While, on a general level, my family has slowly been worn down by the glut of pretty average-to-mediocre competitive local multiplayer games out in the eShop, my wife and I have continued to be pleasantly surprised by the variety and quality of co-op games to play out there. Ranging from simple to outright tough, puzzle-based to more action-oriented, thankfully we’ve encountered what feel like fresh ideas more often than not. Fling to the Finish continues that pattern, offering a mix of crazy courses, the challenge of being tethered together, and a consistent urgency to try to work faster.

Playable with anywhere from 1 to 8 players, one nice thing is that there are plenty of options here, including support for online play… though who knows whether that will remain viable without pairing up with friends. While I have done the left/right brain thing of controlling two different characters at a time before, with this one I really struggled. In part because of the speed I was trying to get to, but also because the need to use the D-Pad for an action for the left character really felt awkward. What I’m trying to say is that whether or not a lone player controlling both characters is possible and likely doable, my wife and I found working together to be both more manageable, and far more fun.

So what makes this a bit distinctive is that rather than working together to solve puzzles in some way, here the emphasis is more on racing… whether that’s the clock or other people or teams. With a pretty wide variety of wild courses that will test your skills in just about every area you could imagine, the game really puts you through the wringer, but somehow also makes so many of the courses so creative and fun that it keeps you smiling, even when you may be cursing each other. In theory some people may find the controls to be on the loose side I suppose, but given this type of game and generally the fair amount of room for error you’ll tend to have, I think it’s just about as good as you could hope. It’s just something you’ll initially get used to, and then through brute force as well as taking precautions to stick to the ground when things get dicey, you’ll continue to find ways to improve.

Trying to really say what sort of game it is from a genre standpoint can be tricky, as outside of it being co-op and having an action component it can feel like racing at times, puzzle-solving in some of the modes where your skills at working together and getting to odd spots will be tested, and then also just chaos at times as you try to survive unique challenges in each area. While it’s hardly perfect, and could probably use some more refinement in spots, my wife and I had a great time with it, and are looking forward to the chance to come back to it for more.