With Consoles Lacking Couch Co-op, Shiftlings Shines

The era of couch co-op with the Xbox One and PS4 is quickly dying. Sure, I’m obviously not stating that couch co-op is nonexistent. It is available in a few titles, but un-liked Nintendo, the other two companies know that their success, and the success of their games, relies on a solid, online network. Shiftlings appears to be built for multiplayer.

For this reason, I love when couch cooperative titles get released on the PS4 and Xbox One. Sure, games like Chariot might drive my wife and I towards a quick divorce, but there is fun to be had, and I enjoy every minute of it, even with games that have their fair share of problems.

A few weeks back I received a code for Shiftlings on Xbox One, and my wife and I have been playing it steadily over the last little while. To understand the gist of the game, you are two pals tethered together by an air house, and you pass gas between the characters – lets face it, it is a fart brought on by too much cola drinking – in order to blow up the other to maneuver through the levels. In cooperative play, it is much easier for each player to focus on a specific character rather than trying to manage two at once; it also doesn’t hurt to have an extra brain trying to help you maneuver through the many levels.

The game feels lost at times; there are moments when you reach the goal of a level to only be told to go back. But it is more enjoyable with a friend. By the time I had completed it, I was ready to say how this is opposite of so many other games. Many games add a multiplayer option because they feel they need it. I feel that the developers of Shiftlings added a single player option because they felt they needed it.

Shiflings is an excellent multiplayer title and an adequate-at-best single player experience. There is something to like here regardless of how you play it, but doing it with a friend is much more enjoyable.