An enjoyable indie that has lots of charm behind its simple plot and mechanics.
One of the first indies to break into the console mainstream, I’ve always respected Cave Story despite never completing it till now (albeit the Switch version, which does change the original pixel art and is published by a shit company). It’s that game everyone knows and loves dearly, praising “Pixel” as a legend for being able to fully flesh out a game in its entirety on his own. So how does it hold up now, where you can find hundreds of indies that you can sink thousands of hours in?
Honestly, pretty well. Gameplay-wise, it doesn’t feel like a game made in 2004, as there are a plethora of weapons at your disposal and having them upgraded or downgraded depending on how much damage you do and take is a really interesting mechanic that I’ve never seen elsewhere. It forces you to be careful and not mindlessly run and gun. Although I did find Quote, the main character, to be a bit floaty and slippery, but it added to the challenge of the game and within a few hours it was manageable to platform. The revamped pixel art is gorgeous, it feels inline with the original art direction, just a bit more modernized. The retro soundtrack is great too, a lot of memorable tracks and some very cozy ones too.
The only “flaw” this game has is the massive difficulty spike towards the end of the game. Throughout the game, the bosses were challenging albeit fair once you learn their attack pattern, and the game is generous enough to give you a save point before and after each fight. However, at the end? 4 bosses back to back, minimal healing, and no save points. It feels out of the blue and unnecessarily pads out the game, as the final bosses in the normal ending were a bit tricky, so if you screw up in one of them it leaves you at a disadvantage for the next immediate boss fight. I wouldn’t say it was frustrating, just annoying. Another minor concern is that it feels practically impossible to get the true ending blind due to having meticulous requirements throughout the game, but that’s usually how true endings go in these games so it wasn’t a big deal.
These days, Cave Story is a simple indie game that doesn’t reinvent the wheel mechanically, but it was a necessary game for the time as it left a tremendous impact. It has a cute short and sweet story, fun gameplay mechanics, and a wonderful presentation.
One of the first indies to break into the console mainstream, I’ve always respected Cave Story despite never completing it till now (albeit the Switch version, which does change the original pixel art and is published by a shit company). It’s that game everyone knows and loves dearly, praising “Pixel” as a legend for being able to fully flesh out a game in its entirety on his own. So how does it hold up now, where you can find hundreds of indies that you can sink thousands of hours in?
Honestly, pretty well. Gameplay-wise, it doesn’t feel like a game made in 2004, as there are a plethora of weapons at your disposal and having them upgraded or downgraded depending on how much damage you do and take is a really interesting mechanic that I’ve never seen elsewhere. It forces you to be careful and not mindlessly run and gun. Although I did find Quote, the main character, to be a bit floaty and slippery, but it added to the challenge of the game and within a few hours it was manageable to platform. The revamped pixel art is gorgeous, it feels inline with the original art direction, just a bit more modernized. The retro soundtrack is great too, a lot of memorable tracks and some very cozy ones too.
The only “flaw” this game has is the massive difficulty spike towards the end of the game. Throughout the game, the bosses were challenging albeit fair once you learn their attack pattern, and the game is generous enough to give you a save point before and after each fight. However, at the end? 4 bosses back to back, minimal healing, and no save points. It feels out of the blue and unnecessarily pads out the game, as the final bosses in the normal ending were a bit tricky, so if you screw up in one of them it leaves you at a disadvantage for the next immediate boss fight. I wouldn’t say it was frustrating, just annoying. Another minor concern is that it feels practically impossible to get the true ending blind due to having meticulous requirements throughout the game, but that’s usually how true endings go in these games so it wasn’t a big deal.
These days, Cave Story is a simple indie game that doesn’t reinvent the wheel mechanically, but it was a necessary game for the time as it left a tremendous impact. It has a cute short and sweet story, fun gameplay mechanics, and a wonderful presentation.