Cavernreach is now within players' grasp

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Firewatch-inspired cave exploration adventure available now on Steam for Windows PC

The adventure genre may have begun underground, but the Colossal Cave is not the only subterranean rock formation with mysteries to uncover. Case in point: Cavernreach, the newly released spelunker from solo developer Deep Rock Games.

An experienced caver named Grant is hired by a man named Jeff to join him on an expedition to "survey a newly discovered cave system" and search for a pair of explorers who disappeared down there. Before long, however, "unsettling" things begin happening, with earthquakes causing cave-ins, and satellite imagery picking up strange geological phenomena that threaten not just the region, but perhaps the entire world. And so, what began as a "routine expedition quickly spirals into a mystery far greater than anyone anticipated." Unfortunately, the deeper you descend, the more you'll discover that "some places were never meant to be found," and that your presence is causing "something ancient" to begin stirring.  

Presented in first-person, free-roaming 3D, Cavernreach is a linear exploratory adventure heavily inspired by Firewatch. (Only, underground and "horror-like.") Playing as Grant, in communication with Jeff only through walkie-talkie, you'll use climbing ropes and other equipment to "venture through a vast underground world filled with towering caverns, flooded tunnels, hidden passages, and breathtaking subterranean landscapes." With each new passage revealed you'll find new discoveries awaiting, from "glowing crystal chambers to immense underground abysses." Progress will require a combination of light platforming, swimming, and intuitive item use to bypass obstacles, but there will be "minimal guidance" to help you along, with "no objective markers or maps" to lead the way.

It soon becomes clear, however, that this is no ordinary cave. The missing spelunkers have left behind a trail leading to "strange symbols, impossible discoveries, and evidence that someone, or something, has been here long before." Sure enough, "buried beneath miles of rock" you'll come upon evidence of a lost civilization down here – perhaps even alien, with massive structures powered by unknown technology, and even an ominous model of the solar system. What's worse is that it all seems designed not to "hide a secret [but to] to contain one," and you may have just contributed to breaking that containment. 

Any non-claustrophics ready to plumb the depths of Cavernreach can gear up right away, as the game is available now on Steam for Windows PC.