Some games ask you to cooperate by thinking. Others ask you to grab a friend, miss a jump, and laugh until somebody finally sticks the landing. Fading Echo and Heave Ho 2 sit on opposite sides of that line, but both are built around the same useful idea: the best multiplayer memories usually come from a little friction.
Fading Echo
Fading Echo launched on 21 July 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series, according to Steam and Portal do Nerd. It is an elemental action-adventure RPG about One, a young Legend trying to save a desert world from Paradox corruption. Water manipulation drives its puzzles and encounters.
Console Creatures praised the water-shifting powers as fun and unusual, then noted that the ideas appear across only a handful of puzzle and enemy types. SpaceMoney also praised the water mechanics and Brazilian dubbing, while flagging confusing exploration and technical problems. I could not verify a dependable aggregate critic score for Fading Echo, so there is no invented number here.
Perthro take: Fading Echo is the pick for players who would rather examine a system than chase a giant map. The caveat is repetition.
Heave Ho 2
Heave Ho 2 launched on 16 July 2026. Steam lists it as a physics-based cooperative platformer. OpenCritic reports an 83 average from 26 critics, with 81% recommending it.
Game Informer scored the Switch 2 version 8.25/10 and called it a strong way to spend an afternoon with family and friends. TheSixthAxis praised the new settings and said it works with one friend or groups of four, online or together. WayTooManyGames singled out online multiplayer as the meaningful addition.
Heave Ho 2 is not trying to reinvent the grab-and-swing formula. It is adding more places to make the same ridiculous mistake, now with fewer excuses when your friend is on the other side of the internet.
Perthro take: Heave Ho 2 is the safer recommendation for an actual group. The 83 OpenCritic average and consistent praise for local and online play point in the same direction.
The short version
Choose Fading Echo if you want an adventure built around elemental interactions. Choose Heave Ho 2 if you want a group game where coordination problems become the joke.
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