogue was uninteresting.”
  • atmosphere37 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its unique blend of humor, charm, and dark undertones, enhanced by a captivating narrator and stylish art design. Players appreciate the whimsical yet eerie ambiance that complements the engaging puzzles and character-driven stories, making it a memorable experience. Overall, the game's atmosphere is described as magical, nostalgic, and rich, effectively drawing players back for repeated playthroughs.

    • “A fun and atmospheric graphic adventure mixed with some platforming, with witty dialogue and a charming soundtrack, that lets you go spelunking deep in the hearts of bad people.”
    • “The overall atmosphere of the game is fantastic and straddles the line between whimsical and dark.”
    • “The eerie atmosphere, the humor, and the great characters make this game terrific.”
    • “The whole atmosphere is a little bit depressed, but that makes the game even more brilliant.”
    • “Then comes the humor, then the tone, and the rather dark atmosphere.”
    • “The details and graphics are awesome; it's not too detailed, but I feel like that would ruin the atmosphere anyway.”
  • stability20 mentions

    The game exhibits a range of stability issues, with players frequently encountering glitches such as characters getting stuck or problems with controller functionality. While these bugs can disrupt gameplay and may require restarts to resolve, many reviewers feel that they do not significantly detract from the overall enjoyment of the game. Overall, the game is described as having a polished feel, but it remains somewhat unfinished and buggy at times.

    • “Overall it feels quite unfinished and buggy at times.”
    • “The game is extremely buggy and some of the puzzle solutions are very unforgiving (e.g. you had to hold a button while switching characters to solve one of the puzzles).”
    • “Some cons - the game is definitely buggy/glitchy at times, e.g. the ladder/jump mechanics, the 360 controller messing with the twins' special ability, and the comic strips being unreadable.”
  • character development9 mentions

    Overall, while the character development in the game is praised for its charming designs and humorous dialogue, players express a desire for more depth and diversity in the narratives of the seven characters. The whimsical art style and engaging character interactions contribute positively to the experience, but some players find the development lacking, leading to feelings of boredom over time.

    • “The character designs are charming and a rich story that makes you want to replay it, even if you've beaten all the characters already.”
    • “Some players might also desire more diverse character development and deeper narratives for all seven characters.”
    • “The character designs and quirky storylines are worth the price alone.”
    • “The dialogue, character designs, and art direction of the game work really well.”
  • optimization6 mentions

    The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with players noting poor controls, a frustrating 30fps cap, and unpolished performance issues that hinder gameplay. Many feel that the PC port lacks the necessary adjustments, leading to a subpar experience compared to its console counterpart. Despite some potential for optimization, the repetitive nature of levels and limited character power enhancements contribute to an overall feeling of laziness in development.

    • “Even after 30 hours, I was still finding optimizations for every level.”
    • “For some reason, sometimes the game tries to cap at 30fps or does some weird thing with fps... might have some unpolished performance issues.”
    • “The controls can be a bit janky, and a complete playthrough requires repeating the static levels which have very few optimizations via character powers.”
    • “It has no business being this poorly optimized, wonky to control, and just slow in the mid-2010s.”
    • “I guess it's optimized for consoles, but porting it to PC just like that is nothing but the developers' laziness.”
    • “The 30-fps limitation ruins the game because it’s jerky regardless of graphics settings and computer performance.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    While the game features a story that some find rewarding in its emotional depth, many players criticize it for its lackluster controls, repetitive puzzles, and a narrative that discourages pursuing dreams, leading to a mixed reception regarding its emotional impact.

    • “It makes you feel emotional.”
    • “The game truly resonates on an emotional level.”
    • “I was moved to tears by the storyline and character development.”
    • “Between mediocre controls, repetitive and overly simple puzzles, and a boring story that actually rewards giving up on your characters' dreams, I absolutely cannot recommend this game.”
    • “The emotional depth is lacking, making it hard to connect with the characters or care about their journeys.”
    • “I found the attempts at emotional storytelling to be shallow and unengaging, leaving me feeling indifferent to the outcomes.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game has drawn criticism, as players feel misled by the store page's advertising, which suggests a humorous and engaging experience akin to classic titles like Monkey Island, but may not deliver on those expectations.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

75% average critic score

Buy The Cave

Play time

12hMedian play time
26hAverage play time
5hMain story
14hCompletionist
4-24hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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