Having played quite a lot of co-op games with my wife now, though the gap in our level of gaming comfort and ability remains quite wide, she has steadily learned to adapt. Of course, given her much lower overall level of experience and play time, she’s also more prone to getting frustrated and then having some very strong opinions about the games we play, something that I then will often need to temper if I don’t quite have the same struggles. That said, that contrast in skill levels can at least be helpful for having a more accurate review, managing to take into account people who are at different points on the gaming experience scale.

I bring this up because among the games we’ve played together, I think this may be one of the ones that got the closest to breaking her. So what you have is a game you can either play solo or with someone else, where you’ll be controlling two octopi who are trying to get through each stage safely. Your primary means of movement is essentially swinging each other around, with the person being swung pressing a button to plant themselves on the ground, then flinging the other one, alternating in order to proceed. The person who is simply standing also has the option to jump a relatively short distance, though it’s best that you’re both in some degree of coordination or everything will likely go bad, especially if one of you gets thrown by the timing of things and then struggles.

In the end, while I can see where this would work with 2 people, in many ways it also feels like it would be easier if you did it on your own. Since timing is so vital, especially when enemies start getting involved, simply being able to figure out what to do in the moment would likely be much easier than trying to communicate not just what to do, but also when. I think that would also make the jumping mechanic more useful, allowing you to fine tune placement without worrying about the other person trying to get planted while you’re plotting your move. I do appreciate that it simply has a style of play that’s all its own, but I’d also say even semi-casual gamers may want to think it over since the further you go it can get surprisingly challenging.