Best co-op game ever made? Possibly so, but it's definitely the one to most deeply explore the concept, experimenting with countless different gameplay styles and building a narrative in order to always challenge and emphasize cooperation in way or another. With such a novel and ambitious project in hands, the team at Hazelight Studios, headed by Josef "fuck the oscars" Fares, could have found a multitude of ways to stumble upon itself and create yet another cute and interesting product that's too flawed to garner a lot of attention beyond its release month or so. Yet, they pulled off a near-perfect gameplay experience with buckets of creativity, attention to detail, and a lot of heart; so good that the mediocre story can't even prevent this from being a modern classic of couch co-op, that will certainly set the standard for the genre in the future.
I'll just go ahead and say it: to my experience, this game has the very best level design out of any platformer ever. The word here is CONSISTENCY, there isn't a single bad level, not even a single meh one, every single one is either great or straight out amazing; you can have your favorites, sure, but there wasn't a single moment where i thought to myself "i can't wait for this one to be over", all of them are enjoyable in their own unique way; which calls back to what i think is the game's biggest strength: variety. All of the levels have their own unique mechanics that bring a twist to the gameplay, but not completely change it, with all of the levels featuring roughly familiar 3D platformer controls yet with a new ability thrown in each one, brilliantly keeping the experience fresh while maintaining accessibility and familiarity, which does wonders for the game's incredible pacing. The diversity isn't the only thing these levels have going for them, though, there's an imaginative and creative concept around nearly all of them, playing around with childlike wonder and video game tropes to great effect, bringing out the child in you through both a nostalgic gaming and Roald Dahl/Mark Twain-esque feel, with adorable bits of exploration that further the immersion and worldbuilding, with many easter eggs and secrets that bring even more joy, such as the minigames, which cleverly stay out of the way of the actual game(!!!).
It's a shame that same level of polish and care didn't go for the narrative. It's not that it's terrible, it is still (kinda) well meaning, the writing can be witty and funny at times, and the ending has a surprising poignancy to it, but overall it's just not engaging and the themes of family and love are given the most shallow treatment possible, leading to some downright embarrassing moments, not to mention some narrative decisions that don't make any sense and make the story circle around itself in pointless and, sometimes, really unpleasant ways (seriously WHAT was the point of that disturbing elephant scene?). The plot itself being lazily written, constantly reminding us of the missed opportunity of having a closer connection between the gameplay and the narrative events, which would make the message so much more impactful, wouldn't be such an issue if the characters weren't so absurdly unlikable; they remain the most pathetic and malicious pair of idiots with their annoying dialog and disgusting attitude until the final third (fourth?) of the game where they finally get a scrap of character development. Maybe because me and my partner share a bit of a different view on the marriage/divorce thing that the story seemed so cheap and corny, but that still doesn't explain the questionable writing choices and the terrible protagonists.
It's obvious by now, but i don't think there are a lot of choices for games to play with your partner that could compete with this. It's accessible and engaging enough so that players of any skill level - from the 'casual' to the 'hardcore' - can have an enjoyable experience with it and share memorable moments together; the minigames alone can grant hours of fun. And depending on how close you are, you both can laugh off the the story and joke about it, or even maybe enjoy it! (No telling if it will save any marriages though). It's also pretty much the perfect game to get someone into the medium, with all the different allusions to different gameplay styles from the 3d generations of consoles that serve to showcase their appeal. One of the most deserved GOTY awards ever, if you ask me.
I'll just go ahead and say it: to my experience, this game has the very best level design out of any platformer ever. The word here is CONSISTENCY, there isn't a single bad level, not even a single meh one, every single one is either great or straight out amazing; you can have your favorites, sure, but there wasn't a single moment where i thought to myself "i can't wait for this one to be over", all of them are enjoyable in their own unique way; which calls back to what i think is the game's biggest strength: variety. All of the levels have their own unique mechanics that bring a twist to the gameplay, but not completely change it, with all of the levels featuring roughly familiar 3D platformer controls yet with a new ability thrown in each one, brilliantly keeping the experience fresh while maintaining accessibility and familiarity, which does wonders for the game's incredible pacing. The diversity isn't the only thing these levels have going for them, though, there's an imaginative and creative concept around nearly all of them, playing around with childlike wonder and video game tropes to great effect, bringing out the child in you through both a nostalgic gaming and Roald Dahl/Mark Twain-esque feel, with adorable bits of exploration that further the immersion and worldbuilding, with many easter eggs and secrets that bring even more joy, such as the minigames, which cleverly stay out of the way of the actual game(!!!).
It's a shame that same level of polish and care didn't go for the narrative. It's not that it's terrible, it is still (kinda) well meaning, the writing can be witty and funny at times, and the ending has a surprising poignancy to it, but overall it's just not engaging and the themes of family and love are given the most shallow treatment possible, leading to some downright embarrassing moments, not to mention some narrative decisions that don't make any sense and make the story circle around itself in pointless and, sometimes, really unpleasant ways (seriously WHAT was the point of that disturbing elephant scene?). The plot itself being lazily written, constantly reminding us of the missed opportunity of having a closer connection between the gameplay and the narrative events, which would make the message so much more impactful, wouldn't be such an issue if the characters weren't so absurdly unlikable; they remain the most pathetic and malicious pair of idiots with their annoying dialog and disgusting attitude until the final third (fourth?) of the game where they finally get a scrap of character development. Maybe because me and my partner share a bit of a different view on the marriage/divorce thing that the story seemed so cheap and corny, but that still doesn't explain the questionable writing choices and the terrible protagonists.
It's obvious by now, but i don't think there are a lot of choices for games to play with your partner that could compete with this. It's accessible and engaging enough so that players of any skill level - from the 'casual' to the 'hardcore' - can have an enjoyable experience with it and share memorable moments together; the minigames alone can grant hours of fun. And depending on how close you are, you both can laugh off the the story and joke about it, or even maybe enjoy it! (No telling if it will save any marriages though). It's also pretty much the perfect game to get someone into the medium, with all the different allusions to different gameplay styles from the 3d generations of consoles that serve to showcase their appeal. One of the most deserved GOTY awards ever, if you ask me.