LumberHill Review: Multiplayer Switch Game
We got Lumberhill to add to our collection of 4 player switch games. Lumberhill is a game where you’re chopping down trees and collecting animals to fill orders.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because Lumberhill shares a lot of elements with other multiplayer couch games such as Overcooked. We worked together as lumberjacks to fill orders for lumber and animals in Lumberhill. All the while overcoming obstacles such as fire, being eaten, building bridges, or falling off the map.
You’ll find yourself in different forest settings around the world and throughout the past. Chopping down trees of all kinds. While dealing with animals such as hostile rams, nuisance monkeys, panda bears, and man eating dinosaurs.
The world is fairly hostile toward your efforts as you have to grapple with fires, being eaten, and falling off the map. In my experience falling off the map is the biggest nuisance.
Why Lumberhill?
If you want an easy game to play with friends Lumberhill is a good choice. There is a player vs player mode if you prefer competition. But for the most part this is a family friendly game where you work together. Unless you decide to go off script and run around knocking each other off the map with axes.
When you have 4 players, the list of possible games is short. This game is on that list. If you want to play solo Lumberhill can accommodate you as well.
We found Lumberhill provides more laughs than intense gameplay. If you’re looking to rack up achievements or set records this isn’t the game for you.
While there are achievements to unlock extra skins, the difficulty varies greatly among levels. Some levels are impossible to earn 3 stars or the achievements in my experience.
Playing solo allowed me to complete many of the missing stars and achievements. However, on many of the final levels this isn’t the case.
If you can accept this and just play for fun then Lumberhill can provide that. The way they get eaten, flee from fire, fly off the map, or just keep saying “you” over and over is hilarious.
We tested this game with 1 player, 2 players, 3 players, and 4 players. We found 4 players was the hardest to get 3 stars and the achievements. 2 players seemed the most balanced. While solo games were the easiest, with a few exceptions. The T-Rex levels were a lot harder with only 1 player.
Comparable Games
In my experience this game is similar to other coop couch games. Such as: Overcooked, Moving Out, Tools Up, Out of Space, and Very Very Valet.
All coop games need an assist mode so less experienced players can also have fun. Lumberhill doesn’t have one yet so it can be more frustrating than the others.
Overcooked, Moving Out, Tools Up, and Lumberhill all have timed rounds where you’re performing routine tasks. Lumberhill, like Moving Out, keeps those tasks simple. You primarily chop down trees or collect animals in Lumberhill.
Lumber hill also has you building a bridge, putting out fires, and operating platforms. These tasks are kept simple. For example, bridges are built by simply tossing a tree at it.
Overcooked and Tools Up also use routine tasks but then adds to their complexity for a finished product. While Lumberhill keeps everything simple, the environment you carry them out it isn’t. You’ll find many hazards and obstacles preventing you from getting the lumber or animals from point A to B.
The graphics of Lumberhill are striking compared to other games. The players have no eyes but the buildings, trees, cliffs, and platforms have terrific 3D modeling. It’s as if Tools Up got an upgrade.
Out of Space, Very Very Valet, and Moving Out are flat looking compared to the depth of Lumberhill.
Overcooked has the best background music by far but Lumberhill is on par with the rest for catchy, non intrusive background music and sounds.
Of the games I listed, I hate to say it but Lumberhill is my least favorite. Not to say it isn’t fun or worth getting, because it is! Just that Lumberhill doesn’t quite measure up to those games. Still, there are many, many games I like less than Lumberhill.
Pros and Cons
The good things we found about Lumberhill are the funny things that happen to the characters. Getting set on fire or eaten by a dinosaur shouldn’t be funny, but in Lumberhill it is cartoonishly funny.
Hitting each other with axes is also just good natured fun in Lumberhill. Really, I know all this sounds bad but nothing that happens is graphic or violent. Players just bounce around or disappear.
While I appreciate the lengths the developers went to modeling everything. It does gets in the way of playing the game. The game looks beautiful, like artwork. But I’m trying to play a game, not admire 3D art.
The proportions inhibit play on some levels. What I mean is the trees, buildings, and cliffs have a great 3D look to them. However, they’re too imposing. It’s hard to find the water well, an egg nest, or an axe because everything else stands out so much.
It’s also hard to gauge jumps due to the 3D design. You practically have to hold the run button the entire game in order to make any jump or have any hope of getting more than 1 star. The game would be so much better if running was the default speed.
The other frustrating thing about Lumberhill is the constant barrage of fire and things falling off the map. We spent a lot of time putting out fires and lost way too much time falling off the map.
We restarted so many games because it was just 30 seconds of everyone constantly falling off the map. It’s hilarious, but nothing could get accomplished because everyone kept falling off the map. Building bridges helps but the platforms are small compared to the characters so falling off is inevitable.
Every time you cut a tree there’s a good chance it’s going to fall off the map. If it doesn’t immediately roll off, then lightning, a meteor, a cannon blast, a new tree, or some monkey throwing crap at you flings it off the map.
Review Summary
This Lumberhill review gives it 7 out of 10 stars. In spite of it’s shortcoming, we had fun playing Lumberhill. I hope there’s an update in the future to include an assist mode to help win more. But any game that makes us laugh is a winner.
Lumberhill is a good coop couch game that keeps it simple. It provides a goofy world to play in. It has a few flaws that prevent it from being my favorite, but overall it’s a fut game with friends as long as you don’t take it too seriously.
Lumberhill review brought to you by David M.
I’m David M. I’ve been playing video games a long time, my pong game was fire. Now, my kids run circles around me but we always have a good time. We mostly play party and family games. Strategy and battle games are still among my favorites. I like writing about games almost as much as I do playing them. My favorite games are: Moving Out 2, Out of Space and Overcooked All You Can Eat.
