Heave Ho 2 Wiki
Heave Ho 2 is a physics-based co-op and versus party game for 2-4 players from Le Cartel Studio, published by Devolver Digital. It launched July 16, 2026 on PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2, priced at $9.99 -- a sequel to 2019's Heave Ho, which approached one million lifetime sales and became one of Devolver's best-selling Switch titles.
The Core Concept
Each player controls what's essentially a head with two long arms, grabbing nearby surfaces and teammates by pressing a button. Moving across a level means linking arms into a swinging human chain, flinging yourself and your friends from platform to platform -- let go at the wrong moment, and you meet a splattery end. Most co-op levels genuinely require teamwork to complete, though some can be cleared solo one person at a time.
Online Play for the First Time
The biggest change from the original: Heave Ho 2 takes its couch co-op chaos online for the first time, supporting full online cooperative and versus play for 2-4 players, alongside the classic local multiplayer that made the first game beloved. Nintendo Switch 2 owners additionally get GameShare support, letting an owner share the game locally or online with up to 3 other players who don't own a copy themselves.
Eight Anarchic Themed Worlds
The campaign spans 8 distinct worlds, confirmed to include zero-gravity space (complete with a pilotable spaceship using four thrusters), a chaotic kitchen (nicknamed "Chef's Orders" by reviewers, tasking players with stacking ingredients), an art gallery (searching for hidden keys and arranging statues), medieval and ninja-themed stages, ski slopes and mountain climbing, and a neon disco full of physics-defying bounce pads and ladders. Across roughly 70 total levels, each world introduces new mechanics and named gadgets -- pop guns, sauce bottles, levers, keys, drones, ski lifts, and lasers among them.
Versus Mode: Showdown
Beyond the co-op campaign, Showdown mode strings together quickfire rounds of survival, racing, and battle -- armed with jetpacks, pop guns, laser swords, and more -- turning the same physics chaos into direct competition between friends.
An Honest Note on One Weaker World
Reviewers have been consistently candid that the kitchen world ("Chef's Orders") is a comparative low point -- repetitive ingredient-stacking and item-dragging that several outlets found frustrating compared to the creativity on display elsewhere. It's a real, specific critique worth knowing rather than a game universally praised across every world.