Georifters (2020)

Georifters isn't the worst platformer, but an ugly aesthetic and repetitive level design make for a generally unpleasant playthrough. What's especially disappointing is how creative the core mechanics are. Players are encouraged to manipulate the world around them, but stages are so basically built that even the most engaging puzzles barely offer enough stimulation. Georifters does have a fairly decent multiplayer mode, but mainly due to circumstance rather than thought provoking game design.

Georifters feels like the last chocolate in a selection box that people don’t eat, like the orange truffle. It’s not that it tastes bad, it just isn’t the first thing people are going to gravitate to. It has some cool ideas with the puzzle platforming but the formula gets dull quickly. If you are able to persist through the experience there are some well designed levels, with plenty of content on offer. However, with the title sometimes crawling at a slow pace it feels like some gamers might drop off before this. It’s better in co-op but with the Switch having many local co-op options these days this one doesn’t stand out as much as other titles. Definitely one to consider on sale or if your looking for a decent co-op experience.

A fun, personality-filled puzzle-platformer that brings more to the table than you'd first expect.

Georifters has good things going for it but it definitely needs some tweaking, especially for veteran fans of the genre. That said, I would certainly recommend this game for families, especially those with young kids as the art style does feel like it caters to children more. Adventure mode can be a fun couch co-op experience but I wouldn’t be surprised if Battle Ground mode would be the one played more often.

Georifters is fun with friends, but it's slow pace and rough character models mean it just can't hang in a crowded cooperative marketplace.