By sjj_admin 
Originally published on GameOnAus.com in March 2021
Space Otter Charlie follows the titular Charlie on his voyage to find a new home. Left on Earth after the humans trashed and abandoned the planet, every imaginable animal band together. They build their own space craft using the human’s junk and take off into the big black in search of a new home. Adventuring through space Charlie’s team comes across a ship that sets them on a course for a new home.
Featuring fluid movement in zero-g environments, Space Otter Charlie zooms around levels, avoiding obstacles, defeating enemies while crafting new weapons and outfits to aid him. The game also rewards exploration by finding coordinates in levels that will take you to side levels containing extra lore and equipment as well as more resources for crafting. These are optional levels that aren’t required but will help your journey.
The physics engine is smooth and a joy to use. This review was conducted with a Steam copy and I had the option of using the mouse and keyboard or connecting a controller. I ended up using the keyboard and mouse rather than the controller as I had more control over Charlie with the mouse than with the joysticks of my controller. The controller option is still good so console players shouldn’t worry, it’s just that I found the mouse and keyboard to be better for me.
The levels offer different challenges and puzzles requiring some thought and the use of different weapons. Sometimes you maybe need to fire your reflector weapon down a narrow gap to hit a button, other times you might need to push a box in front of a laser emitter so you can move forward.
Space Otter Charlie’s level also offer some variety. There is a level where lava covers portions of the surfaces, forcing you to use your jetpack to maneuverer through sections rather than landing and taking off again while another has a more organic feel with bacteria like enemies.
On board Charlie’s ship is your crew of two other otters and a Build Bot. One otter gives you handy tips on where to go next and once you reach a certain point in Space Otter Charlie the other otter will start warping other animals onto you ship with energy collected in levels. Build Bots let you craft upgrades, like new weapons, increased shields or fuel tanks for your jet pack, as well as new outfits. Not just for show, outfits also come with their own unique weapon which you can play around with to find the one you like the best.
I really enjoyed exploring Space Otter Charlie’s levels, making sure I’d explored as much as I could before moving onto the story missions. Exploring the levels was a joy and levels are good fun to fly around. The only issue I had is the last section. I spent the whole level building up Charlie to make him a force to be reckoned with only to be put in a mech suit which negates all the work of upgrading gear. It did make the second last section considerably easier but I’m not a fan of playing the whole game in one style only to be forced into playing it completely differently for the final section and boss.
Space Otter Charlie also has a local multiplayer with two modes: So Urchin and Furry Fury. Furry Fury is a fairly standard death match sort of style with players competing to reach a predetermined number of kills where So Urchin has you racing others to eat randomly spawning urchins around the level. The levels also contain interactive elements, such as switches that trigger various affects in the multiplayer maps. Space Otter Charlie’s local multiplayer is compatible with Steam’s Remote Play Together feature.
Overall Space Otter Charlie is a very fun physics-based adventure game with collectible elements. It rewards exploration and it treats the player fairly.
Space Otter Charlie due for release on the 18th March 2021 for Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox and Playstation.