It’s kinda funny how there ended up being two collectathon platformers released in 2023 that I really liked, but it’s not the two that made my anticipated games list for that year. Clive N’ Wrench and SpongeBob: The Cosmic Shake were disappointing titles, and I instead got my 3D Platformer fix through Cavern of Dreams and Corn Kidz 64, both of which I really enjoyed. I guess I will start with Cavern of Dreams, even though I played Corn Kidz 64 first and took too long to write a review of it since it’s no longer fresh in my memory.
Given that I’m at a difficult point in my life, I quite appreciated the comforting vibe that this game had, in addition to its fun gameplay. In Cavern of Dreams, you play as Fynn, a baby dragon who is trying to rescue all of his dragon siblings, who are each still in eggs. These eggs serve as your main collectable throughout the game. As one can tell, the game is very cute, and I like cute things so I approve of this game. I could almost describe the general vibe as “nostalgic,” which is interesting because it’s not one of those games that shoves references to older games in your face. Hell the only thing that can really strike one as such is it’s imitation of Nintendo 64 era visuals, which it does quite well.
The music does an amazing job at contributing to this atmosphere. I knew this game was something special when I heard the first few notes of that Lostleaf Lake track. One needs to appreciate the uniqueness of this compared to most collectathons. Most would opt for something upbeat and adventurous, but this one is more soft and contemplative. It almost comes across as if it’s meant to represent the mindset of a grown adult coming back to something they liked as a child in order to return to a more innocent time in their life. If you think I’m looking too deeply into this… I probably am, but this world literally has a section that’s a giant children’s bedroom, complete with this soft music box tune. And while we’re on the subject of music, that underwater variation of the Prismic Palace theme, so fucking good!
The level backdrops and designs are also unique and compelling. None of the worlds feels like “generic ice or fire world,” and they each have their own unique atmosphere and tone. I already talked about Lostleaf Lake, but the Airborne Armada is so much more unique than just “generic sky level.” And the sense of calm and beautiful when exploring Prismic Palace is unparalleled. Lastly, the Gallery of Nightmares is an excellent final world, that even has three unique mini worlds within it, that had such tension and build up that I initially assumed they were where you’d fight the final boss. All three of these mini-worlds feel out of place with the tone the game had up to this point, but there is actually a very interesting story related reason for it, in that they were created by the game’s main villain Luna.
Spoiler warning for next paragraph, though this isn’t the most story heavy game.
I also quite like what they did with Luna’s character, where she’s basically a disturbed child, but a child nonetheless, and she holds a grudge against Fynn because their mother Sage treated him better. Specifically, I like that it ends where Sage apologizes for locking away Luna because she was scared of her, and with Sage befriending her, rather than dismissing her as some sort of monster. Not only is it cute, but it also is far more thoughtful than one would expect given the lite story elements.
Spoilers Over
It’s already a good sign when the a collectathon nails the presentation, but the gameplay is also solid as well. Movement is very brisk, but not too much so that there’s no challenge, and it’s very satisfying to move around. There’s also a nice serotonin boost every time you pick up an egg, a piece of dragon food, and a card. But the game doesn’t even stop at just the collectables, as you can also find hidden lore about the game’s world by just looking around. In fact, Cavern of Dreams is the only game I know of where there’s an incentive to keep playing after 100% completion, in the form of you flight ability. This allows you full flight, which lets you explore outside the map and find all sorts of things that you’d normally only see through an action replay device. And yes, the game STILL provides more lore, and gives you a reason to go back to each world.
In terms of criticisms, the only one I can think of is that I found myself needing to consult a guide a lot of the time, which broke up the flow of the game. Normally, puzzles solutions tend to be localized to the section they are a part of. However, Cavern of Dreams will require you to scour entire worlds for solutions to puzzles, and in one particular case, you even needed to leave to a world you already completed, and come back with an item that only spawns there. I don’t know how to feel about this because it was a brilliant use of creativity, but I also have no clue how anyone was expected to assume they could do that.
Otherwise, Cavern of Dreams was a phenomenal game that I absolutely can recommend to fans of the genre. It’s so good in fact that I feel bad for not being able to type out a longer review… writers block fucking sucks.
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