Ron Gilbert the man who gave us point and click adventures such as Maniac Mansion, and Monkey Island, has come back to give us The Cave. Now this game may not be new, and it does not follow the same formula as his other classics, but it has finally made its way to the Google Play Store for you to download onto you Android devices.
Now the game focuses on…..a cave. And this is not just any cave, it is an magical cave, the people can explore and search for their greatest desire. And not only is it a magical, but this cave can talk too, it does come in handy, because this cave is ready to serve you as a trusty narrator.
When you first start the game, you will get to choose three characters, that you can switch between as will ( Much like the SNES game The Lost Vikings) many of the puzzles require you to use each character in a different way to solve them. But the puzzles here aren't of your typical puzzle platformer variety. At least not all of them. Sure there are the "pull the lever/stand on the plate to open the door" environmental puzzles that we've all grown to know and love. They are, quite often, very basic and straightforward puzzles. There are few items to use, hardly any characters to talk to, and only a handful of props to fiddle with. Which means the solution is often right in front of your nose.
Having multiple characters obviously allows for puzzles that need more than one pair of hands to solve. One character might have to distract a dragon, while another sneaks up from behind. But there are no truly ingenious or surprising conundrums that really warrant having three people.
The game is also jam-packed with the silly kind of humour that Gilbert's fans already know and love. One of the first puzzles, for example, has you locating items for the cave's gift shop, because the attendant is too distraught without merchandise to open the door and let you in. The dialogue – both from characters that you meet and the cave itself – always managed to put a smile on my face.
If it is one bad thing I have say about this game, is there is so much backtracking to do in this game, and yes it can be a real pain.
The Cave is available now at the Google Play Store for an asking price $4.99. This is a game that every puzzle loving gamer should have on their Android device.
