Oculus Quest is a powerful piece of hardware that almost enables immersive gaming like never before. While it does fall short in certain aspects, there are plenty of games to be found for Quest owners who want to spend time away from their television screens. One such game is the title Carly and the Reaperman: Escape From The Underworld, which follows our titular heroine Carly as she seeks to escape the clutches of Hades.
Carly guides players through levels filled with traps, enemies, and puzzles which they must overcome by using one or more of her four abilities. One ability allows Carly to use a grappling hook that will pull her to special grapple points; another lets Carly move blocks (at first), and another lets her set bombs to blow up certain obstacles. Finally, Carly can fire off projectile slingshot shots at objects or enemies, which are required at one point in order to defeat a boss. While this may seem limiting on paper, the game makes creative use of these abilities by offering players new puzzles that require them to put their new skills to use.
Unfortunately, this is also one area where the game lacks a bit of polish—while Carly’s four abilities are all useful and fun to use, switching from one ability to another can feel clunky at times. This problem is exacerbated when players have to switch from their current weapon back to slingshot shots in order to hit targets. There are also moments when the game’s camera doesn’t offer players the best perspective on what they need to do, but that issue is few and far between.
On top of Carly’s abilities, players can find other helpful items throughout their quest—everything from jetpack boots to stopwatches that slow downtime for a limited amount of time can be found. Each of these items offers useful functions that will help players get through the game’s many obstacles, which is something that can’t be said about all Quest games.
Since Carly and the Reaperman takes place in a dark underworld filled with skeletons, lava pits, and traps galore, it should come as no surprise that the game’s graphics are pretty dark. While this may be frustrating to some people, it’s hard to deny that the game does a good job of creating a unique atmosphere and tone. This is especially true when Carly has to traverse dangerous areas filled with fire and other hazards, which really makes players feel like they’re in Hades.
The best word to describe this game is charming. Carly and the Reaperman don’t try to be something it’s not, which makes it a refreshing experience in a sea of modern games that want players to take them too seriously. While there are many games that can provide fun experiences on the Oculus Quest, this title comes highly recommended for cartoon lovers looking for a lighthearted adventure.
Score: 8.0 / 10
Pros:
– Carly’s abilities offer a lot of possibilities for puzzle design
– Creative use of items and abilities to solve puzzles!
– Unique atmosphere/tone is dark without being too dark…
Cons:
– can be frustrating when it comes to players seeing what they have to do in some situations
– Grapple hook, in particular, is rather clunky when it comes to switching between grapple points
– Camera can give players the wrong idea of what they have to do at times