Full disclosure going into this review; I am a former employee of Sierra Online starting back in 1989, and I know Ken and Roberta personally. I was a huge fan of Sierra games ever since I played the original 1987 Leisure Suit Larry – the EGA one with text parser – and a big step up from my first game ever, which was Zork, a text-only game I played on the TRS-80 setup in my local Radio Shack. Interestingly enough, Colossal Cave triggered numerous flashbacks to both Zork and those early days at Sierra.
The original Colossal Cave created by Will Crowther and Don Woods back in 1975 probably has more in common with Zork, which also received a graphical reimagining in the mid-90s, but as I learned back then, it’s pretty hard to beat your imagination. Having not played Colossal Cave ever, I had no such preconceptions to overcome, so I was happy to let Roberta’s imagination do the talking for this adventure.
For anyone younger than 40 prepare to be shocked, or at least startled a bit by the ironman-style design and gameplay rules that hearken back to a time when most people weren’t playing games or if they were maybe only a few each year. Everything from the simplistic yet still charming graphics, awkward interface, and a point reward system that modern adventure games have moved past are on full display here. By design, the game is meant to played multiple times, especially if you are going for the coveted 350 max award. Perfecting the game will require lots of memorization and prep work and the ability to avoid accepting help of any kind including tutorials and mid-game hints, which all cost points. After two or three passes you might be ready to take your notes and maps and go for that perfect 350 score, but make sure you have plotted the best path through the game, as your lantern only has half its life when going for this prize.
As far as the game itself, Colossal Cave has you exploring a unique fantasy world that blends magic, treasure, dwarves and dragons. Wander the land clicking on anything with the eyeball icon to get more info and the hand icon to use or take something. Puzzles are surprisingly logical like using a bird cage to collect a bluebird only to use that bird later to scare off a snake. There is a fantastic auto-map feature you can choose to use or ignore if you are too hardcore. The maps are gorgeous and loaded with details and notes. Since the game is non-linear this really helps knowing where you’ve been and where you are going. It might even help you navigate an annoying maze early in the game.
There are 15 treasures to locate in order to win the game, but most serious gamers will want to go for that 350-point secondary objective, so plan to replay the game at least 2-3 times unless you go straight for a walkthrough guide. I had the chance to play Colossal Cave on both PC and PS5 and found both versions nearly identical given the limiting style and complexity of the visual design. There is a definite indie vibe about the presentation, and many times I felt I was playing somebody’s final submission in their college-level game design course. Don’t get me wrong; the game looks great for what it is, but unless you are really going to go for those 350 points, I think $40 might be a bit much. This feels more like a $20-30 game, which I’m sure it will be in an upcoming sale. At least PS5 didn’t jack the price $10 more for this one.
The mouse and keyboard offered up a more consistent control scheme, while the Xbox gamepad on PC and the DualSense on PS5 felt a bit too sensitive. The control scheme was also annoying, forcing me to toggle between the eyeball and hand icon rather than having dedicated buttons for each. PS5 load times were so fast that the loading screen graphic took more time to load than the game, and even installed on a mechanical drive on my PC, load screens were only visible for 3-5 seconds when transitioning between areas. Visuals and audio were an exact match across both formats, and a special shout out to the narrator who sounds a lot like Kevan Brighting (Stanley Parable). The narrator is the perfect way to bridge the text descriptions from the original game without infringing on the graphics.
With only 15 areas and 15 treasures you can probably knock out Colossal Cave in a few hours, but if you are going to go for all 20 achievements/trophies and earn that perfect score without any hints or guides prepare for several game sessions and a total time of 10-12 hours…maybe more. There are also some pretty fun puzzles that range from simple to surprisingly difficult, making this a great experience for families to share.
As big a fan as I am of the Williams and adventure games, Colossal Cave just doesn’t bring as much to the table as it should for a $40 game. It’s a fun adventure that can get grindy and a bit frustrating at times, mostly because its staying true to its hardcore 70’s design roots, so I totally encourage everyone to check it out on whatever system you own, but you may want to wait for a sale before you venture into this Colossal Cave.
If you want to see the game in action, you can check out our first impression video with commentary and maybe a few spoilers.
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