Two Climbers

Fun co-op only 2D precision platformer. It's challenging while also being forgiving. It's good to see it doesn't turn into a rage platformer and remains fun to the end.

"Two Climbers" is a kind of shorter & easier "Celeste" in coop version only. I do recommend this game if you are looking for something relaxful and poetic.

[i] My Experience [/i] Honestly, I didn't expect much from [b]Two Climbers[/b]. I play a decent number of cooperative puzzle-platformers and enjoy them well enough, but they've never been among my favorite games. I've never enjoyed the genre enough to delve into it in single-player. However, I had an excellent time playing [b]Two Climbers[/b]. Although it's short and has only a few mechanics, it manages to keep things fresh for essentially the entirety of its duration. Each character can jump, of course, but can also grab onto and climb walls (that don't have visible spikes on them). In terms of interaction, players can either throw each other straight up in the air, drop a rope for the other to climb, or blast the other across the screen with a baseball bat. It's enjoyable to create a plan for how you'll navigate a given section of the mountain, even before developer Rombo begins introducing creative mechanics like platforms that move more quickly based on the number of characters standing on them and "ladder boxes" that send a ladder out in the opposite direction from which they're struck. Although the game doesn't lean overly into its simple concept, I must admit that I have a fascination with mountain climbing. Not to the point that I'll do it myself, mind you, but enough for me to read multiple books and watch multiple films about treacherous Everest summits (Krakauer's [b]Into Thin Air[/b] is a good place to start if you're curious). I find it compelling to see just how unfriendly an environment humans are able to inhabit (albeit briefly), sequentially acclimating to different elevations and oxygen densities. [b]Two Climbers[/b] is a relatively easy recommendation if you have a co-op partner and a controller. I'm now keeping an eye on developer Rombo's upcoming releases [b]Dooblets[/b] and [b]Cube Faces[/b], and may go back and experience their previous release [b]Two Cubes[/b] if I get some time. And here's a hint: When you're completing one of the moon side challenges to collect multiple purple moons within a given time limit, one character can "activate" the challenge and then walk away. The challenge will only begin when the second character moves to the marker and activates the challenge as well. Therefore, you can go ahead and get one of your climbers in a specific position before you begin, meaning that they don't necessarily have to start from the marker itself. This may make it easier for you to collect all of the moons!