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While local co-op games have been around in various forms in the past it really seems like Overcooked signaled the turn from them being merely out there to taking more of a turn towards mainstream popularity. Since then many games have tried variations on that same general base theme to varying success, but it still feels like the simplest shorthand for describing their play is in terms of the Overcooked experience as you ideally try to coordinate and tackle individual tasks in the name of efficiency. Taking this concept more in the direction of the great outdoors, Lumberhill will have you (and perhaps up to 3 of your friends) tackling farm or ranch hand sorts of tasks whether collecting lumber, herding some sheep, or a number of other similar activities. There are some tricks to effectiveness, like trying to corral animals rather than picking them up, but for the most part everything is simple enough to get the hang of. The thing is, there just doesn’t seem to be enough depth here to provide a rich experience, it all feels more surface level. While there’s certainly some fun to be had as locations and the creatures you interact with get more exotic and/or outlandish but the core play never really feels elevated, making it merely a decent game, and not really worthy of sitting in a higher teer of quality with a number of its contemporaries.
Justin Nation, Score:Fair [6.2]