Croatian adventure video game Cave Hikers released

(Photo:. Cave Hikers)

Croatian game development studios Studio Spektar and Porcupine Parkour released Cave Hikers, a pseudo-documentary adventure video game, on 6 December for PC via Steam.

The game is available in 10 different languages, including Croatian voiceovers and subtitles.

The project’s lead, Porcupine Parkour, is based at the Gaming Incubator PISMO in Novska.

In 2022, Cave Hikers received development funding from the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, followed by production support in 2023 through the Centre’s public call for video game development and production.

Cave Hikers is a humorous pseudo-documentary adventure game set in an imaginary cave world. It follows three protagonists—Aki the warrior, Valerian the alchemist, and Vuvo the mechanic—on their quest to find the legendary “cave with the endless ceiling.”

“Dive into a fantastic underground world and embark on a journey to discover hidden items, solve relaxing puzzles, brew magical potions, play a variety of mini-games, and fend off colourful monsters,” say the developers.

The game’s Steam page can be accessed here.

One of the game’s standout features is its pseudo-documentary narrative style.

A knowledgeable narrator explains the game’s world, story, and mechanics as though the characters and creatures are part of a nature documentary.

Other features include alchemy (collecting ingredients and crafting potions) and player interaction with characters—any character you hover over with your mouse will wave back at you.

The game also includes the Book of Caves, a compendium of the game’s flora, fauna, and potion recipes, which players use throughout their adventure. The book is available in the in-game menu but can also be converted into a PDF and printed as a physical book.

Studio Spektar is an illustration and game development studio founded by Sven Nemet, an award-winning academic painter and children’s book illustrator.

The studio specialises in vibrant narrative-driven games, with two previous releases on Steam: Viktor: A Steampunk Adventure and General Horse and the Package of Doom. Studio Spektar received support from the MEDIA Creative Europe sub-programme of the European Union for the development of Ghost Painter.

Porcupine Parkour is an animation, illustration, and game development studio based in Novska, founded by Zvonimir Barać. Barać previously worked on Viktor: A Steampunk Adventure and General Horse and the Package of Doom.

Check out the trailer below.