Given the excitement around the rumored Nintendo Switch 2, it’s easy to miss new games released to current Nintendo Switch consoles. Recent Nintendo Direct presentations seem to rattle off a bunch of random titles with little attention to each game, and the console hasn’t gotten any big new releases in a while, save for the recent The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. However, amid both the excitement for a future Switch and the slow death of the current one, I’m writing here to make sure one special game in particular doesn’t get buried: Pico Park 2.
Although the gameplay can vary depending on what mode you play, or even what set of levels you take on, the general pitch of Pico Park 2 is pretty straightforward. You and your friends will team up and take on various platforming challenges collaboratively. You’ll jump on each other, hit switches for each other, and work together to solve each short level. Pico Park 2 allows up to eight players to join in at once, but you can play with as few as two, and the game automatically tailors the design of the levels to accommodate the number of people playing.
In my opinion, the more people you have, the more fun it gets, and having at least four players is ideal. A lot of the fun comes from the chaos (and the coordination required) of having eight players jumping around the screen simultaneously. You might have to carefully stack up on each other to create a bridge to cross a large gap or figure out how to cross thin platforms with everyone connected by one bungee cord. The gameplay varies considerably, and some sets of levels even feature co-op bullet-hell arcade gameplay where you’re shooting down monsters together.
Each time the level screen loads, you don’t know what awaits. Still, everything can be played with a simple control scheme and a single Joy-Con. There might be a special gimmick, like a vacuum gun that you use to suck up your friends and complete a challenge, but the controls stay pretty simple. In my experience, this made the game enjoyable because of all the variety, but also approachable for all kinds of players.
The game has different groups of levels organized by theme and gameplay, so if you get stuck on one set of levels, you can always try one of a dozen others. If you don’t want to work together, you can opt to play some basic competitive minigames. I played it with my partner’s parents, who hadn’t touched a video game controller since Wii Sports, and my 8-year-old Mario-loving cousin, and everyone was able to easily pick the game up and have a fun time. Regardless of the range of skill levels, the high that came from successfully beating a challenge as a team never got old, no matter how much shouting was involved.
So if you’re looking for a fantastic gem of a game to pick up and tide you over until the Switch 2 comes out, or just want to remind yourself that the Nintendo Switch is still so good, I would suggest picking up the slept-on Pico Park 2.
Pico Park 2 is available to play on Mac, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
