Cavern Creatures

Cavern Creatures is an Apple II arcade shooter written by Paul Lowrance and published by Datamost. Players guide a small craft through winding caverns and tunnels that scroll upward at a constant speed, forcing continuous forward movement.

Gameplay

The craft fires energy bolts in three directions: left, right, and forward. Shooting destroys many obstacles but drains the ship's energy, which can be restored by hitting tanks positioned along the tunnel walls. Collision with a creature, other object, or cavern wall destroys the craft.

The caverns are filled with animated but generally stationary icons, including birds, eyes, apples, grapes, turrets, and other creatures. Special hazards and targets include pulsing energy barriers, mobile wriggling snakes, and indestructible Rubik's cube-like boxes that award points when shot. The game ends when the final craft is destroyed or the player defeats the last challenge.