Trover records the universe Preview: This game could be the most profane of all time

By Ryan McCaffrey

Trover saves the universe is crazy. It basically looks like a playable episode of Rick and Morty. The style of animation is the same, the humor is the same and heck, you will even hear Roiland use both the voice of Rick (on some enemies) and that of Morty (Trover himself). I really wonder if the only reason is not a game of Rick and Morty is because Roiland did not want to share profits with Adult Swim and / or he did not want his company's approval process to slow him down.

Whatever it is, all that to say that Trover Saves the Universe is hilarious. I do not laugh at games nearly as often as I would like and, without a doubt, Trover has had more audible involuntary laughter than any game since Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the last two RPGs of South Park. My Trover demo – the full game was released May 31 for PS4 and PSVR – was with Tanya Watson, co-founder and studio director of Roiland's game development house, Squanchtendo. Watson confirmed what I suspected by laughing through Trover's first mission: that Roiland released the whole dialogue. The designers sketched the levels and the gameplay on the basis of a high-level plan, then Roiland came in, played it and jumped into the VO stand to record lines for each imaginable scenario. And he did it on the fly. Think of it as a Curb Your Enthusiasm approach, both amazing and hard to master. Roiland and Squanchtendo seem to be on the right track.

What is the value of this game in the dialogue? A lot, because the gameplay is pretty simple. This is a standard third-person action-adventure, in which you control Trover from your chair (you're a European president; imagine the lazy humans of Wall-E), guiding him amid fearsome enemies and obstacles . I've had a particularly hilarious hangout with Tony's Upgrade, the guy (well, he's not human; no one in this game does that) who handles the weapon and the upgrade support of the character. Without spoiling him, it was about his dogs …

Whatever the case may be, each level also has a series of collectibles, Squanchtendo promising a valuable reward if you catch all the hidden objects of the game. Trover does not aspire to become god of war in the gambling department, but you will still want to replay it many times if you are a fan of Roiland's humor. Why? Because Watson told me that although Trover offers about eight hours of play, it requires about 20 hours of dialogue. What Trover or other characters say varies greatly depending on where you are, where they are, what each of you does, how long you wait to do it, and so on. Throughout my demo, Watson continued to mention how much she had not heard A line that I still triggered on this day to give demos from one wall to another to the media, and I'm quite sure she was not pulling my leg.

When I asked about improvised dialogue, Watson told me that in the first area I was playing (which involved getting hold of Ithicles' crystal), Roiland was back and had re-spoken more than ten times since work began in this area. The result is, as I mentioned, the sound and atmosphere of a playable episode of Rick and Morty, with one essential difference: if this first mission (and the uncensored trailer integrated at the top of this page) is an indication, this could be the case. the most unholy video game ever created – a title I imagine well held by Stone and Parker in The Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole. can activate the censored dialogue, and maybe it'll be even more fun for some people with the beeps turned on.

I could listen to Roiland's humor all day long and Trover Saves the Universe promises it, almost literally. I will keep my eyes – and my seven year old daughter away from this one.

Ryan McCaffrey is the editor of Previews at IGN. Follow him on Twitter @DMC_Ryan, grab him on Unlocked and send him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.