Moving Out: Movers In Paradise DLC Review

Despite making me want to box up my friends and ship them to another time zone, I thoroughly enjoy playing Moving Out. Whether it’s in two-player with my partner or four-player with a couple of mates, the silly removalist romp is a good way to pass some time. Seeing as though we all have a fair bit of time to pass at the moment, it’s a good thing that Moving Out has just received its first paid DLC, Movers in Paradise. Sending the Smooth Moves folks to a new, tropical location, this new add-on features a bunch of new levels, some handsome new movers and a dented and torn box full of new tweaks to gameplay. But is this new content a perfectly protected parcel, or is it another wallet-waster from wish.com?

To be completely reductive, Movers in Paradise is more Moving Out. Now before you start throwing your tape dispensers, I mean this in a good way. The frantic multiplayer gameplay is just as rewarding/rage-inducing as it was in the base game and the goofy humour is still very much intact, though with a decidedly tropical tinge this time. A boat is docked at the water’s edge of the main game’s map, waiting to whisk you away to Packmore Island, where you’ll take a much-needed break if by break I mean moving more furniture.

I’m on holiday, why should I pay attention to the road?

There are 14 new levels awaiting you on Packmore, each sporting a very beachy vibe. Yes, you’re still aiming to get every piece of cargo loaded onto a moving truck within a set amount of time, but there are a few changes made to keep things feeling fresh. First of all, being an island paradise there’s a considerable amount of water, and water doesn’t exactly get along with couches and boxes filled with fine china. Don’t worry, there’s a new ways to get around this damp danger, as rafts and moveable ladders and platforms can get you where you need to go without getting wet.

The local wildlife isn’t as friendly as the brochure promised either. Grab-happy crabs, fruit-throwing lemurs and headbutting goats will all get in your removalist way as well. That’s not even mentioning the flora. Avoid cracks in ancient architecture, as some unkind vines might try and make off with that fridge you’re carting with you. The island isn’t completely against you though, there are some conveniently-located geysers that will launch your loot from one side of the map to the other, along with yourself if you’re keen. All of these pitfalls can be fun to interact with and finding ways around them can be challenging in the right way, but certain levels add too many at once. One specific level involves very thin walkways over water, flanked by lemurs throwing fruit and crabs constantly undoing your work by thieving from your truck. The whacky physics makes precision tricky to start with, but once you pile on a few more hurdles it quickly switches from fun to frustrating.

This level’s enough to ruin any vacation 

Most of the new levels provide a good amount of challenge though, with more than one way to complete them if you’re creative. The challenges make a return and are as cryptic and clever as always, tempting you into replaying levels to find all of the secrets. The last few levels do away with choice and fall into a more traditional puzzle-solving style which at first seemed a little conflicting with the rest of the game, but they ended up being the most fun. Asking you to pick up a fan and blow the cargo around or change water levels to access more of the map, these shorter and more focused levels were the highlight of my vacation.

As you would expect there are a few new faces ready to lend a hand. This pack comes with four new movers: a living coconut cocktail, a toucan, a crab and my personal favourite, an incredibly dorky fish named Gilly. There are also 10 new arcade levels that will test your skills and likely break your controllers. These are similar to the main game’s arcade offerings, so if you enjoyed those you’ll know what to expect here.

Final Thoughts

For just over $10, Movers in Paradise is fairly easy to recommend to those who enjoy Moving Out’s quirky personality and clever gameplay, as it’s more of what you likely loved the first time around. The new features are mostly fun, save for the few moments where they become frustrating, and the fresh location is a nice change of scenery. We’re all dying for a holiday, yet none of us can go, so perhaps think about booking a ticket to Packmore Island instead.

Reviewed on PS5 (PS4 version played) // Review code supplied by publisher

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