Played On: PS4 (Original)

Difficulty: N/A

Justin Roiland, best known as a co-creator of Rick and Morty, has channeled his voice, vision, humor, and pretty much every amount of talent he has into his new game, Trover Saves the Universe, that’s full of sci-fi adventure excellence.

Rather than just have players go through another adventure with Rick and Morty, Roiland creates an all-new adventure with players taking control of a Chairorpian, an alien race that sits in a chair its entire existence. However, while this Chairorpian lived in peace with its two dogs, that are one of the most powerful beings in the universe, an evil lunatic named Glorkon takes them to change the universe as we know it. Although all seems lost, in steps Trover, a purple eye-hole creature who’s a man-for-hire, whose new objective to help you get your dogs back and save the universe.

If you’re a Rick and Morty fan, like me, you will absolutely love Trover Saves the Universe and you’ll especially love the Roiland humor that’s just littered throughout the game. It’s dark, it’s vulgar, and it’s jaw-droppingly hilarious. The dialogue is fantastic throughout, there’re stand out moments from characters, especially the enemies, and even the grossest moments are made funny through great lines and delivery that goes along with it. One of the standout moments, for me, was with a character called “Comedy Guy,” whose appearance had me laughing for five straight minutes, and there are plenty more moments just like this throughout the entire adventure. It definitely hopes that Roiland is clearly doing most of the dialogue, as Trover and Glorkon sound familiar to Morty and Rick, and every line is delivery perfectly to make viewers laugh.

It’s honestly crazy how many funny lines are spread throughout all of the games characters and I actually appreciated how meta the game was at times. There’s some fun mentions in the opening that teach players how to play and some solid banter about adventures games, that might even tease some future content. Even the enemies, while having a nice variety and a decent enough challenge to them, are absolutely hilarious. Honestly, there’s so much funny dialogue between all the characters in the game that players could sit in a single spot for ten minutes and characters will still be spouting lines that will make them laugh.

One of the best parts, though, had to be Trover as he’s quickly become of my favorite characters that Roiland’s created. From his love for green power babies to his hatred for Chairorpians (not you, of couse), he had me hooked with every line that’s delivered. I even felt like there’s a solid emotional connection players can have with him towards the end of the game. Your and Trover’s adventure does let you get to know him a little better, so when a personal tragedy strikes him in the final moments of the game, it kind of hits you. Don’t get me wrong, Trover still plays it up for laughs, but from going through the entire adventure, you build a connection with him that’s really nice. Even the final battle is emotional and surprising and it makes the entire adventure of Trover saving the universe worthwhile.

Now, Roiland and his company, Squanch Games, are no strangers to unique gameplay and creating unique worlds for VR as they have accomplished this in the past with other games, like Accounting+ and Rick and Morty: Virtual Rickality. With Trover Saves the Universe they take it a step further with great platforming mechanics mixed with the ability to have players change their perspective. As the Chairorpian, players elevate gameplay to new heights and gain a new perspective that can help them traverse through strange worlds, help Trover battle against Glorkon’s clones, and find those green power babies that are full of “ooowee” goodness that allows Trover to gain more health.

There are also some choices built into the game that effectively change some of the dialogue and views Trover has on you. It definitely adds something to go back and experience the story a little differently. The combat is also pretty standard for an adventure game with Trover slashing through clones and gaining new abilities as you progress through levels.  Honestly, even though I didn’t play it in VR, I can definitely see how the perspective based platforming would be great for VR players. Think of like a game like Moss with a Roiland twist and that’s exactly what Trover Save the Universe brings. I’m already itching for another playthrough and ready to see more from the mind of Roiland.

Roiland really brings that “ooowee” magic that he’s brought to all of his projects and blends with a game that’s incredibly fun to play and absolutely unique. Trover is definitely one of Roiland’s best characters and controlling him in battle and utilizing different perspectives to traverse worlds and capture those all-important green power babies is a blast. Trover Saves the Universe is easily one of the best games I’ve played this year so far and shows that Roiland is truly a talented man.

*All photos, unless otherwise marked, were taken by the author.

Watch the Trailer Here: