Cavern of Dreams Review (Aureate Eternal)
Cavern of Dreams is probably one of the most charming games I've played in 2024. Its cute protagonist, retro artstyle, and relaxing and oddly nostalgic soundtrack makes me feel like a kid again.
You're looking at a 3D Platformer Collectathon that advertises itself as being heavily inspired by the N64, and it truly does live up to that vibe, albeit with a few new bells and whistles that the N64 couldn't handle. but those hardly take away from the experience. You play as a cute little dragon named "Fynn" whose primary goal is to locate the lost eggs of his dragon family and bring them all back home.
There are 3 types of collectables in this game: The unhatched eggs of your dragon siblings, mushrooms that you'll use to feed hatched baby dragons, and cards that fill up an in-game encyclopedia of objects and characters. Every set amount of eggs you collect will unlock a new ability that will help you navigate the worlds and solve puzzles more effectively.
There is no real combat in Cavern of Dreams, and therefore no health or lives system. When you die, you are quickly set back to the last door you entered. This may sound odd, but I stated before that the game feels kinda relaxing, so it actually works pretty well here. The most frustrating thing you'll probably run into is some of the puzzles. Most of which in my experience are easier than they look. If you have trouble getting to one place and find yourself doing the same thing over and over and missing, there's probably another thing you can activate somewhere that makes it easier. Otherwise most of the puzzles are pretty straightforward and satisfying.
If you really feel like you need it or just wanna play around with it, there's also something special you can access, but I'm not telling you how.
It may not be long, it may not be perfect, but it has a lot of character and charm, is (mostly) smooth, and I love it. It's a fun romp and if you love old-school 3D Platformers, you should play this.