Some of the most memorable gaming experiences come from playing alongside friends, family – and maybe even enemies – in co-operative play. A shared goal and a big adventure, whilst all sitting in the same room. Couch co-op play has made a welcome return in the last decade, with games like Overcooked, Overcooked 2, Moving Out and It Takes Two as prime examples of friendly collaboration. A welcome, calmer reprise in the mix of highly competitive multiplayer (looking at you, Mario Kart World).
Survival Kids aims to join the co-op club with a similar sense of working together. Players team up to gather resources, solve puzzles and escape islands they’ve found themselves trapped on. Is there enough in this Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive to survive amongst the mix of other co-op games?
It’s not the first time publisher Konami has dived into the world of survival adventures. The Survival Kids series found its roots on the Game Boy Color back in 1999, followed by a Japan-only sequel, plus a spiritual successor Lost in Blue on the Nintendo DS and Wii. These games were slightly more serious in tone compared to the latest Nintendo Switch 2 adventure. Punishing, challenging, non-linear quests for survival – with multiple endings. Yes, even endings where the main character doesn’t make it out alive. Brutal. Curious about the original? It’s available on the Game Boy – Nintendo Classics app on Nintendo Switch.
Years later, Konami have teamed up with Unity Games to resurrect the series, this time as a gentler, family-friendly take built more like a party game. It shares a lot more beats with the likes of Overcooked and Moving Out, rather than its 90s namesake. No starvation this time, so no tears or childhood trauma (phew).
But Survival Kids on Nintendo Switch 2 does take some cues – foraging for supplies, crafting equipment and working to escape. Each level takes place on unique islands that sit on the backs of giant turtles called “whurtle”. Without a connection to the outside world and a raft that’s been shattered, it’s a quest to rebuild. The core mechanic is finding lost parts of the raft and lugging these parts across the island, and it’s not necessarily an easy feat!
Each island sees the stranded kids start from scratch. Equipment like fishing rods or fans must be rebuilt using materials scattered about. There are slight echoes to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, where trees can be chopped down to forage wood, fruit collected to prepare food and equipment helping you climb higher when the turtle decides to take a dip.
After a few islands, the rhythm clicks into place – set up camp, gather resources, and locate key items. It can veer on becoming a little repetitive, but for a party game, that familiarity helps keep the pace as the adventure goes on. The islands also start to ramp up the puzzles and complexity, too, which breaks up the repeated tasks and allows for some out-of-the-box thinking. There’s not a Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom sense of freedom in finding a solution as there is a degree of linearity, but the challenges are well thought out. Each round builds on lessons established from previous islands.
Reaching the end of each level can take time, with some backtracking, but nothing in Survival Kids is overly puzzling. Unlike the original series and Lost in Blue, there’s no major sense of punishment or sense of being up against a timer (unless speedrunning for those awards!) There’s a good sense of tolerance to platforming and performing actions to allow players to get by without needing pinpoint precision. Some sections, however, are a little fiddly to navigate due to sentinel statues that fire acid, plus a fixed camera occasionally can be a hindrance. It’s certainly ideal for younger or inexperienced players and provides a more relaxed pace compared to other co-op games.
There’s flexibility in how you gather your party to play Survival Kids. The game is one of the earliest examples on Nintendo Switch 2 of a return to sharing titles with friends using GameShare. It can be streamed using local wireless to other Switch consoles, including those with the original Switch. But it does come with a performance caveat – dropping the framerate down to 30fps.
The ideal approach, though, is working with a friend in two player split-screen on the same device, which does run well for the most-part, or partnering with friends who have the game via online play. As expected, co-op play (especially in person) is where the game’s appeal truly does shine. You can go it alone, but working together can take the tediousness off the repetitive tasks and makes things that bit more enjoyable. A shared goal, but each player wandering off to tackle tasks at their own pace.
Beyond the score stages, the game is a little loose with story – adventurers who find a treasure map and end up stranded on multiple islands is the gist of things. It’s all set within a vibrant, colourful world that’s not particularly unique in visual style, but does have a playful charm that’s inviting to the younger crowd.
