Cave Explorer

WASD or arrow keys to move; space to jump; X or J to throw a placed torch (illuminates a stationary area). Caves are dangerous: bottomless pits, sharp stalactites, hostile fauna. Death is permanent within a run but spent gems unlock permanent upgrades between runs.

Cave Explorer is procedural cave exploration with limited light, gem collection, and a permadeath endless mode. The procedural generation is the central thing and the procedural generation is honestly mid.

Right, here's the problem with procedural cave platformers. The good ones (Spelunky is the canonical example) generate caves that feel hand-designed because the algorithm respects readable structural constraints. The bad ones generate caves that feel like noise. Cave Explorer sits somewhere between those, leaning toward the second more than I'd want.

You die. You see a layout you've kind of seen before. You die again. The permadeath in a procedural game needs the cave generation to produce memorable runs and Cave Explorer's caves are too samey to do that.

The light-radius mechanic is the design's best idea. Your character emits a small radius of vision. Beyond it is dark. Gems glow softly so you can see where the targets are but not what hazards sit between you and them. That creates real risk-reward decisions: chase the gem you can see, or play safe and stay in known terrain? Good design.

Three stars. The light mechanic carries this further than it would otherwise go. The procedural generation underdelivers. Worth a few sessions if procedural is your thing, skippable otherwise.