Colossal Cave Review (PC)

After a little adventure game item combining action, I have managed to eliminate a potential threat and stand in a big former temple filled with riches. I have already picked up a load of silver bars and want to also get a pile of jewelry. The problem is I need to make room in my very limited inventory for them and I don’t know what to drop.

I finally decide to let go of the keys, mainly because I believe the grate they unlocked will remain open. I don’t know exactly what else I will need in the future to solve puzzles. With two valuables in my inventory, I decide to return to the surface and deposit them in my tiny cabin, before choosing to go deeper.

Once I deposit the treasure, I embark on the return trip to the underground. But this expedition is cut short by the appearance of two pretty annoyed dwarves, who decide to throw their knives at me. Dead spelunkers cannot carry treasure but at least I know where to find a lot of it for my next run. And I can count on my trusty map to get me close to valuables relatively fast.

Colossal Cave is developed and published by Cygnus Entertainment. I played the game on the PC using Steam. It is also offered on the Nintendo Switch, the PlayStation 5, and the Xbox Series X and S, with versions for older consoles from Microsoft and Sony also coming. A virtual reality version of the game is available for the Meta Quest 2. This is a classic take on the adventure game genre, as faithful as possible to the original experience first released in 1976.

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The setup is simple: go into this very big cave system, find all the treasure you can and get out safely. The experience is a homage and does not seek to add context or create an entire universe around this premise. There are some other characters, of both the animal and fantasy kind, that players meet underground but there’s no narrative depth to the experience. The mix of simplicity and nostalgia works pretty well.

Even without too much context, there’s a lot of talking and writing in the game, with a patient voice ready to describe the room that’s currently explored or the items that can be interacted with. It’s mostly practical stuff, but from time to time the approach turns low-key poetic. It can also get repetitive, so make sure to keep clicking to a minimum in already explored areas.

Gameplay in Colossal Cave focuses on exploration and puzzle-solving. There’s a massive underground series of tunnels and chambers that gamers will have to map. Chasms with no bridge have to be crossed. Sealed areas need to be opened up. The game offers a handy map to keep track of dead ends, explored areas, and more.

Puzzles also limit progress. Solutions are not very straightforward but it is often a good idea to check all the objects one has in the inventory and see if they fit the situation. Make sure to backtrack and check for missed clues or items that were not picked up.

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The aim is to get as much treasure as possible, which Colossal Cave makes a little hard. Because the inventory is limited, players often have to backtrack to drop their load at the cabin where the adventure begins. It’s a little annoying and does not enhance the game in any way. Again, make liberal use of the map.

Also, watch out for the dwarf encounters. The first seems uninterested in the player, dropping a big chunk of gold as treasure before disappearing. Before long, they are ready to attack the player, and one hit of their throwing knives is fatal. The game kindly offers players the option to be revived.

I wanted to like the Colossal Cave re-imagining because the original is seen as a precursor to many of the ideas that modern titles still use. Unfortunately, I found it to be limited in both story and mechanics. The exploration elements are engaging but are never too developed, moving treasure around never feels good.

I have not played the original, so I cannot directly compare the two experiences. Roberta Williams has managed to make this modern release of Colossal Cave feel very old-school. The problem is that this approach means that the game does not use many of the modern ideas that could have made it more interesting for players.

A rogue structure, with procedurally-created underground spaces and treasure placement, could have added to the variety. A progression system was probably needed. But adding any of these would have pushed the game far beyond what 1976 could have envisioned and the historical part of the release would be affected.

Colossal Cave offers a decent-looking experience, giving players a way to actually see what the original game only described. Don’t expect massive effects or carefully textured cavern walls but the game looks decent. The automatic mapping element, which can be turned off, is of great help for modern gamers who have not played the adventure before. The voice actor that reads all the prompts about locations and objects does a good job and the soundtrack is mostly in the background, trying to underline the thrill of constant exploration.

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The Good

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