Moving Out is like alcohol, drugs, marriage or children. Best experienced in moderation. It can be a lot of fun. It can make you laugh and it can be a shared experience that brings you closer together with the people in your life. However, it’s not something you can play for hours on end, nor is it something you can (or should) play alone.
Developed by Australia’s SMG Studio, Moving Out has been compared to Overcooked. The two titles couldn’t be more different. Overcooked has you working to keep some order in an incresingly chaotic kitchen.
Moving Out, on the other hand, is about creating as much chaos as possible, consequences be damned. They are similar in that they’re presented in an overhead view with cartoony visuals and that you need to work together. Fans of Overcooked will get something out of Moving Out, but it’s not really a similar experience.
Moving Out Review
Basically, Moving Out is a chaotic party game in which you and up to 3 friends have to move furntiture from buildings into a moving truck as quickly as possible. Don’t worry if you break anything, the game reminds you constantly that the client has mover’s insurance.
Smash whatever you want.
The basic premise of Moving Out is a tonne of fun. But as I alluded to in the beginning, it’s limited. Each level in Moving Out has you move a number of items into the moving truck in a limited amount of time. Should you manage to get everything loaded quickly enough, you can earn Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals. Each level also has three hidden objectives that grant you special Arcade Coins. More on these later.
I played with my partner and step-daughter and we had an absolute whale of a time. After half an hour or so though, we were done for the night. There’s not a lot of variety in Moving Out and so after you’ve seen one level, you’ve basically seen them all.
Sure, there are different obstacles and some different mechanics that might trip you up but, for the most part, you’ll just need to pick up items, chuck them in the truck and repeat. Yes, it’s repetitive but that’s not a bad thing. The gameplay IS great, but only in small doses.
That being said, you won’t want to play by yourself.
Playing single player in Moving Out is a lot like masturbating. It’s fun for a bit, but the fun doesn’t last all that long and when it’s over you’re left questioning why you even bothered.
Not to mention the mess you made.
In all seriousness, Moving Out only truly works as a multiplayer game. It’s commendable that SMG Studio has tried to make single-player work but I’d be surprised if solo players managed to slog their way through to the end. As I said, Moving Out is best played in small doses. When you play single player, those doses should be shortened considerably to a single level or maybe two.
As you make your way through Moving Out, alone or with friends, you’ll unlock new levels and, if you’re good enough, collect the Arcade coins. These allow you to unlock special Arcade levels that put more of an emphasis on different gameplay mechanics and ideas that wouldn’t have worked as part of the main game.
Playing these ‘VR-Missions’ inspired levels is a great change of pace, especially considering that whoever designed them is a pyschotic masochist. They are very, very hard.
I love the visuals in Moving Out. They’re bright and vibrant and remind me so much of Wind Waker. The characters are all smiling and happy and everything just screams Saturday Morning Cartoon. Ash Ringrose of SMG Studio told us in an interview that the idea was to create a world that could exist within those cheery 80s cartoons. And I think SMG Studio has well and truly succeeded.
The music is equally incredible. Sourced from Lenny Macaluso (who wrote The Touch with Stan Bush) the music is al 80s, all rockin’ guitars and all Venice Beach circa 1984. You honestly can’t play Moving Out without a smile on your face.
But again, I have to reiterate, you should only play for half an hour or so. Anything more and the magic starts to wear off, the gameplay starts to wear thin and what once tickled your fancy starts getting on your nerves.
Moving Out is a great game, best played in moderation and never alone. If you’ve got a group of friends, some adult beverages and some extra controllers, boot up Moving Out and have a great time.
Moving Out was reviewed on PS4 using a digital copy provided by the publisher.
PowerUp! Reviews
Game Title: Moving Out
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Incredible mutliplayer fun - 9/109/10
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No fun on your own - 4/104/10
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Wonderful aesthetic and music - 9.5/109.5/10
