February 17, 2012
The Game: Cave Story

Genre: Robot Soldier 2D Metroidvania

Platform: PC, Mac






The Scoop: Much has been written about Japanese indie developer Pixel's modern classic Cave Story since its original release back in 2004. Paid remakes and updates have hit Steam, WiiWare and plenty of other platforms. But the important thing is that the original freeware release has remained freeware all these years, letting gamers experience an absolutely sublime 2D action/adventure free of charge.

Despite Pixel making the entire game by himself (including music, programming and pixel art), and despite the game being 100% free, Cave Story is one of my favorite games of all time. It's that good. Tight platforming, smart writing, perfect level design, loads of secrets… Cave Story has it all. An absolute must-play.