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“Carried Away” builds on the bridge builder genre by flipping the formula upside down. Instead of building bridges you are constructing ski lifts, which fall apart just as easily in case you were wondering. The charmingly minimalist low poly art style and catchy soundtrack soften the pain of falling into shattered wood and cold snow, though you’d have to ask the poor skiers about that.

It may not look safe… because it isn’t.

Carried Away’s gameplay is typical of the genre – you learn the basics; you are tested on what you know, then a new element is introduced for you to be tested on, and repeat. Where Huge Calf have deviated from the formula is by including levels where you take control of the innocent skiers to guide them over perilous canyons using ski ramps constructed by you. Because of these levels “Carried Away” stands out in an arguably hashed out genre.

When my thrown together towers of wood, wheels and rope finally worked I got a feeling of having overcome a mountain myself.

Nope, that’s not a bridge. Even so, it still has a lot of suspense.

And there are plenty of mountains to overcome – despite being in Early Access, there are over 50 levels to sink your hiking boots into. Another impressive feature Huge Calf have implemented is a level editor that allows players to create their own levels for other people to struggle on. This makes for a nice change of pace and significantly increases the value and replayability of “Carried Away”.

My biggest problem with “Carried Away” is one that applies to every bridge builder that I have played – Once you have a reliable method of solving a level, you have solved every level. And in the words of the developers ‘If it isn’t broke, why fix it?’ Nevertheless, I still have to give credit to Huge Calf because they have faithfully reimagined the bridge builder genre, carrying over all of its strengths and weaknesses in the process.

Landing on a frozen tree is no snow joke, because it’s a rather painful experience.

Furthermore, due to the recent glut of bridge builder games being released, it has become hard to separate the crowd from one another. Even so, Huge Calf have still succeeded in creating a game that hasn’t carried me away for good, but certainly swept me off my feet for a while. So if you’re into games of this kind, then you might want to give “Carried Away” a try.

Pros:
+ Twists an old genre into a new experience
+ Good value for money
+ Frequent development updates

Cons:
– Sluggish skier controls
– Repetitive level solutions
– Unfinished (as all Early Access games are)

Gameplay: 3/5
Graphics: 3/5
Sound and Music: 3/5
Controls: 3/5
Replay value: 4/5

tgg grade 3 out of 5

Verdict: 3/5
Huge Calf Studios have managed to create a rather good game with their ski stations builder and physics sandbox title “Carried away”. So if you’re into games of that kind, then the game is worthy of a try with no doubt.

Title: Carried Away
Developer: Huge Calf Studios
Format: PC
Genre: Bridge Builder
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Release date: 2017-10-04 (Early Access)
Difficulty: Easy-Medium
Spent time: +8 hours
Average grade internationally: 93% Positive (Steam)
PEGI age rating: +12
Price: £6.99 via Steam