Heave Ho 2 Review: Chaotic Co-op That's Worth the Mess

Heave Ho 2, the multiplayer co-op follow-up from Le Cartel Studio, launched July 16, 2026 on Switch, Switch 2, and PC via Devolver Digital. The verdict: it's a genuinely fun few afternoons with friends and family, even if not every level sticks the landing.

The core concept carries over from the original — each player controls a disembodied head with two arms, grabbing surfaces and each other to lurch across stages. It looks absurd, it feels absurd, and that's entirely the point. The campaign spans eight worlds with around 60 levels, and Le Cartel keeps things fresh by shifting objectives between them: Flying High has you navigating ski lifts and icy mountains, Manor Mysteries hides keys to unlock exits, and Spacebound Squad throws zero-gravity into the mix, sometimes asking players to pilot a spaceship together. Not every world lands — Chef's Orders, built around stacking oversized ingredients on a plate, frustrated testers, and Medieval Travels' king-on-a-throne transport levels were unintuitive enough that the game's built-in cat drone rescue mechanic got called in more than once. Still, the ambition to try something different is worth acknowledging.

Heave Ho 2 is multiplayer-only, which is a hard requirement worth knowing upfront. A full run clocks in around eight hours, but optional objectives — time challenges, hidden hands to grab, fitting into silhouettes, and a camera mechanic that tasks players with snapping photos of specific silly moments — push that number up considerably for completionists. Unlocks earned through objectives include cosmetic crossover skins (an Among Us Crewmate and Henry from Kingdom Come: Deliverance II are both in there) alongside mechanical additions that add replay value beyond the cosmetic. The Showdown mode, a separate competitive offering, is described as largely forgettable and doesn't add much to the package.

For what it is — a couch co-op game designed to generate chaos and laughter — Heave Ho 2 delivers. The controls are tighter than the visual mayhem suggests, deaths feel inconsequential, and the variety across worlds keeps sessions from going stale. It won't win over solo players or anyone expecting a meaty single-player experience, but as a party game to pull out with family or friends, it earns its place.