If there’s a day I’m sure no one wants to relive, it’s “moving out” day. Everything from carrying furniture from point A to B is no fun. If you have an L-shaped sofa, you probably winced out from the pain of maneuvering around sharp corners. And if you have delicate items like glasses, you probably let out a sigh of relief when they arrived at your new place in one piece.
But Moving Out, the couch co-op game series is everything but hectic, so much so that a new sequel is already out now on all major platforms. Kids and adults alike have found the series ridiculously funny, from its quirky characters, cartoony settings, and wacky gameplay.
But don’t take my word for it. Or at least read on to the end of our Moving Out 2 review to discover why the game is worth playing. Yes, I’ve said it. It’s definitely worth jumping into with a buddy or two, and here’s why.
Movers Club
The thing is, Moving Out 2’s biggest flex isn’t prolific writing. In fact, the game wastes no time making it as clear as dawn that all they care for is pure comedy. It starts with the same premise as its predecessor, where players are newbie FART, or Furniture Arrangement & Relocation Technician, recruits.
As with any other job, you aim to rise up the ranks through sheer hard work and determination. Okay, it’s never that serious here, though your services are needed at Packmore, a sunny island desperate for movers.
Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
Unlike the predecessor, Moving Out 2 integrates multi-verses in the story, which is surprisingly refreshing considering the worn-out adaptations in superhero movies; I almost didn’t think I could take another multi-verse story anymore.
Interdimensional portals cut through the fabrics of space and time. Worlds collapse in and on each other. As you’re cruising to your next house, your van suddenly drives through a portal and into a wizardly world, a floating city, or bits of everything.
It’s pretty grand for its clever ways of adding variety to level designs. While previously, a sugarcoated island was Moving Out’s signature world, in the sequel, everything you can possibly dream of is in one form or the other.
Wackier Than Ever
A sofa-sized croissant or a gingerbread table is just as quirky as the items in the houses get. But even more so, character customization options from cassette tape hats to corn cob tiny little mules. Stretch outside to interdimensional worlds, and wizards hauling cottage houses fits perfectly into the Moving Out experience.
Butterfingers
Clumsy is second nature in Moving Out 2. It’s in your character’s DNA, almost as if every character is intentionally gifted with butterfingers, and less as if dropping items were a bug. Either way, it’s pretty funny amid the chaos of loading up the van in the time limit given.
Multiplayer
If you were playing Moving Out 2 solo, which you 100% can, it barely compares to the laughs you have teaming up with a buddy or two. Take the clumsiness part, for example. Imagine laughing sheepishly at yourself for dropping a vase, then picture going through it with someone else.
What’s more? Items like sofas need two people to carry. Leave alone the ridiculous excuse of teamwork, sure to be misinterpreted every now and then (hey, go left, no left, your other left, eish!), it’s more likely to get the job done faster and more efficiently if you have a partner to help think puzzles through.
And so your experience is as smooth as possible, Moving Out 2 has introduced online multiplayer mode, in addition to couch co-op, for those who won’t want to leave the comfort of their home just to team up with casual players, uhm, in Argentina, maybe.
Easier Said Than Done
It’s easy to think moving house items from one point to another is a piece of cake. But Moving Out 2 is more challenging than it seems. The game starts off slow, with easier levels to clear. You’re almost always on the clock, so there’s no time to find the perfect way to do the job.
So, it’s inevitable that you’ll break stuff, and surprise, surprise, Moving Out 2 doesn’t care much for it. In fact, the game compels you to break things with its innate clumsy movers. Anyway, the good news is you don’t have to maintain items in one piece. Rather, find efficient ways to move them before time runs out. Easy, right?
No, not easy. Because, firstly, levels get increasingly tricky the higher you climb. You’ll find houses built in mazes. Doors that open one way or close when their battery runs out. Some levels need you to think outside the box, and I mean really innovate beyond what’s common in the real world.
Movers Inventions
You can throw stuff onto open umbrellas and have them bounce off into your waiting van. Or, catapult heavy stuff through windows, no matter if the broken windows or delicate items are already inside.
Some levels will need you to vacuum clouds off the sky. Yes, literally. At the same time, others will have you corralling animals, sorting chickens, pigs, sheep, goats, and more into pens as they try to escape.
It’s the kind of variety only Moving Out can orchestrate and, at the epitome of it all, organize chaos for fun. Oh, and just to make teamwork spicier, you’ll run into wild obstacles, from tilting houses to black holes out of nowhere. If you don’t at least lose a couch to another dimension, are you Einstein himself?
Collect Stars
For each level, you gain five stars if you succeed. But the trick is, Moving Out 2 unlocks bonuses and special objectives after completing a level. These can include costumes, character crates, or arcade game cartridges hidden someplace safe.
You’ll need to backtrack to find these items, which adds to the replayability factor of Moving Out 2. Sure, it’s frustrating to redo a level, but the gains are well worth the effort.
It would have been great if Moving Out 2 told you exactly what you’re looking for. Because otherwise, you’ll be looking through every nook and cranny, hoping to find hidden treasures. All you get is an objective like “best friends forever,” what could that possibly mean?
Another slightly annoying thing is that higher levels only unlock when you get five stars on your previous levels. So, you may have to redo the levels you didn’t make the cut just so you can keep enjoying fresh content.
Redoing levels also restarts from scratch. At least restore the items I did manage to move, so I can work on the ones I didn’t have the time to get to. All in all, the content is so wacky and varied, it doesn’t hurt to relive the experience a couple of times more.
Is Moving Out 2 Worth Playing?
Yes, absolutely. It’s a heck of a good time to move items on a timer, enjoy wacky humor, and come up with creative ways to break stuff. Most of all, Moving Out 2 is ridiculously fun when you bring a friend or two along for the ride. You definitely share a good amount of laughs to go around and possibly, argue about the silliest things.
It’s clear Moving Out 2 has stepped up its game. Level designs are much more varied and intense, thanks to introducing inter-dimensional worlds. Who knew moving furniture across dimensions would be so much rewarding? Characters also have deep customization of the wackiest costumes while the worlds look as vibrant as ever.
If you want to play Moving Out 2, you can do so on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, and Microsoft Windows platforms for $29.99. Feel free to tag along a friend or two on couch co-op mode or online multiplayer, with cross-play functionality now enabled.
Is there another game you would like us to review? We’re happy to check out games that are worth your time and money for you. Meanwhile, check out our “The Best RPGs to Play on Nintendo Switch” article, and let us know of any questions or concerns.