A long time ago, I used to play a game called Prehistorik Man on my PC, a side-scroller platform game. It was hilarious, and I spent many entertaining hours playing it. I just loved the caveman. When I recently saw the press release for Carl, I didn’t think twice and downloaded it right away. It wasn’t the same type of gameplay, but the funny caveman factor did it for me.
Carl the Caveman is an arcade puzzle game where you guide the friendly caveman through a series of levels collecting mushrooms and treasure, smashing blocks and dropping crates.
The gameplay is very simple, controlled by the arrow keys (for movement) and the spacebar (to use the hammer). Some of the puzzles however, aren’t all that simple. You will know there is a puzzle to solve when you see a yellow exclamation mark sign.
Since Carl can’t jump, you use blocks and a sort of magical springs to move around the boards. He doesn’t take falling damage though (unless you land on spikes), so you can fall down anywhere, but make sure you don’t need to pick up something in the upper levels first, since sometimes you can’t go back to where you were.
Blocks and crates can be broken with the hammer, but you can also push crates to drop them off an edge in order to break them and pick up what’s inside. Dropping blocks is also the only way Carl has to kill monsters, so you have to time it right.
To complete a level, you need to collect all the treasure chests and mushrooms in that level, with additional keys to open the doors to the exit.
The game comes with three modes. The Kids mode offers easy puzzles for the young ones to enjoy, and it’s a very nice tutorial if you want to learn the basics of the games since it shows several hints throughout the levels. The Arcade mode is composed of several medium difficulty puzzles that need to be completed within a time limit. The Logic mode is like the Arcade mode but with a twist; it’s puzzle-oriented, created to make you think before you act. Every action needs to be carefully planned and everything has a specific order to be placed and picked up.
The music in the game is really funny and cheerful, you just can’t help but smile. But if you really want to, you can customize the game with your own MP3 music files.
The entire game environment is worth paying attention to just for the little details: flowers hopping, clouds dancing, the big dumb smile on Carl’s face while he floats up a spring with his large feet dangling, and even the way his hair moves. This is just one of those games that the whole family can enjoy and have fun with, and we know there aren’t many of those around.
Check out the official Alawar website for the free 60-minute trial download and let your primitive side guide you through 120 different levels, gathering items, avoiding traps and solving puzzles.