Tied Together is a different kind of puzzle platformer. While most focus on a solid solo experience, the team here is focused on multiplayer. That team, which consists of only two people, started on the game as part of a game jam. After 48 hours of work, the attention to detail was clear as plenty of people adored it. The duo quickly found themselves making a bigger and better version of the game, which is now coming to the Nintendo Switch. After months of work, we got a first look at the game. My first impression? It was quite adorable.

The game is born out of the necessity to communicate with others. While some games try to force players a certain way, Tied Together has the mechanics for cooperative play baked in. Each player can do basic running and jumping actions, but with a twist. All the participants are attached by a string, ensuring that you can't go too far ahead. To solve puzzles and collect objects, you will have to trust each to do the right things. This can be flinging someone towards an environmental puzzle, or hanging just above some spikes. The key is figure out a strategy together with the simplest movements possible.

Tied Together feels like a game everybody can play, but there are rankings and medals to earn if you are up to the challenge. The game doesn't punish you for slacking or just having a fun time, but there are goals to shoot for. This is what keeps the title engaging in the short time I got to play it at Gamescom. Another positive aspect of the game is the options offered to players. There are specific levels for two players and groups of three or four people. In each option, the ways that players interact change. The approach to every task differs, forcing you rethink details over again.

Those details are what work about Tied Together. In essence, it seems like a concept everyone can come up, but the way the game handles it is special. During my play time, I couldn’t help but laugh coming up with dumb solutions to big puzzles. Everyone in the room had a smile on their face, which I feel is the primary goal of all multiplayer games. If you’re up for a laugh or playing with a group of puzzle fanatics, I reckon that Tied Together will serve you well.