Cave Story (洞窟物語, Dōkutsu Monogatari) is a freeware platform-adventure video game released in 2004 for the PC. It was developed over five years by Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya in his free time. Cave Story features 2D platform mechanics and is reminiscent to the classic games the developer played in his youth, such as Metroid.After its initial self-published release, Cave Story slowly gained popularity on the Internet. It received wide critical acclaim for its compelling story and gameplay.