Crystal Caves

Game: Crystal Caves
Platform: PC
Release Year: 1991
Stephen's Rating: 5/10



Crystal Caves by Apogee Software was one of the very first video games I ever played. In retrospect the game isn't groundbreaking, even by the standards of the time, but it still holds a special place in heirachy of my gaming family tree.

Basic Plot

You play the Mylo Steamwitz, a space trader in search of wealth. Mylo has come to the Altairian star system in order to harvest the naturally forming giant crystals in the area. Hardly a heart wrenching story, but at the time I wasn't paying much attention.

Gameplay

Crystal Caves is a classic platform scroller. The player moves Mylo using keyboard controls through a series of levels. In between levels Mylo is able to pick and choose which area he'd like to visit next - but some are locked initially until a certain number have been cleared.



The levels involve moving, jumping, shooting enemies, collecting health and power-ups, and finding coloured keys to open correspondingly coloured doors. There is a small puzzle element to the game but at its heart this is a platform action game.

A friend of mine pointed out that there were reverse gravity levels which made for an interesting battle with your brain and were pretty entertaining.

Positives

I liked the challenge involved in the game. My favourite thing was to try and collect every crystal and every item from every level.



Negatives

Poor story, basic gameplay, not a lot going for it compared to other games from the era but it was still an important milestone to mention.

Memorable Moments

There was another game released by Apogee Software called Secret Agent which used the exact same game engine only with a different theme and character. I remember one of my friends completed Secret Agent first, and it opened my mind to the possibility that I could actually clock Crystal Caves. I went on to complete it first. I think it was the first video game I ever completed (albeit the shareware version).

...

I've also recorded an episode of Oldschool Game Sessions looking at Crystal Caves, take a look: