Thank you Huge Calf Studios for sending us this game to review! Carried Away is a game developed and published by Huge Calf Studios and released on October 4, 2017. The game’s title is indeed a pun as it's about creating ski lifts among other things to make sure the skiers make it safely to the other side. There are several different types of levels in it including ski lift, drag lift, gondola, snowmobile, and just plain skiing. Carried Away starts by introducing the ski lift level, and the first couple of levels are tutorials that teach you how to play the game. The game introduces different level types as you go on, and there are six different “mountain ranges” that are basically different sections of the game, and the developers are planning on adding more in the future. The first range is basically the tutorial range, and it’s there to help you get the hang of the game. As it goes on, the ranges gradually increase in difficulty, sometimes to the point of frustration; and you see less and less of the novice and intermediate levels. However, Carried Away is very easy to get used to; the basic controls are click and drag. While there are other controls that do other things that have keyboard shortcuts, I haven’t really used them. However, you can refer to and customize these controls in the game settings.

Each of these levels have to be solved in a unique way using the materials available to you in the level, like planks, logs, bridges and supports, etc. Some levels only let you use a few materials, whereas other levels have all the material types available to use. There are 39 achievements that can be earned in the game, and these have to do with things like "5 Riders to Safety!" and stuff like that. The level also tracks how much “money” you spend, and the number turns red if you go over the budget goal. The levels are categorized by difficulty - novice, intermediate, advanced, and expert. Each level has a simple picture showing what type of level it is, and the picture’s background is colored to show the difficulty of the level. The game has catchy music that can be bought on Steam as DLC, and when the skiers fall, they make grunting noises as a way to signify that they’re in pain and comically spew blood. It also has objectives for each level, for example Budget, Riders Safety, Structure Safety, and Collect the Star(s). The levels may also have silly names, for example I encountered a level called Gondola Be Good and a level called Forrest Bump. In each level there are different obstacles that your structures (or skiers in the case of a skiing or snowmobile level) have to overcome before they reach the finish line. Obstacles can be trees, rocks, or gaps in the ground that you have to build a structure (bridge, ski lift, etc.) to make sure the riders get across safely.

As you progress in Carried Away, different materials will be introduced for you to use in the levels. Sometimes the levels have a combination of different types (for example, drag lift and bridge) which requires more materials available at your arsenal. The game also has credits available from the main menu, as well as a Sandbox Mode, where you can make levels. In this Sandbox Mode, you can control various aspects of the level, like scenery, the slope of the level (ground), where the lifts and foundations are, the level’s difficulty, etc. You can also test the levels you create in Sandbox Mode, and upload them to Steam Workshop if you want to. If you’re looking for a simulation puzzle game with challenging levels, then Carried Away is the game for you. However, if you get frustrated easily, and/or you don’t react too well to blood, then you might want to stay away from this one; it has a tendency to frustrate you with some of the level challenges it presents and skiers spew blood if they hit the ground.

-Kittycathead