Riverbond Is the Next Couch Co-Op Party Game

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—right now, in fact—couch co-op games are quickly becoming extinct. After all, why would AAA studios give you a reason to buy fewer copies of its new multiplayer game? If you want to play with your friends, you’ll have to pay with your friends. Heck, even Gears of War: Ultimate Edition got rid of couch co-op (in fairness, Gears 4 is reportedly resurrecting the practice, but that was only after measuring the backlash from Gears Ultimate).

My last truly great couch co-op experience came from Towerfall: Ascension. Pick it up with your friends, shoot your friends, have a ton of fun. Indeed, the existence of couch co-op has long been relegated to the indie scene. And that’s where the Toronto-based developer Cococucumber is making its mark on gaming with its latest title, Riverbond.

Riverbond is a 4-player hack-and-slash RPG aesthetically similar to a top-down Minecraft. It could also become one of the most fun games displayed at PAX this year. It a simple, pick-up-and-play control scheme, consisting of an attack, a special attack, a block and a dodge, and it plays this against a backdrop of chaotic enemy annihilation. Riverbond strikes the right balance between challenging and not-too-punishing, and is destined to become the go-to activity with a friend who's looking for a good time with little-to-no commitment.

You read that right: Riverbond will replace casual sex.

What’s most impressive is that, mere weeks before PAX, Riverbound was intended as a single-player game. Martin Gauvreau, co-founder and lead developer of Cococucumber, said he added the multiplayer element on a whim to see how people liked it, and the results have been universally positive. Now supporting up to four players, Riverbond is only getting more complex.

Gauvreau said he has plans to expand RPG elements. This will include different weapon types, single-use power-ups, and many others. The game won’t have any sort of skill tree in an effort to increase playability, which is also why dying in the game is only punished by a five-second respawn time. Only if everyone dies at the same time does the screen go black and respawn you at the last checkpoint.

Gauvreau was heavily influenced by Minecraft on this game, though only the visuals show it. All the visuals, by the way, are done by the other half of this two-man team, Vanessa Chia. Chia’s art was one of the most frequently discussed aspects by those attending their booth at PAX.

Back to Minecraft, Gauvreau said that Notch’s megahit showed the world that low-budget games of that ilk can find an audience and be incredibly successful. This is what inspired Cococucumber to continue growing in its pursuit of a full game, and their passion shows with Riverbound at PAX, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this as a mainstay of grab-and-go Steam fun.

While they’re still mulling the prospect of Early Access, Gauvreau said the game has a rough target of PAX 2017 or early fall of that year for release on PC, and hopefully consoles.