The free demo version of Colossal Cave is available on GOG.COM. You can download it here
This product contains both the WIN/MAC and VR versions of Colossal Cave
Embark on a timeless journey through a sprawling cave system packed with treasures, creatures, mazes, and wits-defying puzzles. The g...
Windows 10, Intel Core2 Duo E8400, 3.0GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+, 3.0GHz or higher, 4 GB RAM, Gef...
Description
The free demo version of Colossal Cave is available on GOG.COM. You can download it here
This product contains both the WIN/MAC and VR versions of Colossal Cave
Embark on a timeless journey through a sprawling cave system packed with treasures, creatures, mazes, and wits-defying puzzles. The great grandpappy of adventure games will test you and tickle your problem-solving skills as you unearth its plot and secrets. Through cunning trial-and-error you will crawl through tight squeezes, encounter impressive caverns, collect inventory, locate treasure, thwart dwarf attacks, all while keeping your eye on the score before your lamp goes out.
Dust off your vintage Colossal Cave maps from the 70s or 80s, they'll still work like a charm. This is a faithful, unchanged tribute to the original game design. Need a little nudge? Stuck on the dragon? Call our classic hint line at 1-206-207-9017 for a helping hand. Can't seem to make progress? Search online for hints and tips that have been shared for decades. Any tips or tricks regarding the original game play will still work here. Or, join our Discord for even more support!
Developed in the mid-1970’s by amateur cave spelunker, this classic text-adventure was originally crafted as a way for a father to entertain his two young daughters. Will Crowther based his design on detailed cave maps he’d made with his wife, Patricia, of the Bedquilt section of Kentucky’s Mammoth cave. Family cave exploration is at the heart of this game.
Shortly thereafter, the code-prankster, Don Woods, discovered the game on the ARPANET and expanded the cave. He layered in more fun, fantasy, puzzles, and a vexing 350-point system.
Years later, Don’s expansion became the most accessible and the definitive version of Colossal Cave Adventure.
Enter Roberta Williams. She first played the game in 1979 and was instantly hooked. She spent weeks playing the game, taking notes and mapping out the cave, as it was revealed through the textual descriptions in game. Her mind was filled with imaginary neon mushrooms, misty underground lakes, a snappy bivalve mollusk, and a noticeably absent giant. After finishing the game, and all 350 points achieved, she was ready for another adventure – a dilemma in 1979. If it was another adventure she wanted, she’d have to make her own!
And, indeed she did. In 1980 she designed and developed the world’s first graphic computer game, Mystery House.
This groundbreaking game is considered one of the most influential in history, establishing conventions that have become standard in the adventure game genre. It has been ported to just about every computer and console, played by millions, and inspired many other games, books, movies, and TV series.
Relive the golden age of adventure gaming. Immerse yourself in a timeless exploration through a sprawling cave system filled with treasures, creatures, and brain-teasing puzzles. Transport back to a more innocent time and experience the retro-cool of point-and-click mechanics, accompanied by an art style that harkens back to the golden age of adventure games. This lovingly and respectfully assembled tribute is brought to you by boutique studio, Cygnus Entertainment. Ken and Roberta Williams are committed to sharing and preserving the spirit of classic adventure games.
With its challenging and mind-bending puzzles, this explorative game will keep you enthralled. Explore 14 distinct regions filled with magic, hidden secrets, breathtaking views, and cave-dwelling creatures of all types. Each area offers a unique and enchanting experience. And with over 20 individual achievements to find and accomplish, you'll be hooked for hours.
Simple, intuitive, point-&-click controls
Captivating, colorful, and immersive regions
Challenging, logic-driven puzzles
A perfect blend of challenge and reward
Scenic subterranean vistas with hidden secrets
Over 20 individual achievements to accomplish
A game that is incredibly fun and engaging
A game experience unlike any other
And, as much as this game is steeped in gaming history and lore, there’s also a reason it’s stood the test of time and become so richly intertwined with gaming culture. It’s fun! It is also thought provoking and challenging. It is both simple and complex. It's creative - and, as Roberta says, it’s a fantastic design.
Venture down into Colossal Cave and explore its depths. Don’t forget your lamp!
Note: I played the VR version of this, which is stunning, and well worth it if you have a headset.
Amazing, nostalgic, and cool. The graphics were quite good, and there is a feeling of genuinely exploring a cave. The twisty maze of passages, all alike, is perhaps too-faithfully reproduced for the modern gaming audience - its a bit tedious to slog through, even if you know the trick from 50 years ago - but the addition of the "extra time" gameplay mode, and auto-mapping helped keep things from bogging down. Overall, a lovely homage to the original, and a fun game to play.
Before Zork, there was Colossal Cave Adventure, the first real major adventure game for computers. Soon, a game visionary added graphics to adventures and was a graphic adventure pioneer. Her name? Roberta Williams. She and her husband Ken Williams started Sierra On-line (Later Sierra) and created more legends than you can count. Now we have a new Colossal Cave reimagined by Roberta and Ken Williams as Cygnus Entertainment. The game carries over the original adventure very well. Despite being a graphic adventure, clickable narrations provide the classic text adventure feel this game needs, and does it well.
The puzzles aren't always easy, and you get a true feeling of achievement by moving through them. The game requires taking notes, just as all the classic text adventures and early graphic adventures need. Essentially, this is a text adventure reimagined, and it is done right. It even ha the original scoring system.
This game is an excellent experience. For those who lived through those days in the 70s and 80s to relive the glory days of Infocom and, yes, Roberta Williams' own classics from Beneath Apple Manor through Time Zone through King's Quest, this is a must.
For anyone who wants to feel the feel of achievement we got back in the day from adventure games like this or who is interested in Adventure gaming history, this is a great study.
I hope Cygnus continues to bring back more classics like the aforementioned Time Zone or creates new classics.
As much as I love and respect Ken and Roberta Williams for the innovations in PC gaming in the past, I cannot recommend this game. Even on the TV excerpt playing in the house you enter, she admits things that not all people will like about games. First problem: the map does not show where you are, which can prevent you from getting lost and constantly backtracking, or fall without seeing in front of you. I died from a fall while in the first area where the wand is. At that point, the game is not good for me. I uninstalled it. This will frustrate me and piss me off to keep playing.
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