Level Guide · World 1: First Flights ·

How to Beat Cave (Level 12)

Cave closes out World 1: First Flights, and in our own player analytics it's the hardest level of its size in the game so far — more average deaths per player than any other level enough people have reached to measure reliably this week, and seven in ten players who reach it need three tries or more. It isn't one hard shot, it's five shots in a row with a bat guarding three of them. Here's the safe way through.

Gluxolot level 12, Cave: the blob on the start ledge at the bottom left, a tall central rock, three bats with their red rings, four red targets and five coins around the cavern
Cave as it looks when you land on it. The red rings are the bats' territory — cross them cleanly, never stall inside one.

Why Cave is the hardest level in World 1

Cave is a full lap of one cavern: a long shot out along the floor, a climb up and around a stone lip, a threaded gap back through the middle of the level, then one more climb to a narrow mouth that leads to the portal. Three bats — not spikes, not water — guard the climb, the gap and the final mouth, and each one wakes up and gives chase the moment you fly close. Miss the timing on any of the five shots and you are back at the start. Par is six shots: the clean route takes five, so you get exactly one to spare.

The trick: keep flying, don't stall near a bat

Every bat in Cave guards its spot from beside it, not from inside the path — so a shot that flies through cleanly and keeps moving is safe, and a shot that stalls or clips the edge of a bat's territory gets chased down. Aim for a committed, confident shot on each hop rather than a slow, cautious one.

The route, shot by shot

  1. From the start, take the long shot east along the floor — a full-power throw across the cavern to the far corner. No bats guard this one; it is just distance.
  2. A stone lip blocks the straight climb home, so hook your next shot up and around it to catch the perch just above. A bat watches this climb — commit to the shot rather than drifting into its territory.
  3. Head back west, threading the gap between the central rock and the stalactite hanging from the ceiling — the cave's real gate. A bat hangs right at the top of it, so aim for the lower part of the gap and keep flying.
  4. Climb once more, up to the anchor level with the mouth of the bats' roost.
  5. Line up the last shot through the narrow roost mouth, past the final bat, and onto the portal.

Getting all five coins

Three of Cave's five coins sit right on the route — rising into the gate, out on the east side, and on the run back west. The other two are riskier detours: one tucked in the corner pocket just above the lip on your second hop, and one in a dead drop beneath the roost right before the portal. The third star needs every coin plus a clean run, so plan the two risky ones into your hops rather than backtracking for them.

Still stuck?

Every level in Gluxolot was checked with a solver, so there is always a route through — Cave included. If a bat keeps catching you, the problem is usually hesitation: a full, committed shot beats a bat almost every time a half-hearted one doesn't. Still getting used to World 1? Our first level guide covers Look Up (Level 7), the ceiling-bounce trick a few levels back. And if you die enough times on a level, a stuck-helper prompt will offer to skip it. Our support page and FAQ cover the rest, and the dev blog has more on how Gluxolot was built.

More levels, more tricks

Cave is level 12 of 70 — the last one in World 1: First Flights. World 2: Deep Caves opens right after it. Pull back, aim, and keep flying.

GET IT ONGoogle Play