Trover Saves the Universe

Trover Saves the Universe is a bizarre action adventure from studio Squanch Games, co-founded by Rick and Morty creator Justin Roiland, which arrived on Quest in 2020 following its start on PSVR. In it, the player sits in a chair as a kind of space "Chair-o-pilot" and controls a purple one-eyed monster named Trover, who is trying to save two kidnapped dogs from the villain Glorkon, who uses them as an energy source plugged directly into his boots so he can destroy the universe. Along the way the player also takes control of other strange creatures and characters, each bringing its own game ability needed to progress through the story.

The gameplay combines platforming action, shooting, riding various creatures, and simple puzzles, while the player themself never physically "runs" — VR here serves as an observation and control interface for the character displayed in front of them, an unusual solution compared to typical VR titles built on the player's direct embodiment. The humor is typically Roiland-esque: vulgar, absurd, self-deprecating, and full of jabs at gaming clichés and at the video game medium itself, which together with the colorful, cartoonish visuals and energetic music creates a very distinctive atmosphere, different from most seriously toned VR adventures. The narrator and supporting characters comment on the action almost constantly, deliberately breaking the fourth wall and poking fun at both itself and the conventions of virtual reality.

Critics praised the title for its original approach to VR design and its unmistakable humor, earning Trover Saves the Universe a reputation as one of the funniest and strangest games on the Quest platform, even though by its very concept it sits at the edge of the classic understanding of virtual reality. This willingness to give up full embodiment in favor of a comedic spectacle makes the title a unique experiment that has not been repeated in any other VR game and still stands today as an original demonstration of just how many ways VR control can be conceived.

Why play it: For players craving unmistakable humor and an original, never-repeated experiment with VR control rather than full embodiment and the classic conception of virtual reality.