In the recent resurgence of “boomer shooters” and remakes of games that are a couple of decades old, another form of modern game is capturing that vintage feel – 3D collect-a-thons. Whether it was A Hat in Time or Yooka Laylee, there is still a market for gamers to play something that reminds them of how it felt to pop in a cartridge in the late 90s and explore to their heart’s content. Cavern of Dreams aims to replicate what the genre greats did more than twenty years ago in their offering, but does it stick the landing or miss the mark?

The first thing that Cavern of Dreams players will notice is how blurry the game looks even on the title screen. This is because the game automatically toggles a blur effect to emulate a CRT monitor, which you’ll have to manually toggle off if you want clarity or have sensitive eyes. In addition, I had to manually switch the vertical camera inversion on every startup, too. Once that hiccup gets resolved, the muscle memory kicks in and Cavern of Dreams serves as a seamless N64 collect-a-thon from the get-go as the adjustment period is hardly even present – the feel is captured immediately.

Typically, I detest puzzle-solving in gaming as I like to turn my brain off and go on autopilot. Luckily, in Cavern of Dreams, earning eggs doesn’t utilize too much brainpower, and when it does, it’s a rewarding affair. Like most collect-a-thons, though, there are some brainteasers that can’t be remedied without a walkthrough. I only had to consult one a single time in my entire playthrough, which is quite below par in the genre that is known for being cryptic. You can get clues in the hub world and navigate the bite-sized levels in their entirety to complete your checklist without too much struggle.

Collect-a-thons tend to head to some dark places, such as a graveyard in Banjo Kazooie or Bowser’s boss battles in Super Mario 64. Modern iterations like Toree 3D and Super Kiwi 64 took it a step further with some morose, perturbing visuals in their adventures. But Cavern of Dreams tops the charts as one of the most disturbing, unsettling 3D platformers before all is said and done; its final levels feel like a fever dream and stray so far away from the surface-level cuteness that the juxtaposition is alarming. The three-hour journey will shock players at some junctures, but the common denominator of the collect-a-thon is enjoyable through and through.

Cavern of Dreams falls into must-play territory as it controls smoothly, has delightful throwback visuals, and affirms the rewarding nature of the genre it pays homage to. As for its varying thematic presentation, it comes as a hard to recommend for the youth, but not impossible to do so if they aren’t subjected to worse in other games. Nevertheless, for those who cannot get enough out of the fifth generation of consoles and their collect-a-thons, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better entry in the current realm of gaming.

A PC review copy of Cavern of Dreams was provided by Super Rare Originals for the purposes of this review.

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Cavern of Dreams

12.99

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Captures the N64 Perfectly
• Engrossing Levels
• Collecathon Satisfaction

Cons

• Easy to get Stuck
• No Video Options