Sony’s PlayStation Plus is a subscription-based service that allows members to get weekly and monthly access to discounted games on the PlayStation Network, as well as the occasional free game. Sony has calculated that the $50/year service has granted thousands of dollars in savings.
Everyone loves free games, but nobody likes a free game that’s a piece of HDD-hogging garbage. “In PlayStation Plus We Trust” is a new weekly feature outlining the new free addition(s) to the Instant Game Collection to help you decide whether that newest freebie in the Store is worth your time.
This week we take a look at Double Fine’s The Cave.
The Cave
The Cave is another little title from the mind of Ron Gilbert, assisted by the talented folks at Double Fine. Starring a sentient, very vocal cave and the adventurers that explore it, The Cave’s side-scrolling adventure platformer is a unique title that is frequently very funny. With a good handful of unique characters to choose from, players can take three of those colorful adventurers with them into the Cave to explore its secrets (and put up with dark, hilarious monologues).
The Cave has many opportunities to soar, though does so only intermittently. Never is this more true as in the puzzles. The puzzles occur naturally within the world of The Cave, with the characters simply stumbling across it in the world. These puzzles are generally quite clever, ranging from surprisingly simple solutions to more clever, intricate problem solving. However, there are multiple instances of backtracking, as well as the requirement that each of the three characters be doing something simultaneously. This means that you must position one character, then switch to the next one and do the same, and so on. It can get tedious for the larger puzzles. The controls, too, aren’t as intuitive as they could be; they’re just a little on the sluggish side, which is noticeable in a platformer regardless of the adventure focus.
Still, at the end of the day, The Cave is a charming title that you may find to be entertaining, if you can get past some minor annoyances and obstacles. What really makes the game worth a look is the sharp humor and fantastic voice acting. If you can get past the occasionally frustrating mechanics, you may very well love it.
Verdict: Worth Downloading