Heave Ho 2 Nintendo Switch 2 Review: Swear-Filled Arm-Flings and Pure Co-Op Chaos
Heave Ho 2 flings itself onto the Nintendo Switch 2 with a fresh bucket of paint, bigger tools, and even more swear-filled escapades designed to completely test your closest friendships. You are once again controlling just a set of dangling arms with shoulder buttons mapped to each hand, struggling across deadly gaps where one missed grab sends your whole crew tumbling. It doubles down on chaotic, physics-driven co-op madness while dropping you straight into the deep end with instant restarts and zero downtime. If you thought the first game was a test of patience, this upgraded sequel amps up the stakes with smarter tools, hilarious mini-games, and absolute multiplayer mayhem.
QUICK NAV: [Specs] [Gameplay] [Performance] [Settings]
Heave Ho 2 Nintendo Switch 2 Review Specs
- Developer: Le Cartel Studio
- Publisher: Devolver Digital
- UK Store Link: Nintendo eShop UK
- Download Size: 2.4GB
- Content & Locations: 8 Locations, 7 levels per location (56 total levels)
- Multiplayer Options: Couch co-op (2 to 4 players local), Online Private, Online Public
- Game Share & Chat: Supports Local Game Share and Game Share Game Chat
Heave Ho 2 Nintendo Switch 2 Review: Gameplay
The core of the experience remains a chaotic, swear-filled escapade where your entire movement relies on controlling just your arms and grabbing onto geometry or other players with each shoulder button. Your main goal is simply getting everyone to the exit area, but getting there requires serious coordination, patience, and a whole lot of physics-based swinging. There is a solid tutorial area that runs through all the controls and mechanics so you aren’t completely blind, and the physics engine feels as strong and unpredictable as ever. Every location has its first level unlocked right out of the gate so you can jump around in any order you want, with each location sporting a clear 1 to 4 star difficulty rating to let you know what kind of punishment you are signing up for.
Co-op has seen a massive revamp with brand new toys and tools designed specifically to rescue stranded or less capable players, such as a drone that can fly across the map to pick someone up, though the catch is another player has to physically pilot the thing! Random mini-games pop up inside levels to reward you with coins, and new environmental hazards like ropes and dark/light level mechanics get introduced as you progress. If you want a break from main levels, the new Showdown mode gives you an offline or online team battle game mode to slap each other around in. You can also charge up a dedicated fart button to blow fellow players away, which functions as both a hilarious griefing tool and an actual legitimate launch tactic to throw mates across huge gaps. Plus, best completion times are saved on every level for competitive groups, and instant restarts keep the momentum moving fast when things inevitably go wrong. Overall its a huge step up from the original and well worth playing.
Heave Ho 2 Switch 2 Review: Performance & Fidelity
- Visual Style: Excellent hand-drawn graphics that retain the classic series look.
- UI & Menus: Packed with cool little animations in the menus that help bring the whole presentation to life.
- Performance: Rock-solid performance with instant level restarts following a crash or fall.
- Display & Audio Options: Includes display timer, sound mix, language toggles, and separate volume sliders for voices, sound effects, and music.
Settings, Customisation & Control Details
- In-Game Achievements: Features its own built-in achievements system, cleanly split up by location to make tackling them in co-op much easier.
- Accessibility Features: Includes mono sound, rumble strength slider, and dedicated Colourblind options along with black and white mode, contrast, and intensity adjustments.
- Online Match Settings: Online lobbies can be toggled to either enable camera support or run with no camera support.
- Character Customisation: Customise your character’s costume, skin colour, hair, glasses, face, arms, and voice.
- Control Limitations: There is no touchscreen support available.
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Heave Ho 2 Switch 2 Review
Summary
Is Heave Ho 2 Actually Worth Your Time? The Positives
This is easily one of the absolute best co-op experiences you can jump into, building on the original foundation while making massive quality of life improvements across the board. The excellent hand-drawn graphics and lively menu animations instantly set a fun tone, while the easy-to-learn mechanics mean anyone can grab a controller and start flinging themselves around. The co-op revamp adds brilliant rescue tools like player-controlled drones to haul struggling mates across gaps, and the dedicated fart button turns out to be as much of a genuine tactical launch ramp as it is a way to annoy your friends. With 8 distinct locations packing 7 levels each, 1 to 4 star difficulty ratings, instant restarts, local and online options, built-in location-specific achievements, and an extra team Showdown mode, it maintains fantastic accessibility while delivering pure party game gold.
What Makes Heave Ho 2 Annoying? The Technical & Design Flaws
While it delivers a ton of fun, a few lingering omissions and design choices drag it down a bit. Single player is technically possible, but without mates hanging around, it becomes a far harder, significantly less enjoyable slog that misses the entire point of the physics chaos. Even with options for costumes, hair, glasses, face, arms, and voices, the character customisation options still feel quite limited when you want to build a truly unique idiot to swing around. There is also no touchscreen support to speak of on the Switch 2, which feels like a missed trick for quick menu navigation, and at the end of the day, if the core physics loop of the first game didn’t grab you, this sequel won’t do a single thing to change your mind.
The Final Gert Lush Verdict: Should You Buy Heave Ho 2?
Heave Ho 2 takes a massive step up over the original by polishing its physics chaos, stacking on smart co-op tools, and keeping the hilarious swear-filled energy completely intact. It shines brightest when played in local or online multiplayer with a full crew of friends throwing each other into the abyss, making it an essential pickup for party game fans on the Nintendo Switch 2.
