Welcome to our review of the couch coop game best played with a friend, Shift Happens.
The two jello jelly creatures Bismo and Plom got connected in a tragic yet funny accident and thus can exchange their size and abilities at will. Welcome to the world of Shift Happens – the only game out there which doesn’t take a closer look at the body mass index and where players are actually forced to work together (and occasionally stab each other in the back).
Shift happens is a strange little game to be playing on your own, as you need to play both creatures. It gets a little hard at first to figure out all the best ways to solve the quest in front of you, but this is mostly because it is direction based. Just tap the Joy-Con thumbstick to the direction where your other creature is and it shifts into that one.
Now as in every game that involves multiple creatures to maneuver, this game is no exception to that one simple rule. Open your eyes and look all around yourself. You can easily grab those coins and solve the puzzles as long as your eyes are open!
Based on the usual platforming mechanics and weight based keypoints, this game is only setting itself apart by the volume mechanic it imposes. As both creatures are linked, so is their weight. That weight can be shifted from one to the other. Allowing for some whole new out of the box thinking. Jump over a long stretch as the thin creature, then shift into the big and fat creature so you will not drown in the deep water. It implements this very well.
Sadly this is also the one real thing that will challenge you while playing solo. The real money here is in co-op mode and having a friend join you. In my case, I had my godchild join in and while his main love is none other than Fortnite, much like everyone his age nowadays, he did enjoy playing this one with me.
At one point, he said this game was nice, but too slow. So I asked him what he thought when he said that. His explanation was beyond simple. He was used to Fortnite which is more high-paced and the slow pace and actually needing to confer with me, basically disliking everything that makes this a genre like this.
I do not consider this a bad thing though, kids tend to speak their mind and quite frankly, what he disliked is everything that makes this genre so great. To be able to really communicate without the frantic pace of a game like Overcooked, … Shift Happens might be slow, but it is fun to play.
In conclusion, Shift happens is a couch co-op game and that ‘s where its power resides. Be it slow in approach and smart with the shifting of volume, there is nothing really that sets it apart in the vast genre and while some might say better ones exist, I honestly think this might well be worth giving it a try. I had fun playing Shift Happens and that is what gaming is all about for me, having fun!
