Should You Buy PEAK or RV There Yet?

It seems there's been a new rise in the co-op genre recently, opening a wide array of options for those looking to spend time with their loved ones. Among the many, there are two that seem to be in every stream and YouTube video: PEAK and RV There Yet?.

Both titles can be enjoyed with a group of friends, and unlike most of the recent big-hitters, they're not horror, but there is one key difference: the pacing and pressure. Thankfully, that doesn't mean you won't find yourselves bickering over who should or shouldn't be doing things!

RV There Yet?

If your goal is to hang out and tackle ridiculous (yet hilarious) hardships together without any added pressure for time, RV There Yet? would be the best bet. While the group will find themselves in crazy situations, like having to speed through a ramp to reach their destination in a barely standing RV, it's not stressful… unless the team make it so.

The game consists of players banding together as they head home from a vacation. Despite the comedic-looking characters sharing the same model, they can be customised by finding hats and glasses and wearing them! My wife and I loved joking that we were just clones of some evil scientist.

Despite there being technically one goal, the RV won't make it there intact, what with the various hazardous zones ahead. Thankfully, the vehicle can take a surprising amount of bumps and bruises, as long as the team is hands-on with care. This means collecting Scrap to rebuild the frame and taking care of various parts, such as the wheels and engine.

Nuggets Entertainment, the developer and publisher, did a phenomenal job at making players juggle just enough tasks to keep it challenging and entertaining, but not so many that it becomes overwhelming. Each one felt smooth to keep up with, too, with no tedious mechanics; it just takes some hoarding and future-proofing.

Between the chaos, you can take a moment and cool off or enjoy small victories by exploring the surprisingly appealing landscapes and using the time to check around for materials or cosmetics. This created a nice balance and flow for my wife and me: we could goof off and be chaotic, work together once we were done being hyper, and then settle down and recharge while looking for items.

Despite being made for a game jam originally, RV There Yet? doesn't feel like a half-baked product. There are some bugs present — though I'd argue they add more comedy to it — but the overall experience feels smooth and continuous. I was genuinely impressed by the physics!

Another great aspect is that it can be played in many ways, as evidenced by the difference between my playthrough and the way Ludwig, Squeex, Valkyrae, and Fuslie all experienced it during their stream. We didn't struggle at the same spots or for the same reasons, and the way my wife and I went about our trip was very different, even in the routes we took.

RV There Yet? is a fantastic option if you have a group that is okay with going up and down in energy, working together, and just taking in the game. The gameplay itself offers a malleable experience, whether for two people or four.

PEAK

As we've been caught in the tsunami of "friendslop" (which I think is an oddly mean-sounding way of naming these great titles!), we ended up also trying out PEAK, which we noticed was gaining quite a bit of traction. I was particularly excited because I love games with progression, and I had seen that by earning badges, you can unlock customisation options. Plus, the style overall is very colourful and appealing!

It's not hard to see why the title spread like wildfire despite (surprisingly) also being a game jam title: it's very innovative, and simple but not easy. Before I tried either title, I assumed that PEAK was going to be the more relaxing one, but it's quite the opposite — the game is hectic. Very hectic.

As a group of scouts who ended up stranded, players have one job: find the way to the top and get help. Except the way up feels like God might've been creating while donning a blindfold because it's haphazard, nonsensical, and perilous!

In order to climb, each player will have a bar that dictates their Stamina. This will be altered (or rather crippled) by things such as hunger, damage, or carry weight. Throughout the path, there are various baggage scattered that contain useful items to help the climb be smoother (like rope), but it's not so black-or-white — sometimes the same items that you take to save your life later get you killed.

Perhaps what makes PEAK especially enticing to players is that it's technically an endlessly replayable title. Each rotation has a variety of maps, and they'll have a few days to attempt to reach the end before it's renewed. This creates a fresh new loop where familiarity and never-ending freshness meet: getting up, dusting off, and trying again with the knowledge you've accrued, but also having to face a new wretched climb every few days!

Whilst there is a mode that can be enabled (called Tenderfoot) that will make the game easier, my wife and I didn't find the right balance for us. The normal gameplay was too hectic to enjoy, as we didn't get to sit back and appreciate the areas or victories because we were running from the fog... but on the other hand, Tenderfoot nearly deleted the sense of challenge. An ideal solution would be a more customisable difficulty.

So, In Conclusion...

Both games are played surprisingly different from each other, and with the right group (or friend), they can be very fun... but that'd be a cop-out answer, so here's the truth: if you want something chill, funny, and possibly rage-inducing, go RV There Yet?; if you want something more stressful, tactical, and replayable, choose PEAK. Thankfully, there's no loss scenario if all you care about is gameplay focused around teamwork and chaos, as they both are great at that!