When it was first revealed that Ron Gilbert would be teaming with the good people at Double Fine Productions to create a platforming adventure game dubbed “The Cave“ fans were understandably excited. After all, between Double Fine and Gilbert, this is a development group that has been responsible for some of the best adventure titles of all time. Maniac Mansion, The Secret of Monkey Island, Psychonauts and Grim Fandango are just four titles listed in the team’s credits and it’s safe to say that along with Telltale Games, these are the people most responsible for the modern resurgence of the once-moribund adventure game genre.
If the above description excites you, we’ve got great news: The Cave will be released very soon. According to an official press release issued by publisher Sega this morning, The Cave will debut on the PlayStation Network and Wii U’s eShop on January 22. The Xbox Live iteration of The Cave will arrive on January 23. All versions of the game will be priced at $15.
While we stand by our assertion that the people behind The Cave are an all-star team of adventure game developers, Double Fine’s titles have had a spotty history when it comes to sales. Its games are almost always praised by critics, but can occasionally fail to find an audience (at least not until years after their debut). We mention this because it’s a terrible shame every time it happens, as every game Double Fine has been involved with to date has been entertaining, clever and inventive, even those games that functionally ignore traditional video game design tropes. If nothing else, The Cave should offer players a novel experience, which is all too rare in the increasingly homogenized world of gaming. In an ideal world, that would be worth the $15 price of admission all by itself.
