In a catalog with plenty of co-op experiences, Joggernauts for Nintendo Switch does its best to stand out given its simple controls and premise. With up to 4 players, Joggernauts tasks you with overcoming auto-runner levels using different colored Joggernauts, each capable of destroying or disabling obstacles of the same color. Your mission is to Collect the trophies that were lost when the ship crashed. Using a simple button press, a player can move their jogger to the front of the line, so they can destroy the matching color obstacle.
Not exactly an auto-runner, but more of an auto jogger, the game forces you to react quickly to oncoming obstacles. The obstacles are different colors to match the color of your team of 2 – 4 joggers, each a different color. Unless playing single player, each player controls the jump and switch of one jogger. If you hit the wrong colored obstacle with your jogger or hit any wall, that jogger dies and you lose a team heart. This can be quite challenging in single player, primarily because many stages have branching paths. Trying to keep an eye on 2 joggers at once is extremely challenging, even rising to the level of feeling like a chore at times. If all joggers die before they re-spawn, or you lose all your team hearts, you must restart the level.
Levels consist of multiple small stages. Each stage has trophies to collect. Some levels can’t be unlocked or passed until you’ve collected enough trophies. They can be very difficult to get sometimes. This is because many you need to collect successive orbs to unlock. If you haven’t collected enough orbs, you can’t collect some trophies.
Level design and art direction are as varied as they are cute and charming. There’s never a shortage of new terrain and obstacle types to contend with. Stages such as entering the belly of a whale or crossing over monster-infested hills add to the variety. Having 6 different joggers to select from and 3 more to unlock during gameplay is nice but merely cosmetic. Seeing some variations in play style for each jogger would have been nice, and may have increased the replay value.
Even now, I find myself humming the catchy and high variety of music included in Joggernauts. These songs are as varied and quirky as the art direction and as catchy as the most popular pop song. Unfortunately, the sound effects aren’t subtle or charming. Sound effects such as “switching” are so overt that even in a short play session you can find yourself wincing. This is the primary mechanic in the game so you may find yourself turning off sound effects entirely.
Joggernauts for Nintendo Switch is a novel idea for a co-op auto-runner. It does an adequate job of entertaining a small group, but has a limited reach and lacks long-term appeal. It’s a simple to understand as any co-op experience should be, but oversimplified a bit too much. Pick up Joggernauts if you are really into auto-runners, or are in need of an easy to pick up co-op experience. However, if loud repetitive noises, constant restarts, and a distinct lack of play variety aren’t your thing, I would look elsewhere.
