★★★☆☆ (3.5/5)

Between expeditions, Alissa returns to a town hub to interact with NPCs, upgrade gear, and rest.

Alissa and the Have-Nots Cavern – A Sharp, Uneven Fable of Class and Survival

Here’s a developed review of Alissa and the Have-Nots Cavern — written as if for a blog, book club, or literary site.

The water was freezing. It burned her skin. As she swam down, the pressure built—not physical pressure, but emotional. Images flashed in her mind. A graduation ceremony she never attended. A wedding ring she never wore. A house with a white picket fence that was sold to someone else. The weight of these 'what-ifs' pressed down on her, dragging her toward the bottom.

Players navigate through the "Cavern," engaging in turn-based combat against various monsters.

In Alissa and the Have-Nots Cavern , the author thrusts us into a gritty, quasi-dystopian world where social division isn’t just metaphorical—it’s literally carved into the earth. The story follows Alissa, a sharp-tongued teenager from the impoverished “Sunken Flats,” who stumbles into a hidden underground cavern rumored to hold the secrets of the wealthy “Overlookers.”

"It was just a different kind of quiet," she said. She stood up, wringing out her hair. "I think I prefer my own quiet. At least I know the way out of it."