▲ Recommended
6 hrs
A review copy was provided by the developer.
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Overall Rating - Average ★★★☆☆
First Impressions
Local coop titles can be hard to come by, which was part of my reason for taking a review key of Tools Up! Ultimate Edition (TU). I'm aware there's another version on Steam, that has the DLC separate from the game, and doesn't have the best review score either. Looking at other reviews and videos, the opinion seemed to be split on whether it was clumsy and annoying, or a fun party game. Since this version was so bereft of reviews, I figured I could toss in my two cents.
Gameplay
When you boot up the title, there's two modes to choose from, Campaign or Party, and the Campaign is made up of House and Garden Party DLC. There's 30 and 45 levels in those two options respectively. Party Mode focuses on multiplayer options, with three types of gameplay available; Standard, Time Attack, and Player vs Player. To unlock Time Attack, you have to beat the Campaign first. In Standard, you'll replay the levels, trying to beat them within a fast enough time to earn three “stars.” Since the game had issues recognizing that I finished the last level, I haven't tried Time Attack mode. Similarly, my friend and I don't play many games against each other, so we didn't play against each other.
The concept for this game is that you're part of a construction crew, tasked with remodeling houses, or handling the landscape. Gameplay includes stripping the walls, tearing up carpet, putting up fresh paint, planting grass seeds, and whatever else is listed on each project's blueprint. Some of the materials and tools will already be in place, while others need to be delivered to the site. You don't have to use a catalog to order them, the items you need will arrive over time. If you wait too long to respond to the delivery, they'll leave, returning a little bit later. As you play through the Campaign, accessing different biomes, you'll discover new tools, tasks that need to be taken care of, and environmental hazards. Examples include breaking down walls with a sledgehammer, and dealing with icy floors.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3215551847
Controls
From what I heard others mention, this was an area of TU that could be a problem. A great game will crumble if the controls are a mess. Personally, I didn't have any issues with the game's controls. If you mess up your input, trying to do one thing, but pushing the wrong button, you can make a mess. However, what game doesn't that apply to? Plus, even if you do make a mistake, it isn't the end of the world to fix it. It's pretty easy to accidentally interact with the wrong place, but the white highlight showing where your character is looking helps a lot. One nuisance from the controls was the difficulty in putting an object down, as sometimes the character just wouldn't drop the item they're holding.
Story
Despite the opening cutscene, the presentation is so vague, I couldn't infer much of a plot. All that happens is four workers get out of a truck, and loiter nearby with supplies for a few seconds. With the visual style of the game, I expected something much wackier, with them either causing a bunch of property damage they have to fix, or some problem they need money to resolve. I guess that wasn't the case though.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3215551452
Visuals
Even though the environments and objects aren't detail rich, I still enjoy the colorful, bright visuals. Rooms often have matching floors and walls, making it a bit easier to know where you'll put paint, carpet, tile, or wall-paper. As you unlock costumes, it gives more personality to the characters, and makes it easier to distinguish who you're controlling. I looked at footage from the original release on YouTube, and couldn't see any difference between how it looked back then, compared to when I played the Ultimate Edition. This may not have the sort of aesthetic where I'd expect a vast improvement, but I have to wonder if some polish could have been added to help justify a second release of the game.
Sound Design
I don't know if I can think of the exact right way to describe the music, but it makes me think of skits, or people stumbling and bumbling. It has a sort of farcical nature, because you aren't supposed to take what's happening that seriously. With the gameplay in mind, this is a good match. From what I noticed, the tunes don't change when you move to a new biome within the house, but there's a difference between the house and garden stages. One annoying sound effect comes from the door bell, whenever a delivery arrives, but it does the job of getting your attention.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3215550964
Pros
🌟 If you don't want the stress of a timer looming over you, it can be turned off. This disables related achievements of course, but for those who don't care anyways, the relief would be worth it.
🌟 Once you know what to do in a stage, the gameplay is pretty satisfying, assuming the stage gimmick isn't too aggravating.
Cons
❌ Moving from one stage to the next in the Campaign can be annoying, especially when climbing the ladders to reach the highest floors. It's worse with multiple people, as each person ascends separately.
❌ The original game was released four years ago, so it seems too early to repackage and sell it again.
❌ Some stage hazards are much more annoying than others.
Tips
🔍 There's a few exceptions, but whatever flooring or wall covering is being used in a room will apply to every section. You don't need to rotate and check each wall, as it should match the others that you can already see.
🔍 You can't throw certain items without making a mess, such as paint buckets. Everything else can be tossed without concern though, like carpets.
Final Thoughts
Having spent time on my own, and playing it with my friend, I think I've gotten a good handle on what TU can offer. Frankly, we found it to be an enjoyable coop game. A few things got on our nerves, but even in the worst situations, all we had to do was try the same level a second time, and we always beat it. All we needed was that intel from our first attempt in order to make some adjustments and finish things accordingly. So, from a gameplay perspective, I thought this release was just fine.
However, I can't say there was a great reason for making this version in the first place, with the original coming out so recently. It's nothing more than the base game repackaged so the DLC isn't separated. From my perspective, the only way to justify this would have been if they'd greatly expanded the Campaign, adding a significant amount of content. Considering how people with the original game weren't given free copies of this release, or at the very least a hefty discount, I think they mishandled matters, and haven't created great PR for themselves. Ultimately, I recommend TU as a game, but don't know that I'd suggest supporting this company.
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[table]
[tr]
[th]PC Specs[/th]
[th]Performance[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ryzen 2700
RTX 2070
16GB RAM
ADATA SSD
1920x1080
[/td]
[td]I ran into some issues climbing the ladder to reach the last levels, and it didn't properly save my progress after beating the last level.
🌡️ - TU is a bit sickly
[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
17 found helpful
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