platformer | The Weekly Co-Op

Is “frustratingly-fun” a term? Well, this game is that.

Welcome to the Weekly Co-Op!

This week’s cooperative game will be Mercenary Kings!

Players: 1-4

Platform: Xbox One, PS4, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch

Price: $19.99

image from http://store.steampowered.com

Fight your way through plenty of soldiers, robots, and other… interesting… enemies! Mercenary Kings is a story-driven, 2D, modern-pixel-art platformer.

To be completely honest, I could not tell you what the story of the game is. While I am sure it is just fine, that’s not what makes me remember this game. What I remember most is getting very frustrated due to my friends. Playing this game with other people is what makes this game worth playing however. Playing by yourself is fun and relatively simple, but this game shines when others are involved. This game requires a lot of precision throughout (as with most action platformers), and adding other players just makes it harder to see things and get through a level. While this sounds like a setback, it makes the game so much more fun. The game is relatively basic in terms of a 2D platformer: run, jump, shoot your way through each level, and adding people makes doing that just hard enough that it becomes a fun challenge to play with others. It will also help test your teamwork as the game is kind of hard for anyone that does not game regularly.

One thing that helps this game stick out is how much you can customize. You can choose different players that each function a little differently, you can change and upgrade your weapon HEAVILY, and you can change up how you play the game (jumping through the game, strategically planning how to traverse each room, etc). The variety of this helps the game feel different throughout along with progressing through an ever-changing storyline. While I personally think this comes in a little steep at $20, I do think that it is worth the buy if you are looking for something more retro-feeling that you can sink your teeth into with some friends.

Uh oh! It looks like next week will be my last two scheduled posts! I may continue to post in the future, but they will not longer be coming out every Tuesday and Thursday. Make sure to check in next week to see my last two local multiplayer choices! They are some of my favorites!

I didn’t have anything funny for this intro, but this game is really fun.

Welcome to the Weekly Co-Op!

This week’s cooperative game will be BattleBlock Theater!

Players: 1-4

Price: $14.99

Platform: PC, Xbox One

Image from www.battleblocktheater.com/game

BattleBlock Theater is a 2-D platformer about traversing each level and trying to complete objectives. The main quest of the game is to save Hatty from becoming a jerk… FOREVER. (There is actually a really fun competitive multiplayer, but the cooperative is what I come for.)

One of the nicest parts about BattleBlock is that it’s a fresh take on 2-D platforming. This game may not be suited for very casual gamers, but it is really fun if you have a dedicated friend to play with. Movement is a great balance between having to make quick decisions and waiting something out. Players have to run, jump, dash, punch, throw, and collect their way through each level, trying to get the exit sign. Each level feels very different, and the way you have to solve each is just different enough to feel refreshing.

The reason I love this game is because of the amount of fun you can have with your friends. It may sound like a normal platformer, but you can throw your friends, throw things at them and bump them, carry them, or even blow them up! With all of these included in the game, it makes the platforming much harder in the best of ways. Trying to get to the end first? Start sabotaging your friend. Want to make sure you both get there at the same time? Help each other along the way. This game provides such a perfect opportunity for any type of cooperative team, something most games struggle doing.19

Coming in at a sharp $15, this is definitely worth looking into if you’re a “bang for you buck” kind of person.