Moving Out

The parallels to Overcooked are obvious. While the game's artstyle and overall vibe could make the game seem like a clone, I assure you that it is entirely its own thing.

Where Overcooked presented you with simple single-screen levels, placing emphasis on mastering the flow of the kitchen chaos and gradually turning the people in front of the screen into a singular synchronized organism, Moving Out is a game of planning and logistics. Controls are simple: the players pick up stuff and move it from place A to place B, with occasional slapping and throwing. That's how it is for the entire length of the game, and it's the levels that are supposed to bring novelty to the table.

The game struggles to do that for the first half of the campaign. The players visit samey bland homes, with the novelties brought to the table being unappealing. The ghosts, not that fun to interact with in the first place, definitely overstay their welcome and the occasional buttons and water pools don't refresh the gameplay in any significant way. Luckily, the game picks up the pace a lot in the later levels, with layouts and inventions added to the mix being a lot of fun to engage with. Still, the game as a whole suffers from pacing issues.

With as simple gameplay as here, the game is pretty much exactly as good as its levels. As long as the maps are fresh - the game feels fresh. However, because of the player skill having no real room for improvement, (except for furniture handling) it also means that knowledge of the layout is all you have - and when you learned that already there's no fun in playing anymore. While there's a lot of theoretical replay value in the game, in the form of side objectives, golden level times and "move-in" mode for the most levels, I feel that one playthrough is enough for this game - to see all it has to offer and not get burned out in the process. I could see how some people who enjoy mastering some kind of plan or routine would enjoy replaying the content, so if your player group is the kind - I'd say give it a shot.

I did like the writing - it's silly in enjoyable way, with lots of puns sprinkled all over the place. It definitely added to the experience. It's self-aware all the way through, and it's engaging enough to keep you playing.

The game is not long. It's pretty much a thing for one or two afternoons. It's worth giving a try, even though it's nothing stellar. I'd say it's exactly what it's supposed to be - a silly little party game.