Tales of Monkey Island developer Ron Gilbert’s has announced that his new game The Cave is arriving on Wii U for 2013 during PAX Prime today.
The Cave was previously announced for XBLA, PSN and PC as a new 2D adventure platformer, back in E3 2012. Given the current digital distribution release plan, we can safely assume that the game will be arriving on the Wii U’s eShop next year.
It is a collaborative project between Gilbert and platformer pioneers Double Fine, creators of critically acclaimed games Psychonauts, Brutal Legend and Stacking, among others. Led by Internet-idolized Tim Schafer, Double Fine was responsible for also making KickStarter a popular trend for enabling community-funded independent games, when they announced Double Fine Adventure, also coming in 2013.
With both Schafer and Gilbert on board, we can expect an excellent blend of both developers’ unique storytelling and comedy to be implemented in The Cave. On top of that, previous games under both names have provided genius gameplay mechanics and puzzle-solving, led by memorable characters inhabiting creative worlds. See for yourself in the trailer below:
Seven characters assemble to explore “The Cave”, each with their own motivations and intentions which initially begin as mysteries. Selecting a team of three from this roster, you must explore the puzzle-ridden cave tunnels, unveiling more secrets as the further you delve. No more details were given regarding the Wii U release, but presumably each character has their own unique set of abilities. The Wii U gamepad could offer plenty of potential for solving aforementioned puzzles, perhaps even making it the superior version over the other system releases.
This also sounds like a perfect set-up for a fun co-op mode, too, considering the different characters available. Trine was a fantastic example of a co-op platformer/puzzler, and Double Fine could undoubtedly follow this with their own effort. Perhaps upon discovering secret areas, the characters will shift from the TV to the Gamepad screen, Four Swords Adventures-style? Or assisting each other with the touch controls, placing or changing the platforms and terrain? The potential and possibilities of this game is very exciting – definitely ensure this is kept on your radar.
