The first person perspective undoubtedly makes this version of the game more immersive than a text adventure. Even as a new player, there were times when I walked past items without seeing them at first (seriously – screw the bars of silver). If you’re a fan of the inventiveness of the text prompts from the original Colossal Cave Adventure, this might take some adjusting to. This is a huge change from the text prompts like “drop bird” or “pick up nugget”. You can also choose to draw things from your inventory, bringing them to your first person view in order to use them. This allows you to manipulate items you come across. Go over to something you can interact with and the usual Eye reticule you can use to trigger the voice over descriptions changes to a Hand icon. Interacting with the world items, as well as using anything you pick up, is via a contextual icon too. You’ve got to find it, then walk over and pick the food up. Rather than having the ability to search a room to find items, you’ll have to actually search. The biggest changes to the Colossal Cave formula, aside from no longer having to use your imagination to envision your surroundings, is in how you interact with the game world. While this sometimes feels redundant to a newcomer like me, who has no real reference point and is exploring based on the visuals rather than the description, I imagine this is a neat addition for the long time fans of the source material. For example, when entering the building at the start of the game, you can trigger the voice over to say “You are inside a building, a well house for a large spring”. This triggers a voice over which reads the location description from the original Colossal Cave Adventure game. Certain mazes and sections of the Colossal Cave require a loading screen to transition into, but for the most part, you can move from room to room like you would in say Skyrim.Īs you navigate from room to room, you can use a command to look at your surroundings. Rather than typing “Go North” (or N) to go North, you simply walk in that direction via a standard twin stick controller first person view. This interpretation takes the same structure of the source material, the description of events and objects you find then structures them in a flowing 3D world. So, how do you possibly go about transitioning a text adventure into a 3D adventure game? Well, the system that the Williams’ have come up with is pretty inventive. It’s a testament to the work of Ken and Roberta Williams then, legends in their own right, that even without the nostalgia for Colossal Cave Adventure, I had a fun time with Colossal Cave in 2023, despite its oddities. I of course feel the cultural impact that the game had, but at arms length. I think this is important context because this review of ‘Colossal Cave’ (2023), the 3D reimagining of the original game, is written from the perspective of someone who has very little nostalgic connection to the source material. My sum total of time with any version of the text adventure was a “rank amateur” attempt that lasted little more than 10 minutes. I came to the interactive fiction genre much later, enjoying the legacy that “Advent” had created without ever playing the game that started it all. I can’t personally claim to be among that number. The original Colossal Cave Adventure, a game that essentially birthed an entire genre, has been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people since it initially launched back in 1976. Adapting the content of the 1970's original, Colossal Cave reinvents a classic in a new dimension.
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