Game: Tools Up! Ultimate Edition
Genre: Action, Simulation, Arcade
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam (Windows), PS4 and Xbox)
Developer|Publisher: The Knights of Unity | Untold Tales
Age Rating: EU 3+ | US Everyone
Price: US $34.99 | UK £31.49 | EU €34,99
Release Date: January 5th, 2024
Review code provided with many thanks to Wire Tap Media.
Tools Up! Ultimate Edition, The Complete Package
Tools Up! is a cheerful action party game where you and some buddies are tasked to fix up some houses under a time limit. The original game has been released for some time on the eShop and seems to have gradually grown a following over time thanks to generous discount sales and multiple DLC releases. Now we see the release of the Ultimate edition, which combines all the DLC as well as adding an extra new versus mode. This is a great jumping-on point for players new to the game who love their co-op experiences, and it’s suited to all audiences and skill levels.
Pick Up Your Paint Brush
There’s no forced story to set up the premise. You are a bunch of larger-than-life handy folk tasked with various DIY tasks, including painting, carpeting, breaking and building walls and, if you throw in the DLC, various gardening tasks. When you enter a level, the residents are conveniently absent, leaving you with a blueprint to instruct you on the various tasks they want to complete. The blueprint not only helps show you visually the jobs that need completing, but by holding it, you can rotate the camera to observe the layout of the level better. Tools are made available to decorate, such as paint for the walls and carpet on the floors. But some tasks require a few more steps, such as lifting the floor and then cementing it before tiling it.
All these mechanics are taught to the player through simple tutorials as the campaign progresses. Some of the tools are available at the start of the level, but others will come as the level progresses, and you need to be quick to get the door before the delivery man decides to walk away temporarily. As levels progress, houses become more complex, with more tasks, and you’ll even have to contend with hazards like icy floors and annoying dogs and lava because that’s something that makes sense to have in a house.
Controls are easy to pick up, with the game reminding you during every loading screen should you need a reminder. Basically, it’s one button to grab an item and one to use it. You can throw items, too, but you may want to be careful with this; it’s very easy to make a mess on a level by spilling paint or cement. Any messes will need to be cleared up to get the best level result, not only that leaving it in a level acts as a trip hazard for your character, making it harder to navigate, but also making for some amusement for each of the players if you’re playing more casually.
On The Clock
Just like many co-op games that have come before, you need to complete the tasks under a specified time limit. Upon completion, you then need to tidy up. This means you need to remove all your tools and equipment from the house to end the level. You’re awarded the usual up to three-star rating, but in the campaign, you don’t need to finish all the jobs to progress. You get a star for completing set rooms in the level, so even if you can’t finish your work under the time limit, you still make some progress and will be able to advance to the next level. If the stress of the time limit is still a bit much, the game offers a casual mode that removes the time limit entirely, meaning you can enjoy the campaign in all its glory without the worry of the ticking clock.
My wife and I are veteran co-op gamers besting games like Overcooked and almost insisting we get three stars on every level. Comparing this game to others we have played, I found Tools Up! to be pretty easy but still fun. Though communication is advisable to instruct players to do certain jobs. We managed to quickly get into a nice flow state where we just got on with the job, leaving space to complain about the film Jurassic Park: Dominion, which I found to be a massive disappointment of a film. But back to the game.
Single-player is an option if you decide to take on the game solo. There is no AI companion to back you up, but Tools Up! Ultimate Edition does adjust the time limit based on the number of players present. As always, games like this are far better for playing with loved ones, but this does a decent job of appealing to the single-player crowd. It certainly feels more lonely and busy-body like a simulator game, but there is a relaxing feel to the process. The biggest letdown for me is Tools Up! Ultimate Edition doesn’t feature online. This is a local co-op only. For an Ultimate edition, this version is really crying out for online to be able to enjoy it with friends too far away.
It Has a Otter In It!
Graphics are colourful and family-friendly. Tools Up! Ultimate Edition has that soft and humorous feel to the character models, each accompanied by silly voices. Characters look a bit like the marshmallow fellow from Ghostbusters in DIY outfits. They are unable to sprint and instead amusingly waddle from room to room. There’s an enormous amount of characters to unlock as you progress with various animals like llamas and fish people, and the best animal of all is an otter! Characters all function the same, with none having perks over the other, but for a game like this, it’s totally fine.
Levels have a simple but clear art style; the game makes clear what you can interact with, and when you decorate a new surface, the colour is vibrant, clearly indicating your progress. One issue we encountered is that items like spilt paint can get hidden by objects in the environment, like snow, causing some confusion when finishing a level to what we had missed. Tools Up! Ultimate Edition performed well in TV and handheld mode. I’ll score some extra credit in handheld mode, which appears to run better in the Ultimate edition compared to the original version of the game, which I compared to during the review.
If you have already played and conquered the original game and its DLC, I’m not sure there’s much incentive to pick up this version. Sure, it looks better and adds a versus mode. But I don’t think that justifies a double dip. A wasted opportunity is your saves won’t transfer from the original version, so you will need to start from scratch.
Conclusion: A Job Well Done
Tools Up! Ultimate Edition is the definitive version of a co-op title that may have flown under the radar for some gamers. While there’s probably not enough here to warrant a second purchase for previous players, this is a fantastic purchase for anyone new. Decent in solo mode but a lot of fun in co-op with some loved ones. The controls are simple and accessible, and the inclusion of a casual mode makes this suited to all gamers of various skill levels. Tools Up! Ultimate Edition falls a little short with its lack of online and some fiddly controls in places, but the experience was enjoyable overall and, most of all, fun. If you’re looking for the next game night game, this comes highly recommended.
Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot
