The Stretchers | Jan 3, 2020 | 5:20hrs | rating: 2.5/5
Co-op game where you play as ambulance drivers with a stretcher to pick up injured people.
GAMEPLAY: With the press of a button, you grab on to the nearest object/human in order to get them to your ambulance. The controls are finicky though, often being way too hard to grab what you actually intend to grab. The “puzzles” are also just too simple to be engaging. Driving your indestructible ambulance between missions is fun but also a little shallow.
AUDIOVISUALLY: The animations and rag doll physics are the strength of this game. A lot of situations simply look hilarious, and there are so many goofy details like your feet sticking out of the ambulance window. Music is also catchy, and you can clap and sing for no reason at all. It’s goofy fun.
STORY/PRESENTATION: The plot is forgettable and very short, but the fully explorable island (with a lot of destructible and interactive objects) is a big bonus, and adds coherence and a convincing sense of place.
MULTIPLAYER: Although you can play the game alone using the two analog sticks to control each character simultaneously, it’s really meant for two players. If you’re fun people, the game will be fun! It’s quite free-roaming and a lot of the fun comes from goofing around.
With a few adjustments, this game could have been great. Along with the unpolished controls, the lack of rewards for doing missions well is the biggest problem. There isn’t even any ranking system, so it all feels a little pointless! Very charming, but too flawed to recommend unless you have someone who’d love this kind of game. Children probably would.