Cavern Crawler
Posted July 5, 2025. Updated July 8, 2025. Played 11646 times for a total of 14973 hours.
description
short game where you crawl through caverns endlessly and get better each time
NOTE:
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as of writing this description, this is a prototype made in a few days (and also my first incremental game, how neat!) so the balancing and general gameplay is most likely shoddy at best, sorry :/
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there is technically no end to the game, but you'll see all the content in ~30-45 minutes.
newest comments
That's INSANE levels, for NOTHING progress. That shit's gotta go, or get retooled outright. I JUST wanna see if 15 is beatable (and even with maxed out Prestige Defense, I don't see that happening).
If you wanna push harder on the free-game front (and eventually into the "sure, I'll spend a buck or two" level), this has GOTTA get retooled. More upgrades to unlock more move-speed/atk/HP/Def/RESEARCH, and things that'll boost those further based off of your progression, and making you question if you SHOULD spend those points for a small'ish gain NOW vs. "saving towards that next big thing". This, right here, right now, isn't compelling me to wanna spend more time on it (outside of spite).
Fix the Costs/Gains on Enhance Armor, give me MORE things to buy (since I've LONG pumped outta anything "Combat" related; a "dead tab" is a DEAD GAME), and give us cosmetics to work with.
Oooh, like....hats? A hat that gives specific buffs, vs. "Oh, that's just his FACE now". I'd buy hats, if it meant I could hotswap between them to try and progress further. And when I am not progressing, I get to look swaggy! (See also: different faces, emotes, things like THAT.)
developer response: hey, thanks for the feedback, even if it's coated in a few thorns. i'll concede one thing, the prestige upgrades in this version were mostly an afterthought, as i felt by then that the gimmick of the game was fleshed out enough to my liking. I've said this before but prestiges were not really in mind other than
hey, maybe people will want *something* to do in my game after the """main""" content.however, I'll just let you know ahead of time that there is currently an overhaul of the gameplay in the works. I won't say too much for now because you'll probably be able to see it yourself soon(? don't quote me on that) but combat's been generalized decently in a way that I think will make it feel more fleshed out and... relevant to the overall gameplay. as well, I am putting a lot more thought into prestiges and the general reset loop. i won't say how just yet because it's not completely done but i hope it'll feel less like a solid concrete wall by the time it's out of my hands. that's all I really have to say. again, thanks for the feedback, and uh. I'll keep that last part of your comment in mind.
Also, gimme, like, bosses every 5 levels, and THAT is where the Prestige points are earned. Getting to, like, 25 would unlock the next set of unlocks (things that give more Research/Speed/HP/Attack/Defense at, like, a x1.1 rate, all that).
Otherwise, pretty addictive. Still trying to see if it's possible to clear Floor 15. Since Courage is HUGELY important just to get to 15, it feels like "Feelin' Fine" is the necessary level...but then you get bodied by the 15th boss, so maaaaaybe you have to take the longer route and boost everything to Max and go with "Well Cheers!" instead?
top comments
I like that the core game loop is more abstracted than just "buy upgrade, get more points." It rewards you for paying attention to why your run is ending early.
Probably the visuals of your character moving and the delve button could have been on screen at all times, so that you can browse upgrades without missing out on progress, or feeling the need to click back and forth so much.
Maybe the automation upgrade could have been enabled by default after prestiging? Eliminating a chore in a game always feels super rewarding, turning it back on, frustrating.
It seems you only get one prestige point even if you go farther than floor 6? That's a little bit of a feel-bad if you took the time to do a longer run.
Personally, if prestiging doesn't give new mechanics or fundamentally change the game loop somehow, I tend to lose interest.
This is certainly an enjoyable foundation, and I could see it going a couple of different satisfying ways. Bravo, keep making things!
developer response: thanks for the feedback!
i'm definitely in a place to admit a lot of the mechanics people (like you) have been taking note of were definitely less thought out than i would have liked, alongside being biased from the fact i had a very particular mindset in mind when playtesting this that wasn't shared by a lot of people. Prestiges especially weren't exactly well planned. I'll note that you do gain more prestige points if you go further down, but the floor requirement scales rather quickly. I have a lot in mind for potentially fixing combat and/or prestiges, but you'll have to see in the coming days how that turns out. Anyway, thanks again for your feedback, it's very much appreciated!
developer response: thanks! i dont remember if it's actually possible, but if it is, it's probably not worth trying to get to it until i get around to reworking the requirements and such (+2 prestige points requires getting past floor 10.)