The Stretchers launched on Nintendo Switch’ eShop last Friday without any prior announcement or hype. Published by Nintendo and created by the talented Tarsier Studios, this was a strange decision as surprise launches tend to get lost in the crowd. A shame really since this one truly offers some amazing co-op gameplay, let me tell you why.
Work together as one
The premise is easy, you control two paramedics who have to save as many people as possible on the Greenhorn Islands, a place that was plunged into chaos. The main villain Captain Brain is the reason for this chaos as he invented a weapon that transforms the good citizens of Greenhorn Islands into brainless Dizzys. As a Dizzy, people are useless, they just lay around doing nothing, unable to do their jobs. Needless to say, this situation doesn’t benefit the economy so it’s up to you to save them as fast as possible. You do so by driving to the scene in your indestructible ambulance and collecting the poor humans on your trusty stretcher once you arrive. Sounds easy? Well, this isn’t your everyday realistic simulator, The Stretchers combines tragedy with humor and results in some hectic yet incredibly fun gameplay. You can best compare it with Overcooked as it offers the same level of co-operation and unexpected problems. Working together with your friends is crucial and since this is a Nintendo Switch title, it’s extremely easy to get started. Hand out one of your Joy-Con and you’re ready to save some precious lives!
Gotta collect ’em all
Once arrived at the scene, it’s your job to collect all the Dizzys on your stretcher and take them to your ambulance where they’ll get magically sucked into. This isn’t your average rescue game as the situation where you’ll land into are far from normal. The challenge of each level is to locate the Dizzys first and trust me, you’ll find them in the strangest places. Each level offers a small section of the map varying from small farms to factories and even boats. Once you located the Dizzy, you can put him/her on your stretcher, which you hold together with your partner. If you and your friend crouch down near the patient while carrying the stretcher, it will automatically load the patient on your trusty stretcher. The best part about this is the ability to stack your patients. Since they’ll automatically land on your stretcher, you can easily create a pile of victims to get them to your ambulance in one run, giving you some nice extra points for your time and effort.
But that’s not all! Besides the patients, each level holds a couple of secrets, including valuable items. These are hidden rather well so you’ll have to investigate every small corner of the map in order to collect everything. Each level is points-based so if you want to reach the highest score, you’ll have to collect everything as fast as possible since you’ll also gain extra bonuses if you manage to clear everything before the bonus timer runs out. It all sounds incredibly easy but if you can’t work together with your friend, you’re doomed from the start.
A crazy co-op experience
Co-op is really where the game shines, offering one of the best experiences on the system. As two paramedics, you’ll have to work together as much as possible. Carrying your stretcher demands a lot of communication and coordination as the levels will literally challenge you a lot. You’ll have to maneuver your stretcher over narrow ledges, small entrances and more. Luckily, you can easily pull a stretcher out of the backpack of one of the characters so you’re never forced to carry it around with you during the entire level. That’s simply because you’ll need to do a lot of extra things if you want to find all the patients. Cutting down trees with a two-handed saw, mowing down the grass with a giant cutter, activating switches so the other person can advance, it’s all there. The Stretchers is far more than just a collect and rescue title, every level offers a small puzzle and only by working well together, you’ll reach the finish.
Since the visual style is extremely cartoony and the physics of your characters can best be described as clumsy, you’ll have a lot of fun playing this together. During our sessions, we constantly had a smile on our faces because of the absurdity. Crashing into small brick walls, running away from feral pigs, boosting our ambulance into the ocean, the game is simply packed with great moments. To keep the fun going, the gameplay itself also changes the more you advance, offering you more than just simple rescue missions. Be prepared for some unexpected tasks and a lot of unique and crazy missions later on in the game.
Rescue and run
Rescuing your patients is just one part of the game, driving around like a madman is the second part. This part of the game can be compared to games such as The Simpsons: Hit & Run where you could also drive around on a small open map and didn’t care about realistic physics. Your ambulance is indestructible and you can even drive through smaller objects such as small walls, trees, and traffic signs; and your ambulance easily bounces back when it crashes with another car. This results in a fun ride towards the special machine that will un-dizzy the patients. We had a lot of fun driving around and it only gets better the more you advance. After a couple of hours in the game, you can build your own ramps, boost your vehicle with some nitro power and even unlock crazier upgrades. Everything in The Stretchers is created to be as fun as possible and the team really delivered. Since this is a co-op game, only one player can drive the ambulance but it’s easy to take over the wheel in between missions. The other player can turn on the alarm or activate the boost, which can also result in hilarious situations if you decide not to inform the driver prior to activating your boost. On top of that are special story missions that can only be completed with your ambulance, adding some variation and fun to your regular routine.
Not as fun on your own
As a co-op game, The Stretcher offers a perfect experience, combining humor with solid gameplay, this is one of the best co-op games currently on the system. That being said, it is playable on your own, controlling each character with one Joy-Con. This can work in simplistic co-op games but the actions in The Stretchers are a bit too complex to really offer a fun solo experience. Since you’re controlling both characters separately, it’s nearly impossible to clear the level before the bonus timer runs out. It’s clear that the game is created as a co-op game and you should really consider it as a co-op game only because it loses all its magic and fun when you’re trying to play it on your own.
Conclusion:
Tarsier Studios delivered an incredibly fun co-op game on Nintendo Switch. Combining interesting puzzles, funny physics and solid co-op really resulted in a great game. We couldn’t stop smiling while playing and we rarely had this much fun in a co-op game on Nintendo Switch. Make sure you don’t miss out on what could possibly be the best co-op game of this year.
