I'm not one who typically gets to play long-form multiplayer games(or any for that matter) with their pals, as we all have slightly different tastes and wildly different schedules, but when a friend approached me to play this I jumped at the chance and I'm so grateful he wanted to.
It doesn't have wildly new mechanics but borrows them in a very polished state, and frequently rotates mechanics from level to level. Most of them feel great. Some are a little slower, but almost none of them overstayed their welcome to the point where I was getting tired of it. It was fast paced, and wouldn't waste your time, with frequent little minigames, the lion's share of which were extremely entertaining breaks from the core game, and some non-game "toys" to play with, individually or with your partner.
The tone of the game is a little all over the place. It's about a serious topic, these two bad people who go through this magic gauntlet from a vaguely... spanish? book of love. They follow their misguided beliefs on how to break the curse they're stuck in, and it ties together the first part of the game nicely. I was a little worried when it introduced the second half, which was the classic video game "collect the 4 macguffins to win" but it was quickly undone by the more fantastical environments, a nice contrast from the more grounded "honey I shrunk the kids" areas, though it still contained elements of that in it. Overall it's beautiful, although there were a couple rough edges, like the look of the squirrels towards the first.
There are tons of jokes that land, and some that don't land at all, but if you have a pal to make fun of them with, they are almost as good due to that. There are some pretty dark moments conceptually but they play them as a joke, which delivers perfectly, for the most part.
It may seem kid friendly, but some of it is a little disturbing. If you go into it expecting to really like the characters or their emotional journey, think of it more like an arrested development/seinfeld type comedy... these people suck as people, parents, spouses, and this journey is not only about their relationship, but also their own flaws. The plot is fairly weak and there to string levels together mainly, but it resolves the first part well and the latter part just okay. That's not the main draw of the game though, so I wouldn't expect it either going in.
Frankly I expected it to be a nice little game, but quickly rocketed to being something I am seriously considering for my personal GOTY list.
It doesn't have wildly new mechanics but borrows them in a very polished state, and frequently rotates mechanics from level to level. Most of them feel great. Some are a little slower, but almost none of them overstayed their welcome to the point where I was getting tired of it. It was fast paced, and wouldn't waste your time, with frequent little minigames, the lion's share of which were extremely entertaining breaks from the core game, and some non-game "toys" to play with, individually or with your partner.
The tone of the game is a little all over the place. It's about a serious topic, these two bad people who go through this magic gauntlet from a vaguely... spanish? book of love. They follow their misguided beliefs on how to break the curse they're stuck in, and it ties together the first part of the game nicely. I was a little worried when it introduced the second half, which was the classic video game "collect the 4 macguffins to win" but it was quickly undone by the more fantastical environments, a nice contrast from the more grounded "honey I shrunk the kids" areas, though it still contained elements of that in it. Overall it's beautiful, although there were a couple rough edges, like the look of the squirrels towards the first.
There are tons of jokes that land, and some that don't land at all, but if you have a pal to make fun of them with, they are almost as good due to that. There are some pretty dark moments conceptually but they play them as a joke, which delivers perfectly, for the most part.
It may seem kid friendly, but some of it is a little disturbing. If you go into it expecting to really like the characters or their emotional journey, think of it more like an arrested development/seinfeld type comedy... these people suck as people, parents, spouses, and this journey is not only about their relationship, but also their own flaws. The plot is fairly weak and there to string levels together mainly, but it resolves the first part well and the latter part just okay. That's not the main draw of the game though, so I wouldn't expect it either going in.
Frankly I expected it to be a nice little game, but quickly rocketed to being something I am seriously considering for my personal GOTY list.