Indie games are a dime a dozen, and for the most part, are something I look forward to in between playing AAA releases. Cavern of Dreams, however, is special in that unlike most smaller releases, which rely on 2D graphics, often emulating the look of 8-bit or 16-bit classics, Cavern of Dreams instead captures the bygone era of 3D platformers from the mid to late 90s and into the early 2000s.

Cavern of Dreams is a puzzle platformer that can be completed within a few hours, give or take, depending on your penchant for collecting. Aesthetically, Cavern of Dreams looks like a cross between Spyro the Dragon and Banjo Kazoozie, making for one cutesy N64 and PlayStation-inspired platformer. Like any good platformer, the story in Cavern of Dreams is simple and to the point: you play as Flynn, a young dragon tasked with rescuing his unborn brothers and sisters, spread across the game’s five distinct worlds.

Of course, this translates to collecting eggs, amongst other goodies, including cards, which flesh out the in-game glossary, and mushrooms, your most basic of currencies, acting as Cavern of Dreams’ coin or ring equivalent, which the player can periodically feed to their siblings upon rescue, to hatch them and populate the game’s hub area.

Collecting enough eggs will gradually grant Flynn new abilities, including the ability to hover and an aerial dive, which allows the player to gain extra height during platforming sections, amongst other skills such as rolling and attacking with your tail.

“Cavern of Dreams is a puzzle platformer that can be completed within a few hours, give or take, depending on your penchant for collecting.”

Collect enough eggs, and Flynn will gradually gain new abilities, including the ability to hover and an aerial jump, which allows the player to gain extra height during platforming sections, as well as other skills, such as rolling and attacking with his tail.

Due to the relatively short nature of the game, the abilities in Cavern of Dreams trickle out at just the right pace, making each new area feel fun and fresh despite the overall simplicity of the game. Aside from the basic platforming and monster mashing, Cavern of Dreams features some very light but clever puzzle mechanics—most of these are very simple but satisfying to complete.

The optional eggs, however, are only required if you wish to complete 100% of each level and can often be tricky to reach, making for some truly rewarding moments that require the player to think outside the box.

As the name may suggest, Cavern of Dreams features surreal and often dreamlike imagery, lending itself to a very fairytale-like storybook aesthetic that feels wholly appropriate for a game that feels like a lost relic from the days of Blockbuster and other video rental stores.

In fact, for the entirety of my review, I played Cavern of Dreams on my Sony Triniton CRT, running on my Intel NUC mini PC over S-video, which ran the game perfectly due to its modest system requirements, ultimately resulting in what felt like an authentic playthrough of a fantastic platformer from years gone by.