Welcome to our review of Cave Story+, a game made by Nicalis for the Nintendo Switch!
This game has already shined very brightly on 3DS, Windows, Mac, Wii, … and was given a new lease on life on the Nintendo Switch, out in a few weeks, we got to play it already and we are glad to share our findings on what is possibly the most well-known Indie game of all time!
While the game in its core is a basic Metroidvania platformer, it is filled with loads of surprises, annoyances and a great storyline. You are playing as a young boy, who awakens in a dangerous cave. You need to find your way in this quest, discovering the lands of the Mimiga, a species living in the caves that form the idyllic layout of this game.
The Mimiga are like Rabbits visually, straight from the start, you learn they are being threatened by “the doctor”. (I wonder if this was a reference to the British cult series called Doctor Who…?)
As the game progresses, you learn more and more about the story line, not wanting to spoil too much, I will purposely limit my storyline reveals to a minimum as not to take from your own discovery of playing this game.
The game presents itself as a Metroidvania style platformer, meaning old skool action that would have fit greatly in the original NES era, while many games do great honor to the genre, this Cave story+ originates from 2004 and was one of the earliest of its genre.
Upon playing, you will feel like being thrown back into that old skool gaming era, but what really sets this game apart, is the storyline. This game reminded me of the better RPGs when it comes to the storyline, as it just weaves the story together.
Throughout the game, you are faced with mini quests aside from the main storyline, like finding an old lady her missing dogs or finding the ingredients to make a bomb, … While they sometimes can get tiresome, they fit right into the game. At times, you get more and better weapons too. At the time of writing this article, I had 4 different weapons, each with their own advantages and disadvantages, 1 being a type of fireball, great for killing enemies down slopes, but horrible against flying birds. It added to the strategy you sometimes need to finish the “cave” you are currently in.
The entire game just flows from 1 cave into the other, each having their own feeling of exploration all over again, putting you against new enemies with their own special attacks. The other cave being a proof of jumping skills, … All adding up to a great and diverse gameplay, you will love it, I promise!
In conclusion, my opinion is a little double-sided. Overall, this is a great whimsical game, with both great parts and boring parts, the fact that you know nothing about the story, while some might see it as a setback, really added to the story. The boring parts, like trying to find 5 dogs for an old lady, while it does let you hone your skills, it does nothing for the story itself and just added more time to the overall length of the game.
I am still giving it a clear 90% rating, it brought back many memories of similar great games while playing and nostalgia sure is nice.
For all the collectors out there, this game will feature a very nice physical version with a real manual and can be ordered from most online retailers!
