FORCED Review: How to Design a Co-op Game

ReviewGames by Christian Mills

I’m sure so many people have heard of Forced that it hardly needs an introduction. No? None of you have heard of it? Don’t worry, I hadn't heard about it either. More people should know about it since Forced is one of the best co-op games I have played all year.

Forced was developed by Beta Dwarf Entertainment, a very small indie company that began development while squatting in an empty college classroom. Eventually they got kicked out and finished the game elsewhere, but any company that has its beginning sleeping in a classroom without permission is a company I respect. The entire story is told in a giant picture available on their site. I’ll post it after the review for your information and enjoyment, as it is rather entertaining. Even if the development team lived off of ramen for years of their life, Forced doesn't feel rushed or anemic in the slightest and bears a level of polish rare in indie circles.

At heart, the game is a Co-op ARPG, like Diablo or Torchlight II, with heavy puzzle elements. You run around and kill monsters using a fun system where you mark enemies then consume the marks using your abilities, but the enemies are usually just distractions to interfere with you are you try to figure out how to complete each stage. After you discover the solution, actually doing it is another question entirely. The tutorial levels are easy, but the difficulty quickly ratchets up afterwards and only rarely frustratingly so. Even on the levels where my wife (my co-op partner) and I died repeatedly, I always felt we had almost bested the challenge and we would definitely get it next time. The puzzles are well done and are introduced naturally, with each level building on the previous ones. The puzzle solutions aren't simple by any means, but I never felt the need to look up help online either. There are occasional boss fights which do involve fighting a larger opponent, but there is always some sort of trick to them. Occasionally, the camera will be less than helpful, but it was a rare occurrence and seemed to only happen on larger fights/puzzles.

The main campaign is touch short, around 4-6 hours depending on how much trouble you have, but each level has an array of challenges outside of just completion, like a time requirement, or a special puzzle you need to solve in the level. Finishing levels and challenges will get you Crystals, which you use to level up your character. This gives the game a decent amount of replayability, especially since some of the time challenges are hard.

There are only 4 different character classes to chose from. There’s a Tank, a Rogue, an Archer, and a Hammer-guy, one for each player, but within the class there are 8 active and 8 passive abilities to unlock and use, so there is a decent amount of customization. Also, since characters unlock abilities depending on how many Crystals you have earned total, you can jump back and forth between classes without losing any progress.

Forced features both Keyboard and controller support, so whichever you fancy, they've got you covered. But don’t try to play by yourself, it isn't worth it. The main pleasure of this game is conversing with friends, trying to find the solution to the puzzles, then screaming wildly as your plan falls completely to pieces.

In a world that seems to be trivializing co-op gameplay, Forced is a wonderful diamond in the rough. It is incredibly fun to play, and I honestly have no major complaints with it. If you like co-op games, especially ARPGs, this one is a definite buy.

P.S. Here is a link their story picture. 

No author bio. End of line.
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