Toodee and Topdee

Co-op (and not PvP) games often receive higher ratings than singleplayer games, because people are always in a better mood when playing with friends. But that's also why I'm skeptical of any such games that have great reviews. Still, I have to try them every now and then. Toodee and Topdee is one such game.

This one tries to combine a 2D platformer with a top-down block pushing game. One player controls the character who does the 2D platforming, and the other one controls a separate character for the other game mode. The main idea is that the block pusher can create the level for the platformer by manipulating the blocks in the level. But because this also has to work as a singleplayer game, the game can only be in one perspective at a time, and thus only one character at a time is active. In later levels, there are also other mechanics like enemies who can operate in both perspectives, gaining new movement rules as they do.

I don't think the idea works too well for several reasons. For one, the block pusher is too powerful, as he can normally freely move across the whole level. So the levels often artifically block him in a smaller box while the platformer plays some platforming game. Or the other way around, make him create the path for the platformer that he himself could easily get to. Secondly, the players don't actually get to play at the same time, having to concede their control to the other player while they wait. And thirdly, the game is advertised as a puzzle game or a puzzle platformer, but aside from unclear game mechanics occasionally causing confusion, the puzzles were pretty much trivial, and the challenge was in the action elements. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's misleading if you're looking for a puzzle game to play.

Would I recommend it? Probably not. There's nothing wrong with the game inherently, but the overall idea just seems rather mediocre. If you're looking for a co-op game, then there's no real benefit to playing this in co-op - you can't even play at the same time. If you're looking for a puzzle game, then this is not it. And if you're looking for an action or precision platformer, then there's a whole bunch of games that do that a lot better. If you came for the unique mechanic, then, unique or not, it's not good enough to matter.