Moving Out 2 (PC) Preview

With only five levels (one of which is the tutorial), the demo for SMG Studios and Devm Games’ Moving Out 2 had a lot to do in order to impress. The demo is available now on Steam for a short while due to the Steam Next Fest. As the answer to the question of “What way up, love?” while you chuck boxes into the van at a pace known as ándale, I quite liked the first Moving Out. The colorful, fun, and Overcooked-style of gameplay capped off with the mad idea of putting stuff in the back of a van at full speed was very appealing.

Despite being revealed last August, most may have only seen it first at this year’s Faux-E3 (Summer Game Fest). As part of the honeymoon phase of that, a demo for the second game is part of the current Steam Next Fest. This demo shows off some of the early levels, and what is new while giving you a feel for the mechanics once again. In comparison to what I covered earlier in this small series of demos I’ll be covering during the SNF, Moving Out 2’s demo is a little shorter than is ideal. In fact as far as I was told there would be six levels to play, yet there are only five, and one of them is the aforementioned tutorial.

Still quite colorful and joyous, it highlights the vast number of strange and wonderful settings we’re heading to this time around. Where the last game tried to focus more on the “grounded” reality of moving stuff out of houses with various traps and hazards, this second stab at the moving game takes a more far-fetched idea. Settings vary from clockwork theming, Candyland basketball, a sky-city mansion with an infinity pool heading into the infinity, and farmland. Yes, I think that last one is probably the most realistic of them all.

Your F.A.R.T. (Furniture Arrangement & Relocation Technician) team has a bit more at their disposal this time around. With a slap, you’ll become the nuisance of your co-op partners both on the couch and online this time around. It also offers a physics puzzle solution or two, as seen in one of the trailers. The demo doesn’t show off the puzzles as much. Instead, you’re tasked with playing slingshot basketball in Candyland, which is alright, I guess. I’m not as excited by that one if you can’t tell.

The accessibility push by SMG and Devm makes Moving Out 2 far more exciting to just jump in and out of levels with anyone and everyone. From a dyslexic font that isn’t as chunky, to assists that allow boring people like me who don’t want to play with other people to lift heavy objects similar to the first game’s assists. Right down to the visual design, there seems to be a bit of focus on making everything as clear and enjoyable as quickly and easily as possible. I’m sure there are other ways it could be improved, but when some don’t even bother, things like this need to be mentioned.

As it is only a very short demo, there isn’t a whole lot to say outside of the obvious. It is more Moving Out, but this time with stranger and more wonderful settings, some of which aren’t featured in the demo. I’m certainly delighted for the full release on August 15th, but for now, the short burst of playing as my candyfloss F.A.R.T. was enjoyable. I’m at least happy for more levels and lots more focus on accessibility. I’ll also be excited to see more F.A.R.T.s join the team. Now that I think about that, I might need to reword that.

A PC preview copy of Moving Out 2: Training Day was provided by Team17 for this preview.