Local multiplayer games have seen a renaissance in recent years, with the likes of TowerFall, Nidhogg, Mario Kart 8 and Sportsfriends. However one area that has received a little less love is co-operative multiplayer games and that is where the wonderful Chariot comes into play. You play as a grieving princess as she tries to find a place to lay her father to rest. Unfortunately her father’s ghost is fairly fussy about where he is laid to rest and thus begins the journey through various levels to find the perfect grave. How do you drag your father you ask? WHY WITH A CHARIOT OF COURSE!

Accompanying the princess on her journey is her partner, who is more than just the same character with a different skin, although you won’t realise it straight away. Both push the chariot in the same way and both seem to have the same length of rope they tether to the chariot for pulling it and the same level of strength when moving. Where they do differ however is weaponry. The princess uses a sword and is great at knocking back enemies at close range, whereas her partner uses a slingshot to pick off enemies at a distance. Both weapons come in handy and during co-operative play they create a decent combo.

The aim of the game from level to level is to get your fathers chariot from point A to point B, however along the way there are many side areas with various treasures, upgrades and alternative exits. Combine the amount of extra areas per level with the opportunity to speed run it and you can easily find yourself sinking an hour just in to one area. In the early stages the main hazard is you. If you stray too far from the chariot for too long then you are taken back to the last check-point. This will often see you clinging to the chariot for dear life and dragging it back to the start of an area just so you don’t have to reset. As the game progresses though you are introduced to enemies and various environmental hazards and blockades that only you, or the chariot, can pass through, but not both.

The enemies in the game want the treasure that you collect along the way and will be disturbed into action if you collect some near a nest or hit the chariot on the ground too heavily. This means that most of the time you will be trying to be careful or, if carefulness is not an option, quick. It’s in the frantic moments of a plan when things going wrong that Chariot can really shine as you desperately try to cling to the chariot as it falls, or keep the enemies at bay whilst your co-op partner carries it to safe heights.

The design of Chariot is absolutely wonderful from the offset. It’s made fairly simple what it is you have to do, but never really spelt out for you. If you encounter a puzzle it leaves you pondering at first, but never so long that you are left frustrated. Each environment feels full of life and it’s always made clear which way you need to go. The default route also shows you enough of side areas as you pass them  if you want to explore, but not so much that it spoils everything it has to offer. Even the store and world hub is so rich in charm, which makes it not feel like a chore having to go back there after each level. Something many games get wrong.

So far, so good but what if you don’t have anyone to play with? Will the game still be fun and what will the puzzle and platforming sections be like? Thankfully the game is definitely still fun; however it is nowhere near as enjoyable playing it is a solo experience. In co-op mode I found myself taking my time and soaking up everything, knowing that if I was to slip or mess up my co-op partner would be there to resolve my error nine times out of ten. In solo mode mistakes are unforgiveable, there is nobody there to break your fall and if you fall off the edge you are falling to the bottom, unless you’re lucky enough to have the right power-up for the right situation (if in doubt, peg). There is also a much bigger importance in doing things quickly. You really need the momentum of the chariot in the later levels to help you get up to higher places and it’s not something that can be done slowly.

The fact that the game feels so different when playing it in singleplayer and playing it co-operatively though is part of what makes it great. There are some niggly issues, such as jumping being a bit awkward at times and the physics being a bit temperamental, but with many levels to playthrough, routes to find and speed runs to master Chariot easily compensates for its downfalls. It is easily one of the best co-operative games that you can pick up on the PS4 and Xbox One and, personally, I haven’t had this much fun playing a co-operative game since Portal 2. The areas are easy to comprehend but are enough of a challenge that you feel a sense of achievement when you progress, and that is not an easy thing to achieve when creating a game.

Chariot is out now on PS4 and Xbox One and will be making its way to PC and Wii U soon.

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