MOVING OUT
Four-player co-op? There goes the neighbourhood
Jess, can we just… play the game, please?” has become a common refrain from our games editor. We’re desperately trying to put back the furniture we mistakenly hauled out of our employer’s own warehouses in a flooded underground lab somewhere in the juice district. It’s going less than smoothly; after all, attempting to co-ordinate moving furniture around various hazards is a tall order when the floor is guava. As it is, I’m doubled over laughing at just how many times I’ve managed to send my put-upon colleague into the drink.
As freshly qualified Furniture And Removal Technicians (yes, there’s an acronym), you can play either solo or with up to three other techs through local-only multiplayer. You’ll tour the town of Packmore, navigating residents’ bizarre architectural choices and corralling unusual furniture along the way.
After a refreshingly to-the-point tutorial, we’re sent to a meagre maisonette. After that we clear a beginner’s bungalow while facing the added challenge of a pizza-obsessed turtle. Levels are impressively varied as they slowly teach you how to communicate and solve problems together with your teammates. Every level feels unique and you’ll want to replay them, not just because of the bonus challenges that unlock after an initial runthrough or to improve your time, but also perhaps just to see a different living space for once.
Joking aside, we enjoyed the steady evolution of everything this co-op game had to throw at us. For example, you go from having to avoid one plucky chicken in one level to needing to herd an entire farmyard into the back of the truck. It’s a lot of fun to discover all the possible variations on ‘get the thing into the back of the van.’
A LITTLE HELP
Spring 2020 has hardly turned out to be the ideal release window for a co-op game with no online multiplayer; if you’re anything like Team OPM, chances are you’ve been separated from your colleagues, friends, and usual gaming buddies recently. Playing as the loneliest FART in all of Packmore is definitely slower going than doing removals with a gang of mates, but there’s still plenty to enjoy for those who are all about the zen-like solo experience of creating order from chaos.
Assist mode features a number of options to make levels just a bit more manageable, whatever your play situation. From making certain items a little easier to move on your own to extending time limits, Assist mode allows you to create accessible gameplay conditions. Whether you’re playing alone, with friends, or with someone
“AN ENGAGING EXPERIENCE WHETHER YOU’RE PLAYING ALONE OR WITH PALS.”
who needs a level playing field, this thoughtful bit of design is something we’d like to see become more widespread.
FLYING THE NEST
While a lot of the fun is had with friends, there’s an impressively small gap between that and playing on your tod compared to other titles in the genre. For example, Totally Reliable Delivery Service’s wacky physics open world made for an entertaining half-hour with chums, but its unpredictability made for a frustrating time playing solo. Moving Out, however, doesn’t leave the solo run languishing by the wayside. On top of sharp presentation and jokes that don’t outstay their welcome, responsive controls and levels with clear moment-to-moment goals make for an engaging experience whether you’re playing alone or with pals. Its focused structure makes it the perfect game for long weekends confined to the couch or just a quick one with drinks before heading out with the gang.
Moving Out doesn’t reach the same frantic heights as either Overcooked, but that doesn’t mean your sous chef won’t get anything out of hurling things into the back of the truck. You can slap away enemies with a quick tap of r but it seems like a glaring omission to not be able to pick up and hurl your fellow removal technicians too. But rest assured that there are plenty of avenues for the agent of chaos in your life to explore – just ask our games editor, who’s still wringing guava juice from his shoes.
VERDICT
A pitch-perfect party game for you and those who’ve come home to roost after flying the nest (or those who never actually left). Not as frantic as Overcooked but still a truck-full of fun. Jess Kinghorn