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Push Me, Pull You is the funniest, most horrifying game

Think The Human Centipede with multiplayer, only cute.

Jeffrey Matulef avatar
News by Jeffrey Matulef Contributor
Updated on
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Imagine if Noby Noby Boy, The Human Centipede, and QWOP had a baby. And then that baby was taken by a mad scientist and attached to another baby at the rear. And this horrifying monstrosity was forced to compete in feats of strength with another dual-baby abomination. That's basically Push Me, Pull You in a nutshell. Needless to say, it's incredible!

The upcoming local multiplayer curio by the Melbourne-based House House features four-player competitive matches in which two players control one dual-headed snake-like monster with each player operating a different end. The pitiful creature is pitted against another of its ilk as the two Siamese snakes compete to keep a ball in their half of the screen for a set period of time.

If that didn't require enough coordination and teamwork, the control scheme is complicated by each "sports-monster's" ability to expand and contract. You're stronger when you're short, but getting larger can be used to wrap up the ball and even the enemy team as four players madly scuttle about contracting and retracting with their teammate.

Keep the ball on your side of the court and the blue or orange semi-circle will fill up. If it reaches the edge, you win that round.

House House described Push Me, Pull You as "a video game about friendship and wrestling". "Love each other, work together, communicate and coordinate, and prove that a good friendship can overcome anything," the developer said in its pitch for the game. "Unless you find yourself up against an even better friendship!"

I had the pleasure of playing Push Me, Pull You at Unwinnable's GDC Salon where it was projected onto a ceiling for added hipster cache. Teamed with Mumble Indie Bungle and Lo-Fi Dick Fight developer Pippin Barr against Eurogamer contributor Steve Haske and Stickets creator Harry Lee, it ended up as one of the highlights of the entire show (even though Barr and I lost both rounds). With the advent of intentionally awkward to control local multiplayers games Gang Beasts and Pole Riders overtaking the festival circuit, it would come as no surprise if Push Me, Pull You scampers right alongside them as the best the genre has to offer.

Push Me, Pull You is due on PC, Mac and Linux in "late 2014".

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