Space Otter Charlie will likely take most players a little over three hours to see everything the game has to offer. Unfortunately, the experience is also quite short. It’s both relaxing and engaging, which makes for an experience that is quite addictive. Instead, the majority of the time players will find themselves tactically bouncing from wall to wall to dodge flame spouts and otter-eating plants, coasting across open battlefields as they blast away at surrounding enemies, and fine-tuning their jet pack skills as they navigate laser nets and wind tunnels. There are a few sections that require a bit more precision than this gameplay can really handle comfortably, but thankfully they are few and far between, with decent checkpoints that ameliorate those sequences well enough. The whole thing can feel very awkward at first and is never able to be taken for granted (the slide ability never clicked for me), but later on, as the controls become more familiar, it’s extremely satisfying to thread narrow corridors and pull off evading loops, slingshotting around platforms like a satellite in orbit. Charlie can stand on any flat surface and from there propel himself in any direction, with the lack of gravity allowing for continuous momentum that can only be interrupted by another solid object or a carefully timed correctional jet pack thrust. Working somewhat like a cross between Dandara and rocket barrel riding in the Donkey Kong Country series, getting around in Space Otter Charlie can feel like a floaty balancing act, and it’s fantastic. Sure, there are times when Charlie needs to skin his smoke wagon and send a reflector beam ricocheting around a room of ghost cat heads in a destructive effort to clear some space, and sometimes a giant supercomputer has to be blowed up but good, but these instances feel more like punctuations the main thrust of Space Otter Charlie is navigation - and the little otternaut’s movement is by far the game’s most satisfying element. However, those who do stray off the beaten path may uncover vents that lead to hidden rooms with secret weapon and space suit upgrades, as well as data files containing offbeat otter facts. Maps are self-contained instead of interconnected, keeping spatial awareness manageable for players of all ages, and levels wind around themselves, requiring only a small amount of backtracking. Hitting switches unlocks doors, discovering keys grants access to new areas it’s pretty basic stuff, Metroidvania-lite. This is a friendly hybrid focused more on light puzzle-platforming than blazing firefights, with a hint of exploration to boot. While it’s easy to go into Space Otter Charlie expecting a frenzied shooter where players will be assaulted by hordes of alien cannon fodder to mow down, the reality is far from intense.
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