There’s a new Tarzan VR game out on Oculus Quest with an unbelievable trailer. I saw it while browsing through the shop on the Quest 2, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it ever since. The trailer shows off all of the stuff you might expect from a Tarzan game: running through the jungle, swinging on vines, petting lions, slingshotting giant spiders, shooting a bow and arrow at a helicopter — y’know, Tarzan stuff. What takes the whole thing to the next level is the song. Before I go on describing how this tune has completely ruined my brain, take a listen for yourself.
I know, it’s incredible. My guess is that this is all actual dialogue from the game, autotuned and mixed into this bizarre, Neil Cicierega-style meme track. For a week I’ve just been walking around the house singing the Tarzan VR song to my cats. I can’t get it out of my head. It’s so weird and unique and frankly, kind of inspiring. Just listen to these lyrics.
Lord of the Jungle
Tarzan is not afraid
I would dare the steel jaws of death for you my darling
Remember the name of Tarzan
It's so corny but for some weird reason, it’s giving me chills. As a ‘90s kid, I’ve got a pretty big soft spot for ol’ Tarzan. Disney’s Tarzan — which had its own incredible soundtrack — is still one of my all-time favorites. Looking back, Tarzan’s video game history has been pretty impactful on me as well. I owned both Disney’s Tarzan on PlayStation and Tarzan: Untamed on PS2, as well as a PC game called Tarzan Activity Center that may have come out of a cereal box. Tarzan is also featured in the first Kingdom Hearts, my favorite game series. I’ve never given Tarzan much thought before this, but I guess I’m actually pretty close to this character. Even the autotuned Tarzan yell is striking a chord with me. When I was a kid, I had a Tarzan action figure that did the exact same Johnny Weismuller Tarzan yell. All these random Tarzan memories are just flooding back to me now.
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So I keep listening to this dumb club mix of Tarzan quotes, and I’m actually hyping myself up to try out the game. The last time I let a song sell me on a game, I ended up pretty disappointed (though It’s Bugsnax! by Kero Kero Bonito is still a bop), so I tried looking for some gameplay videos on YouTube to see if the game was actually any good. To my absolute delight, I discovered a second trailer that’s even better than the first one.
I love that it uses the same song because it proves that the devs know they struck gold with it. These sort of mixed reality trailers are common for VR because they can show what the experience feels like better than the first-person footage of gameplay, which can sometimes make people feel sick. This one is on a whole other level though. At this point, I don’t even care if the game is any good. I have to give Fun Train credit for committing to the bit, because when the businessman ripped open his shirt and started swinging around, I spit out my coffee. Part of me doesn’t want to ever play the game because I already think it's perfect.
I’ll get around to playing it soon, and I’ll likely write a review too, but this is my review for the Tarzan VR trailer: 10/10, best song ever.
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