The Cave concept was born more than 20 years ago. In his days at LucasArts, Ron Gilbert (of Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion fame) began to think about a sentient, wise-cracking cave in which explorers confront their deepest, darkest desires. While the gestation period was long, it turned out to be a worthy pursuit and the result is a witty, nostalgic treat very much in keeping with developer Double Fine's tradition.

From a cast of seven eccentric characters, three must be chosen for the descent into the cave. Once inside, they must work together to solve a series of fiendish, funny puzzles, revealing their questionable motives along the way.

The classic point-and-click adventure interface makes way for basic 2D platforming, with puzzles requiring the hardy spelunkers to combine items, environmental clues and their special abilities to advance. While this works perfectly well in single player mode, those "Eureka!" moments feel most rewarding in three-player local co-op.

The Cave is a well-crafted title, framing dark themes such as jealousy, revenge, greed and cowardice with the kind of eclectic charm and wit for which Gilbert and Double Fine are famed. The only disappointments are a suspect frame rate, and an underwhelming conclusion, which suggests it is a morality tale conspicuously lacking a moral.