Colossal Cave

Slant Magazine: 2 / 5 by Steven Scaife

Perhaps Colossal Cave’s unthinking fealty to the original, and its seeming dismissal of so many of the innovations that might have improved it, could be forgiven if it featured any puzzles or mechanics that would be tough to replicate in a modern design context. But no such innovations are apparent, and new touches like the first-person camera create new problems like making it easy to miss important items in the cave. Colossal Cave, then, can hardly be called a “modernization,” because it would have felt antiquated even if it came out 20 years ago.

Worth Playing: 8 / 10 by Cody Medellin

Colossal Cave is a good adventure game that will appeal more to those with some nostalgia for classics and classic sensibilities. The limited inventory system and the slightly obtuse puzzles might not gel if you've only been exposed to modern adventure games. That said, the sense of exploration is still strong, and the point system gives the game some replayability, which is something rarely seen in the genre. The reimagining of the original game works well, and genre fans who are keen to see where it all began should pick this up.

Pure Nintendo: 6.5 / 10 by Trevor Gould

Colossal Cave was a classic text adventure, but whether this reimagined take is "the adventure you've longed for" might boil down to your tolerance for dated elements. So much has changed in the decades since the original title, and the developer and Roberta Williams were household names in the gaming community. Going through the passages of this non-linear adventure can still be a mysterious, secret-filled romp. But it's likely best tackled with a good dose of nostalgia.