Beers & Boomerangs [Quest 2]
Developed by Witty Platypus, VR title Beers & Boomerangs sees you facing off against the Australian wildlife that are determined to mess up your day. From tiny Kangaroos coming to steal your beers, and gaseous eruptions from Koala butts, you’ll have to protect your picnic from being pilfered! There’s a Campaign mode for you to work your way through increasingly challenging levels, and an Arcade mode that is more of an endless run to see how long you can last - with both options being a tonne of fun - and the controls make it feel very satisfying.
In Campaign mode, there are various objectives for you to achieve, from not losing any beers to avoiding hitting any of the koalas (you’ll just need to dodge their farts instead) - managing these will net you extra stars, with a total of three available for each level. You’ll also get placed onto the global leaderboard for each level upon completion so you can see how you stack up against others. Throwing your boomerang and successfully hitting an enemy will ricochet your boomerang back to you, and catching it will increase its speed and power - with a Zap! - that stacks the more consecutive catches you manage.
You can use the sticks to control the direction you look as well as your movement, however this felt a tad too nauseating for me - so I’d resort to manually spinning around where possible - though this is definitely depending on your own tolerance, as Allan and the kids all seemed to be fine with this. Hazards will spawn from all directions, so you need to stay alert and make sure to fend off those pesky kangaroos to stop them from stealing your beers and ruining your barbecue. This starts off as being simple(ish), but when you later have to add in serving up beers or making burgers whilst also protecting your cooler, or taking photos of cute little Quokkas, the challenge fairly ramps up.
There are other mechanics that come into play as you progress, such as consumables like Gdaymite (B&B’s own Vegemite) to slow down time when it appears by opening it up and smearing it onto some bread before having a bite - which can help you to deal with things when it starts to get hectic. Going up against the boss Can Guru (think about it), offers up a slightly different level style, which took me a bit of getting used to as my big head kept getting hit by the giant cans!
There are different unlockables, from the base boomerang to banana and flip flop variants, to golden spatulas for frying with. You can also switch between different types of canned and bottled beers - or tinnies and stubbies, as the Aussies call them - to serve alongside your burgers. It’s got a cute, cartoony quality and fantastic soundtrack that combines well with the humour that’s flowing through the game - offering silly, fast-paced fun that makes it a joy to play.
There’s plenty to keep you coming back for more, from the additional items to unlock once you’ve earned enough stars, and fun little discoverable things such as Hell (complete with a broken ice cream machine) - which I inadvertently ended up in after picking up some trash out of the bin. Priced at £14.99 on the Quest Store, but with a free demo available too for you to try before you buy, Beers & Boomerangs is a blast!
In the end, we decided to give Beers & Boomerangs the Collecting Asylum rating of 8.5/10.
Are you interested in Beers & Boomerangs? What do you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
Thank you to Spelkollektivet for the Beers & Boomerangs Meta Quest 2 review code!
