The Curious Tale of The Stolen Pets is a charming, visually impressive game that reminds you of the innocence of childhood and the fun of exploration. Developed by Fast Travel Games, The Curious Tale of The Stolen Pets is narrated by your doting grandfather as he tells stories about you and your sister based on his fond memories of the past. The game itself consists of five floating island levels and each scene is an interactive diorama packed to the brim with puzzles. Almost everything in The Curious Tale of The Stolen Pets is interactive and it’s your job to pick things up, shake bushes, throw switches and spin the island around so you can get a better look. All of this will help you find the pets that have been stolen.
In fairness, the cute critters are more likely missing as there’s no dastardly villain in the game. Rather The Curious Tale of The Stolen Pets is a gentle, feel good game that will have you smiling and scratching your head as you hunt for the absent pets. Visually The Curious Tale of The Stolen Pets is perhaps one of the most stunning VR titles on offer since Moss. Each scene is beautifully rendered and you won’t be able to resist spinning the island around as you explore and uncover. This is one of those games that could not have worked on anything other than VR. The quirky stop start motion of the characters lends itself wonderfully to the childlike theme and reminds you of the early animation shows we watched as kids.
The puzzles in The Curious Tale of The Stolen Pets are pretty much of the pick up, prod and push variety. Some of them can take a while to figure out, but in the most part you’ll be able to make your way through this game in about 2 to 3 hours. In the first scene you have three pets to find while in the others there are five. Fast Travel Games have also added a nice bonus of hiding coins in the levels. The coins which can only be found if you spot a sparkle somewhere, don’t seem to have any use as you can’t spend them, but they’re a nice touch and will extend the gameplay by at least an hour if you’re like me and have to find every single one.
As a wonderful contrast to the dark and often depressing themes of some VR games, The Curious Tale of The Stolen Pets is a colourful, vibrant and beautiful puzzle game that will lift your spirits and show off the incredible potential of virtual reality. Highly recommended.
