Moving Out: Movers In Paradise – Nintendo Switch Review

Full Disclosure: A review code for Moving Out: Movers In Paradise was provided by Team17.

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Moving Out: Movers in Paradise is the latest expansion for the popular Moving Out. I reviewed the base game not too long ago and found it was well made, but an ultimately lacking experience that didn’t offer enough multiplayer thrills to keep my party entertained. Does this new DLC do enough to change that?

Sun, Sea, Sand and Swearing

For the most part, yes. Movers in Paradise is a fantastic expansion that has oodles of content and plenty of small tweaks and additions that do just enough to differentiate the experience from the base game. Like the original, this is a couch co-op title, and whilst going solo is possible, the game is magnitudes better when even one additional player is present.

You and your fellow FARTS have been given the opportunity to go on a corporate-funded vacation to a wonderfully sunny luxury island. Things are not quite as they seem, however, and things go from sun and sand to item relocation fast.

The base game lost a lot of its lustre during the endgame, and thankfully Movers In Paradise starts off strong and ends even stronger. The variety in level design, and by extension, puzzle design, is top-notch. One moment you could be rampaging through a pirate ship and the next, you could be yeeting cargo across gaps using natural geysers. It’s a blast, and each level seems to add something new and significant to the table. I would go into this more, but I simply don’t want to spoil the nonsense. Needless to say, the places you and the things you do, get a bit wild.

Not Just A Rehash of Old Ideas

There are plenty of new mechanics at play to boot. You are introduced to a few of these during the FART refresher session/tutorial, such as cranks, and even at their most basic, they significantly improve the core gameplay. I mean, the game hands your team a jetpack – when has a jetpack ever been a bad inclusion. Where the base game stagnated, Movers in Paradise innovates in ways that turn the game into a true party experience.

Movers In Paradise, like all good party games, is a catalyst that fun sprouts from. It just so happens that it is also an absolute hoot to boot. The game’s frustratingly entertaining, loose controls make a return and rest assured, there will be plenty of shouting going on once a player starts to lose control of their jetpack or catapults themselves into the ocean. Despite an overall increase in complexity, the core controls remain easy to pick up keeping them widely accessible.

I don’t often discuss pricing in my reviews, but in this instance, I think it’s worth touching on. Movers In Paradise is only £6 and is well worth that price. The sheer amount of varied content on offer here is staggering. Heck, it turned a game that thoroughly failed to impress me, or my party, into one that was the highlight of an evening. It builds upon the solid, but flawed foundation of the original and creates something so much better.

Let’s not forget the oodles of replayability. Not only will your experience change based on the number of players that tag along with you, but even jumping in to replay levels adds in additional tasks to complete netting you medals for your trouble. The most difficult challenge, in my opinion, is smashing the time trials which require your party to be on point to succeed – rage-filled rants will be had. These features existed in the base game, and make a welcome return here.

Verdict

Overall, Movers In Paradise is a must buy expansion for anyone who liked the original. Heck, it’s a worthwhile investment for those who weren’t quite so enamoured the first time around. This is a well made, hectic and fun party experience that’s well worth the price of admission.

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