Cavernaut (iOS) Review

Simple and short, yet fun and long-lived. This is the best way to sum up many good iOS titles, and the exact same words can be used to describe Cavernaut, as well. The premise is to take control of a spacecraft that is located several kilometres underneath the surface of a planet on its road upwards towards the surface, and on its way there collect crystals and power-ups, and find fuel stations cleverly hidden to ensure it does not run out of fuel. A simple, yet ingenious and classic, concept.

To make certain that the experience always stay fresh, each dungeon is semi-randomly remade by combining different blocks of data/dungeon pieces for every playthrough. The ever-changing nature keeps playing it fun and the feeling of exploration alive, even several hours into the game, rewarding those that continue to play several times as they memorise the patterns and easily adapt to them.

While the feeling of constant exploration is one that never grows dull, it is difficult to keep the lust alive without rewards for the dungeon exploration. This is one of the aspects where the developer has been really thoughtful and put a lot of energy into making players want to retry it over and over again. This is done in three different ways, appealing to a variety of users: the different sections, the upgrade shop and the high score list.

Three completely different ways to measure progress. No matter if the power-ups are important, or having the daily or all time high score is what teases at the end, or if just exploring the entire game is where the important aspect is, it is all supported in the overall experience. All of these are cleverly sewn together into each other to make for a beautiful and addictive venture for all kinds of players to delve into. The power-ups are helpful to get higher scores and to progress further. Gaining score is mostly made through collecting crystals, which are used to buy these power-ups and getting closer to the surface, and to get higher and finally to the end of the game, the crystals are going to be needed to get the power-ups, which makes for a beautifully entwined and complete experience for everyone to enjoy.

From the coffee break gamer looking for fast and short bursts of satisfaction, to the hardcore high score hunter, everyone will find something here of interest to spend those five minutes of downtime life sometimes throw out. For a while, at least. Cavernaut is a title well worth trying out for its price of $1.99 (or $0.99 during its first week sale!), but due to its nature of semi-randomised dungeons, once too familiar with it, the game risks growing dull, and the spirit of exploration will slowly die. That said, the experience up to that point is well worth the fee for those looking for an old-school-themed space exploration title.