Review of Colossal Cave presented by Roberta Williams
A.E. Jackson Review Score: 3 / 5 Ravens
How was this review scored?
Colossal Cave presented by Roberta Williams, published by Cygnus Entertainment, is a beautiful and faithful recreation of the foundational classic from the adventure game genre. The graphics and 3D world of this version of the game completely envelopes the player! The controls are simple, and there is a very low barrier of entry for new players. This is not your grandfather’s Colossal Cave!
This edition of Colossal Cave is a reimagining of the original text-based adventure game, which was first introduced by Will Crowther and Don Woods in 1975. Now players can enter the mysterious and twisting cave as a fully immersive 3D VR experience. Fascinating!
Colossal Cave is a very well-known game to tens of millions of classic gamers around the world. Some elements of the game - like the original codewords “Xyzzy” and “Plugh” - will be recognized right away by many gamers.
Roberta Williams has received widespread industry recognition and several “Hall of Fame” awards. She is the designer behind several industry-leading hit games such as King’s Quest, Phantasmagoria, Black Cauldron, and many more. Williams has adapted the classic text-based game for the virtual reality world and brings its many characters to life.
As an explorer of Colossal Cave, players enter a vast and extensive cave system to seek the treasures within. Along the way, they will encounter a variety of characters, some of whom will attack and some of whom will entertain. The player’s objective is to find all the treasures. This is not an easy challenge. There will be a wide variety of puzzles to overcome.
The “Your Score!” taunts me. A simple mistake and I am dead once again. Such is the harsh and unforgiving consequence of one wrong move in the Colossal Cave. Is there any way I can ever reach the ultimate high score of 350 points? The oft-sought-after, rare achievement, is held by very few gamers.
But I’ve got to wonder about how the points are calculated. How are the Ranks determined when you exit the game? How are Turns calculated in order to help determine your Overall Score? For now, I am content just exploring and unraveling mysteries by matching clues to puzzles and finding satisfying (if not always logically clear) solutions.
The beautiful graphics transport the player from their couch or desk, to deep within the earth. While being fun and whimsical, the game is not too serious about itself. Every session evokes a sense of fun, play, and fantasy.
Each step deeper into the cavern grows more mysterious, beckoning, and fantastic. There are wonderful discoveries, frightening pop-up surprises, and challenging puzzles.
Here I come 350!!
Discover everything about Colossal Cave at https://www.colossalcave3d.com and on social media at Facebook(@thecolossalcave), and Twitter(@thecolossalcave). Find more about Roberta Williams at https://cygnusentertainment.com