Cave Story+
Year: 2017
Rating: E10+
Time Played: 6+ hours
I am always impressed with what individual game developers can create. Many of these games (like Undertale, for example) feel like the freeware and shareware games of my youth in the ‘90s. Cave Story has similar origins and feel with its retro pixel aesthetic (made even more striking in the Cave Story+ version I played on the Nintendo Switch) but has the unfortunate comparison to modern platformers that might have slightly tighter controls. Still, it is impressive that something so thoroughly thought out and containing lots of deep lore could be created by a singular individual.
What stands out about Cave Story is how charming it is. The characters are memorable and sometimes goofy (like Balrog) but the tragedy of the overarching plot makes you really care for these creatures. Each area you explore has a purpose and there isn’t a lot of extra side quests to distract from the main goal of the game. I like the weapon variety and the creative secondary uses for some of them that become apparent in later platforming sections. Even the upgrade system for these weapons is a great risk vs. reward paradigm similar to how Blaster Master implemented it.
All this being said, my biggest qualm with Cave Story is how floaty the controls feel. I died way too many times in the early game because each jump I made didn’t have the weight to it that I had become accustomed to in numerous other platformers from franchises like Mario and Mega Man. Most of the bosses also felt quite difficult, but not unfair—that is until the final gauntlet that you need to navigate to reach the true end credits. I’m also not wild about there being a “true ending” that isn’t obvious if you just play the game blind.
An impressive retro-inspired game from a solo developer that needed some slight control adjustments, I give Cave Story+ 3.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
