REZ PLZ Review

If you’re anything like my long suffering friends, you’ll know the pain of dealing with a ‘over-enthusiastic’ co-op partner. While they might want to hang back and plan, I’m all too keen jump head first in and be killed over – and over – again. REZ PLZ takes my penchant for needing reviving and turns it into a core mechanic, and in doing so creates one of the more unique co-op puzzle platformers I’ve seen.

Playing as apprentice wizards Arcan and Zeph, we’re introduced to the pair as they stumble home from a night at the bar, late for class. As a punishment, the teacher picks on our heroes to show off the magic they’ve supposedly learnt in front of the class; this does not go well. Arcan blows up Zeph before passing out. We wake in the hospital to find that Zeph is actually fine, thanks to a resurrection scroll the brothers possess. Combined with rez crystals, they can bring each other back to life no matter the method of demise.

It’s this central conceit that forms the backbone of gameplay in REZ PLZ. Each stage will see each brother needing to sacrifice themselves – or be sacrificed – in order to help the other pass otherwise insurmountable obstacles. Things start off simple enough, requiring us to simply impale ourselves on some spikes so the other may jump on our back, kind of a twisted take on the gentlemanly act of placing a jacket on a puddle for his wife. It’s not long however before much more gruesome acts need undertaking. From impaling themselves on a meat hook so the other can hold on to pass gaps, through intentionally being cut in two to activate a pair of switches, to burning to a crisp so their skull can be dropped through a small gap to activate a lever, I was constantly amused and bewildered by the each new set up.

They also gain new powers along the way; turning to stone for example prevents them taking damage, but also means they are immobile. They can be rolled in this form, but more often than not they’re left in harm’s way. Each new stage offers up something to help and these are worked into puzzles in clever ways. It’s not all death though. The boys can use their staffs to attack enemies or hit fireballs into torches, or give each other an alley-oop to reach higher areas. Every aspect forces the two to work together. Most regions require them to split up temporarily, hitting levers and grabbing items to help their brethren elsewhere.

Clearly then, this is a co-op experience. Played with another person (in this instance, my illustrious wife) REZ PLZ shines. Controlling just one of the brothers means there’s less faffing about and things flow much more seamlessly (in theory anyway, we still died plenty…). Choosing who to send up to hit switches or sacrifice so the other may proceed becomes much more vital, as if they mess up them we need to resurrect them and try again. It can get a tad confusing, as the camera only focuses on one boy at a time. A press of Y switched perspectives but this then leaves the other player out of the frame if they are too far apart. While these instances are generally short, some puzzles require some speedy camera switching as well as manoeuvring and it can be a bit disorientating. I’d much have preferred the camera zoom out a bit, or even go into a split screen view, but we did eventually get used to it.

The boys start with 3 rez crystals each, though they can use each other’s if need be. There are fairly generous amounts of crystals around the levels to refill our stock, but each accidental death just puts that extra bit of pressure on; it’s all well and good purposefully dying to proceed, but a mistimed jump means one less try at the next section. There were times we messed up too much and were forced to restart an area, but armed with new knowledge we usually got through well enough on the next try. If one of us dies without a rez crystal in stock, we have a limited time to find one before Death himself comes for us. I found this helped hammer home the need for co-op play, and also prevents one player from trolling the other and refusing to die so they can restart.

Solo play is a bit more of a mixed bag, as you may expect. The gameplay remains the same, but here we switch characters with the aforementioned button press. While it means the player is always busy controlling both characters, it does make some sections tedious/tricky. Having to move both players over the same areas slows things down, while the timed sections – such as the first boss fight and its rising lava pool – gain an added difficulty that borders on annoying. No online mode is present, so it’s left to local co-op to save the day. It’s far from unplayable solo, but also far less enjoyable.

Conclusion

REZ PLZ brings us a unique spin on the co-op puzzle platformer, and it’s one that mostly succeeds. The way it forces players to co-operate using each other – literally – is gruesome, yet hilarious. Graffiti Games managed to come up with some ingenious methods for killing our heroes in the name of progression and with a willing partner there’s a lot of fun to be had here. I’m grateful of the solo mode too, though there’s no denying it’s far from the best way to play. Grab a friend, a few drinks and you’ll no doubt have a blast here.

This game was reviewed based on Xbox One review code, using an Xbox One console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.