Considered by many to be one of the defining indie games, this 2004 metroidvania adventure “received widespread critical acclaim for many polished aspects of its design, such as its compelling characters, setting, story, and gameplay”. While the enhanced Cave Story+ has been given away before, the original is available on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, half the consoles released in the last few decades (including GameCube, PSP, and Megadrive), Amiga, and even some Motorola devices!
I loved this game, but the “true ending” felt like a weird design left turn. It traded the enjoyable platforming and combat for literal hell - and I’m no stranger to “getting gud”. The difficulty (of the true ending sequence) was RNG heavy and unfun (for me).
“So you want the true ending. WORK FOR IT!”