Heave Ho 2 is a four-player traversal challenge where you swing through levels to reach the end without falling. Like the original, the twist is that you can only hang on to certain points of the level (or other players' hands) to dangle and swing your way to the finish. The sequel stands out for expanding the scenarios hugely, choosing not to complicate the central hand-holding fun but to put that to work in all manner of collaborative scenarios from flying spaceships to building burgers.
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Each player takes on the role of one of the wobbly climbers trying to cross absurd, hazard-filled stages by literally holding onto whatever they can. This takes the premise of the original game and adds new stages and settings ranging from zero-gravity space to kitchen-themed mayhem. Still, the appeal is less a narrative journey than a string of comic disasters powered by coordinated movement.
As you progress, the challenge comes from learning how to build momentum with your body, chain together grabs with your teammates and recover when someone lets go at exactly the wrong moment. The sequel develops the formula with eight new worlds, online multiplayer for the first time, and co-op and versus modes. As ever, it's best when played with friends, where the increasingly demanding communication, timing and improvisation result in shrieks of frustration and achievement in equal measure.
The results in a game that turns awkward locomotion into a social comedy of trust, panic and precise teamwork. Heave Ho 2 widens the original's reputation as a brilliantly funny test of cooperation.
