Developer Bynine Studio and Publisher Super Rare Originals bring us Cavern of Dreams, a nostalgic romp for those who enjoyed three-dimensional platformers during the N64 period, and the similarities with titles like Banjo-Kazooie, Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Spyro the Dragon, and Super Mario 64 will immediately resonate with you.

Cavern of Dreams will have you playing as Fynn, a dragon who unfortunately has lost his siblings, or more accurately put, has had his siblings egg-napped by a naughty bat called Luna. With the guidance of a fairy called Sage, you will set out on an adventure to various biomes to solve puzzles and rescue your siblings.

Controlling Fynn can be done with either a keyboard and mouse or a gamepad. Instructions for both were given, but controlling Fynn felt smoother and more responsive with the gamepad. Certainly more so than that of the keyboard and mouse. The only thing I found that wasn’t better on the gamepad was the first-person camera view. Even with the sensitivity turned up to 100%, it still felt sluggish, which for me was okay because I believe the target audience for Cavern of Dreams is children.

Fynn comes with a variety of moves, starting off with a jump and a roll. The jump, when timed correctly, allows a secondary jump that gives you more height, and the roll allows you to pick up speed so you can travel around faster. As you rescue more of your siblings and return them to Sage, she will grant you access to more moves, and eventually, you will earn a tail swipe, a glide, and a downward horn smash. Each newly learned move will unlock more potential to explore each biome more thoroughly than your previous visit.

As there is no combat in Cavern of Dreams and no penalty of death, Cavern of Dreams is all about solving puzzles and platforming through the three-dimensional environment. The puzzles are all analytical, but you are also not obligated to solve them to move forward.

If you find a way around the puzzle you are not punished by invisible walls or roadblocks. With the only failure state being a failed platforming jump and plummeting into a pit, you will quickly reappear at the last entered door to that area. This approach makes for a perfectly cozy game for nostalgic lovers or a fantastic introduction for children to enjoy a three-dimensional platformer.

As previously mentioned, Cavern of Dreams takes inspiration from the N64 era of gaming, and as such, the graphics are all low poly and chunky. Of course, graphics nowadays have come leaps and bounds beyond what is on offer here, but a lot of Cavern of Dreams charm would be lost if it was presented any other way.

With four different biomes to explore, each being different in appearance, but they all feel the same, which, honestly, is typical of the genre of that time, so it didn’t bother me. There’s also the optional blur filter in the graphical settings as well, so if you want to go true old school, you can, but I found this to be WAY too blurry, even by old-school standards and had to turn it off.

The music is very calm and soothing, which helps Cavern of Dreams lean very heavily into being a cozy game. The sound effects are just as cute and enjoyable. Nothing audibly is disruptive to the experience, and it lets you just relax and enjoy the game.

If you are looking for a lazy weekend to just lay back on the couch and have a trip down memory lane, or you’re looking to share the enjoyment you experienced when you were younger with your kids, Cavern of Dreams will certainly deliver both a cozy nostalgic hit for you and an introduction to an easy and fun three-dimensional platformer for children.

Written by: Ashley Barnett-Cosgrove