[VR Game Review] Cityscape Repairman 2.0: A cute, charming little puzzle platformer

Cityscape Repairman started out as a finalist for the Gear VR game jam. It was then developed into a full Gear VR title, and now most recently there's been a sequel for the Oculus Rift. It is indeed a sequel too, as it features all new puzzles. You control a cute little cubic, translucent handyman seemingly created for the sole purpose of effecting repairs.

What do you repair? The "cityscape" of course. A vast, futuristic urban environment that is the backdrop for the various puzzles you'll solve. You can jump. You can grab objects. You can then throw them or set them down. In the Gear VR version there are jetpack levels and little mini-puzzles between the main levels, which seem to be absent in the sequel (seen below).

These provided a much needed break between the more difficult full blown levels. A snack between meals, if you like. They're not terribly difficult to figure out, but they add unexpected gameplay variety and serve as sort of a palette cleanser. Their absence from the sequel stands out like a sore thumb.

The graphics are much improved from the Gear version, as you would expect them to be. Above is a screen from the Oculus version. Below you can see the Gear VR version, in a tutorial level that the two have in common.

Night and day difference. I have long said that the Gear VR is to the Oculus as the Gameboy/DS/3DS is to Nintendo's home consoles. Except usually the home version has more features. In this case, it's missing some.

You can customize your little dude if you like, though it makes no difference other than aesthetics. Where his face was featureless in the Gear version, he now has Rare style cartoon eyeballs and a big, bushy, Mario style mustache. This is even referenced, tongue in cheek, in a later level. Given that some levels are plumbing centric, this actually would've made a decent Mario game.

The focus in this version is on obtaining a key, which opens the door to the next area. In the Gear version, it was enough to repair whatever mechanism was in the room. Getting the key safely from where it appears to the door adds a little bit to the gameplay but (imo) detracts from the titular focus on repair. It also makes it possible to die or drop the key and have to star all over, after having already solved the puzzle.

The puzzles are a mixed bag. Some of it is that they utilize the same mechanisms and conventions I am already familiar with from the Gear version so it isn't as fresh. But they also do vary wildly in terms of how complex and cleverly designed they are. Some will leave you feeling impressed and satisfied. Others will make you say "That was it? Really?"

The environments are lovingly built and a joy to look at. The moody rain in the title screen, plus the remastered theme song really delighted me. Whole sections of each level can now move around, as if it is, itself a gigantic machine. This makes for some really eye popping moments that help overshadow some of this game's shortcomings.

It would be very easy for a game like this to be soulless. Indeed, the narrator and ingame signs crack jokes left and right about how soulless the job is. But that's part of its schtick. You're a no-name creature whose sole existence is dedicated to working this one job, and the game never stops making light of it. "Here at the cityscape, we care a lot about your performance. But not so much about your pay!" or "Don't ask why, but how!"

Oddly, that's the soul of the game. Being over the top, comically soulless. And it works. I never stopped smiling at the jokes. I am hard to please, too. It really is a quirky, fun little game. Because it's missing key elements from the Gear version, I couldn't recommend this if it were even $10, but it's currently $8. That's just about right, as it's also a very short game with just 18 levels.

Cityscape Repairman 2.0 is fun, charming and polished. As platformers go it has a unique premise, setting and main character, it's just really short. It's an upgrade in some ways from the Gear version, but a downgrade in others. For the price though, I would indeed (just barely) recommend it. I give Cityscape Repairman 2.0 a 7.5/10.