Whether it’s the countless loot-bearing grottos and mines in Skyrim or the wondrously vast procedurally generated caverns and chasms of Minecraft, there are hardly any places worth exploring in games than a deep and mysterious cave. It’s hard to deny the alluring possibilities that a cave offers.
There are so many video game caves, but the most iconic are usually found off the beaten path and tempt you with in-depth lore that furthers the narrative, offers an array of tantalising riches, and will often give you challenging enemies to face, hiding within the shadows. There are so many video game caves, but here are some of the best. Let’s get spelunking.
10 Destiny - Loot Cave
The infamous loot cave in the original Destiny wasn’t actually meant to be a loot cave at all. Located in the Skywatch region of Earth, the cave was originally one of the places where monsters would spawn, and it quickly became a place to gather huge amounts of engrams.
Players would endlessly farm wave after wave of respawning enemies, racking up countless powerful gear and weapons. Luckily, Bungie soon caught on and shut down this clever exploit, not before leaving a nice little Easter egg in the form of a huge pile of bones from all the unfortunately slain enemies in its place. Gone, but never forgotten.
9 Skyrim - Eldergleam Sanctuary
After completing most of “The Blessings of Nature” questline in Skyrim, you are treated to one of the most gorgeous locations in the entire game. It’s a cave that houses the sacred Eldergleam Tree, which was once blessed by the Goddess Kynareth.
The tree is the centrepiece of the cave, with a wonderfully ethereal ray of sunlight shining directly on it and giving the entire cave a magical glow. It’s also a great pitstop for any budding alchemists out there, with plenty of common and rare ingredients that grow in abundant supply.
8 Terraria
When in development, Terraria borrowed a lot of elements from Minecraft. They are both massive, procedurally generated sandboxes and encourage survivability and exploration. Sure, you can build a base, chop down some trees, and recruit a few NPCs, but when you venture down into the endless depths below, the game really gets going.
Below the delightfully colourful 16-bit inspired surface is a staggeringly large randomly generated network of caves and caverns that get more dangerous the deeper you go. Much of the precious ores and materials you need to upgrade your gear can be found further underground and encourages a deep risk-reward system of being satisfied with what you have or pushing your luck for more riches.
7 Batman: Arkham Asylum - Batcave
You can’t have Batman without the Batcave. It has always been The Dark Knight’s nerve centre and has consistently given him the upper hand over Gotham’s most notorious criminals. It’s also a billionaire's playpen, full of the world’s most expensive crime-busting gadgets and tech you could throw a Batarang at.
In one of the caped crusader’s best video game adaptations, we find him stuck on Arkham Island in Batman: Arkham Asylum - a bit further away from his trusty base of operations than he would have probably liked. Luckily, Batman always has a trick or two left in his Bat belt, and it turns out he has been keeping a hidden Batcave on the island. He stumbles through the cave for a much-needed pick me up, feeling fresh and ready to kick the ass of Gotham’s worst bad guys once again.
6 Spelunky
The entire setting of Spelunky and its sequel takes place in a series of procedurally generated caves and caverns, where you will control a courageous adventurer as they brave punishingly difficult enemies in a quest for vast riches.
Both games in the series contain a compelling roguelike gameplay loop, where you must face tough enemies, juggle powerful items, and avoid deadly traps to progress deeper into the dangerous cave network. Spelunky 2 ramps up the random chaos even further with more biomes to explore, enemies to face, and a load of cool new gameplay features.
5 Minecraft
Caves have been a part of Minecraft’s DNA ever since its humble indie beginnings. Since the game’s much-needed caves and cliffs update many blocky Minecraft moons ago, caves became an even more rewarding place to dive into and explore.
Now caves are even more interesting than before, with a variety of fresh new biomes to explore for a bit of a change of scenery when spelunking. What’s more, each cave can offer unique variations, ranging from sprawling underground open spaces to a narrow and winding network of tunnels to get lost in.
4 Deep Rock Galactic
Speaking of procedurally generated caves, how about an entire game based on them? Deep Rock Galactic contains a huge randomly generated cave network, where you and up to three buddies will take your dwarf of choice into the depths while you mine for precious loot. You must choose your weapons and gear wisely and work together as a team to keep back the hordes of nasty alien creatures in fun FPS action.
One of the game’s most intriguing elements is its completely destructible environment. Don’t fancy following a certain path? Blast through it and make your own tunnel, or even drill straight down and see what you can find. It’s a great system that encourages exploration at the risk of waking up an alien horde to ruin your day.
3 Gears Of War 2 - Locust Hollow
Gears of War’s main enemy, the Locusts, dwell in the Hollow - the dark depths of the planet Sera’s surface. It’s an intricate network of intertwining tunnels, caves, and caverns that includes some of the most significant locations of the events of Gears of War 2.
Marcus and his merry band of machine gun-chainsaw-wielding monster killers launch an attack on the Locust’s turf after learning of a super weapon that devours cities. It’s the start of a bloody adventure into the Hollow, where you head to the Locust’s capital city, have a scenic pitstop at the Queen’s palace, and even experience a nice blood-filled stroll through the inside of a humongous living riftworm. The Locust’s dwelling is eerily beautiful, especially with the gorgeous, luminescent glow of the imulsion lit environments.
2 Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End - Turtle Island Cavern
As soon as you arrive at Turtle Island in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, you’ll notice the impossible-to-miss towering cliff face in the shape of a snapping turtle. It turns out Henry Avery’s treasure is hauled up in a pirate ship inside, and this is where the final dramatic showdown between Nate and the backstabbing Rafe takes place.
At the end of the game, Nate embarks on a solitary descent in the hugely ominous snapping turtle-shaped cavern in order to reunite with his brother, Sam. Nate climbs up slippery rocks, swings his grapple hook on branches, and slides precariously down a series of ramps to get there. Eventually, you’ll come across the ancient shipwreck containing Henry Avery’s treasure, which Nate and Sam have been chasing ever since they were little. It acts as a nice bit of calm before the game’s explosive finale and elegantly reflects Nate's internal struggle.
1 Elden Ring - Sellia Hideaway
As one of the most interesting caves in Elden Ring, Sellia Hideaway is actually very easy to miss entirely. It’s hidden behind a pesky illusory wall in the northeast of Caelid and is part of Sellen’s questline to track down and find the disgraced sorcerer Master Lusat.
After smacking the wall and entering, you’ll be greeted by a bunch of crystal snail creatures, as well as more difficult Glintstone Sorcerers and a challenging Revenant. Inside, everything is stunning, with countless glowing pink crystals of all shapes and sizes littering every facet of this mysterious cave. Eventually, you’ll stumble upon the seal that needs to be broken to access Master Lusat. Once you set him free, you’ll be granted one of the best sorcery spells in the game.