A quick look at The Cave

I'll admit Double Fines latest adventure game, The Cave, looks like a platformer. A beautiful platformer, with interesting environments- there was an underground amusement park- and equally interesting characters, but it doesn't really look like an adventure game. I've been deceived apparently, because everything I've read about this game says that it's an adventure game that's packed with individual stories for each character, puzzles and an optional co-op mode too. And with it not requiring reflex or dexterity skills, like you need to play Braid for example, skills that I do not have, I was very glad to hear this.

      So, you start off by picking a team of three characters to play out of a choice of seven possible characters who all have special abilities or talents that can be used in various puzzles throughout the game. Then you start your adventure. The players you pick shape your game, so switching up your teams will let you play different areas and makes the game more interesting to replay. Especially since the story really drives the game in The Cave. Not just the stories of the three characters that you choose to play, but the story of the Cave too.

      Co-op in the game is local, which isn't something you see too much these days, and it seems to add a whole other level of enjoyment to the games experience. Being able to sit beside someone in front of you pc or PS3 and trying to figure out the puzzles together is something most of us haven't done since our childhoods. And the games developers have assured us that the single player experience doesn't suffer to favour a multi player role. In single player you control all 3 members of your team, switching between them to move around the level and solve puzzles, in multiplayer you control a single member of your team while someone else controls another. A bit like co-op Portal, but you're in the same room, and it's without a psychotic sentient computer trying to kill you, possibly.

     I'm looking forward to this game, which is up for pre order now on steam, and coming out at somepoint this month (there's no exact date). It's currently about £10 through steam for folk in the UK like myself and it certainly looks worth the investment. I'm keeping an eye on Double Fines twitter for any news but they're keeping pretty tight lipped for now. If you want to see the trailer it's on the games website here.

     If you've known about the game for a while, or not known about it until now, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I should warn you that the games trailer shows it in a very platformer like light, but that's not really a bad thing, and you do get to see all the pretty level designs. If you have anything to say about The Cave, I'd love to hear it! You can leave a comment below or message me over twitter, despite disappearing for most of last week I do check for comments as much as I can. Thanks for reading!