Last year Cascadia Games gave us Cavorite, an out-of-this-world action puzzler that struck our fancy with its dizzying pace and seemingly endless supply of ingenious level designs. Cascadia’s been hard at work devising a new set of dastardly challenges for the sequel, which we recently got our hands on in beta form.
If you’re new to the adventures of Dr. Cavor, he’s a mad scientist with an anti-gravity spray gun and the curious ability to breathe on the moon’s surface — something only silent film stars and protagonists in late 19th century sci-fi literature could do until now. After collecting all the parts to his crashed spaceship and lifting off the moon’s surface in Cavorite, Dr. Cavor finds his fuel tank is on “empty” and plummets right back down. Luckily he can make use of moon gems to power his ship, but he’ll have to whip out that anti-gravity spray and rely on the player’s noggin once again in his search.
Fans of the original won’t be disappointed with Cavorite 2, as it’s shaping up to be the ultra fast-paced and brain-taxing experience we’ve come to know and love already. As before, much of the game revolves around getting crates airborne, operating complex switch systems, and tricking enemies into helping the good doctor. If you thought Cavorite’s solutions were tight before, get ready for the real thing: many crates are timed to explode now, and Dr. Cavor will have to put on his swimming trunks and deal with disappearing platforms that would give Mega Man a run for his money. That’s on top of the lasers, armed enemies, and other traps that threatened to fry or skewer the poor fellow before! Each of the three level sets on offer is capped off by a boss battle where brains must triumph over brawn.
Most importantly, the interface is shaping up to be more robust than in the original. It may appear much the same, but the touch response areas on the virtual buttons are much more generous in the development build we played. Keep an eye on iFanzine for more on Cavorite 2, including a developer interview and a full review when it releases. In the meantime, check out Cascadia Games’ website, Twitter feed and Facebook page for the latest news. You can also find the game’s lovely chiptune soundtrack on Soundcloud!