Cave Story+ similar games & best alternatives

Cave Story+ - Trailer
Cave Story+ - cave-story_1.avif
Cave Story+ - cave-story_2.avif
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Cave Story+ - cave-story_6.avif

Cave Story+

Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Nintendo Switch • 2011

Should you play it?

Run, jump, shoot, fly and explore your way through a massive action-adventure reminiscent of classic 8- and 16-bit games.

What works

  • Engaging story with multiple endings
  • Challenging and rewarding gameplay
  • Memorable soundtrack
  • Nostalgic pixel art style
  • High replay value with extra modes

Things to keep in mind

  • Some difficulty spikes and obscure requirements for true ending
  • Lack of widescreen support and some bugs
  • No cooperative or multiplayer features
  • Controversy around publisher nicalis
  • Limited character customization

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Turnip Boy Robs a Bank

  • Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment

  • Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight

  • The Great Rebellion

  • FLARE NUINUI QUEST

  • The Doors of Trithius

Less expressive

Games that feels like Cave Story+ but with less self-expression and customization

  • Terrian Saga: KR-17

  • Zexion

  • Blaster Master Zero 2

  • Cathedral

  • Pharaoh Rebirth+

  • One Dog Story

Less story-driven

Games that feels like Cave Story+ but with less narrative immersion

  • Mega Serval

  • UDONGEIN X

  • Cally's Caves 3

  • Spark the Electric Jester

  • B.I.O.T.A.

  • Kero Blaster

Choose your own criteria ->

From the same developer

From the same developer, ranked by motivational fit.

  • Kero Blaster

  • Pink Heaven

  • Pink Hour

  • Cave Story's Secret Santa

  • NightSky

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with Cave Story+. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with Cave Story+. These titles are not in What to play next.

Cave Story+: A very typical example of its motivational profile. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Violence, Survival, Fellowship, Intimacy. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Story, Fantasy. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Leadership.

Last update: 21/08/2026