Double Fine and Ron Gilbert team up for what is ultimately a pretty boring yet funny side scrolling adventure.
Unfortunately, it also lacks a lot of the charm and sharp wit of games such as those in the Monkey Island series and while it is funny in parts, just feels like it is trying a little too hard to amuse. Some people will find it endearing, I just found it kinda boring.
The Cave is about, amazingly, a cave. Its a mysterious one and even has its own voice, which acts as the narrator of the adventure you undertake with your choice of 3 adventurers. There more adventurers, but you can only take 3 with you on any given run. Each character has a unique skill which can help you in the given level, though 'level' is a bit of misnomer as each one is just one big puzzle.
The characters you play as are things like 'Knight' - who has the ability to become invulnerable, the 'Adventurer' - who can use a whip to swing from certain points dotted around a level and the 'Twins' who a pair of evil twins who can make a ghost copy of themselves for a short period. If you're wondering why they are evil, I quote "Has there ever been a pair of twins that wasn't evil?". I didn't laugh either.
That being said there are some funny moments in the game, and the narrator can prove amusing at times, but it all just feels a little too forced, like the developers are trying a little too hard to be amusing and you can almost hear the meetings that took place while writing the script, which is a bit disheartening.
Gameplay wise, The Cave controls well, and each character's abilities are used throughout the game. Unfortunately, this also means that the level associated with each character is where their abilities will get used the most, but the game is so short that this equates to a couple of minutes of relatively easy puzzles, which is not cracking.
On the plus, you really do have to co-ordinate with all three characters at your disposal to get through the puzzles. It might mean using one to distract a dragon while using another to steal something from behind it, or using all three to open a gate but only allowing one to get through. It works and is kinda fun, but that is about as complicated at the puzzles get and the whole game feels very light.
As you play, each character can pick up 'postcards' through cave paintings that give a bit of back story on whoever you're playing as at the time. It is a good idea poorly implemented, and conveys only the lightest, uninteresting history imaginable, that has little bearing on what is happening in the rest of the game.
There are seven characters in total, so it will take a couple of run's through the game to see every level and character arc, but that's assuming you even want to. At the end of my first run with the knight, adventurer and twins, I just didn't want to go again, running through some of the same levels/puzzles over again, your mileage may vary.
Ultimately The Cave is enjoyable comic romp, but you won't remember it in a couple of months. Its a shame because with this pedigree behind it, the game should be better and more memorable than this. It is worth the price, but only just.