RESEARCH and DESTROY was born to realize the dream of co-oping tactical Turn Based Action with friends, and you’ll be paired with another set of Garys, Larrys and Maries (or however they’ve named their Scientists). Play with friends together on a couch (or on the floor if you prefer) using local splitscreen.
Co-op multiplayer allows some secret interactions that are easier to pull off with two players and enemies are brawnier to balance your superior brainpower. Of course, your tactics mean nothing if you can’t coordinate a plan of attack! You can use your voice chat of choice and there’s also a tagging system to call attention to actors of importance. Tag an object or Supernatural to place a speech bubble above it and sound a whistle. Or if your teammates are out of sight, locate them in a flash on the Satellite Camera.
Squad goals are important, which is why you can customize the appearance and names of your team of Super Scientists. Co-op play is the perfect place to show off just how great your Scientists look in your choice of hot pink lab coats and matching hair styles.
One of the real joys of multiplayer is having someone else see you be scientifically heroic while totally not being on fire, falling from a great height, colliding at ridiculous velocities, or otherwise unintentionally causing your Super Scientists unintentional harm with catastrophic scientific equipment.
There’s plenty of physical comedy to behold as you and your co-op friend get clattered into the ground by a rampaging Troll, skittled by a passing Werewolf or flung far and wide because you strayed too close to a Poltergeist’s whirlwind. And if one of you bumble your way off this mortal coil, the other can look inauthentically heroic as they prod the fallen Scientist’s lifeless body back to wakefulness and back into the fight.
RESEARCH and DESTROY is not intentionally competitive (especially since it’s designed as a cooperative game) but there is something about masterfully clutch-saving a science buddy who’s caught in a pickle. Although the only reward is self-satisfaction and a highly functioning team dynamic, your science buddy will know… They’ll KNOW.
For those whose modus operandi is passive aggression, friendly fire is always on. While we would never condone playing like a jerk to friends (or “friends-to-be”), you cannot understate the comedic value of “accidentally” sending team-mates skywards because your aim was suboptimal and you hit the red barrel they were standing next to. Too much of that kind of shenaniganry will land you on the outside of polite scientific circles and the null hypothesis that you are, in fact, not a jerk will be hard to prove. Try to save your jerkness for good instead of evil–your science buddies will thank you.
