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We caught up with Le Cartel's co-founder and creative director, Fred Coispeau, all during our time at London Game Fest's New Game Plus event, to learn more about the anticipated follow-up to Heave Ho, which is expected to launch this summer.
"Hello everyone and welcome back to Gamereactor. We're still here at London Games Fest at the New Games Plus event. I'm here with Fred to talk about a little bit of Heave Ho 2.
And this is a game that has been, I suppose you could say, a long time coming, right?
Fans have been hoping for this game for a while, or more so hoping for you to add more to Heave Ho. So why is now the time, the perfect time, for Heave Ho 2?
Why is it the perfect time? I don't know. So we released the game, the first game seven years ago. And after COVID, as we were receiving a lot of feedback about the game, the gamers would like more, a little, etc. I think we had enough distance with the first game to think about creating a new step. And, you know, the first game was only about one objective, finishing a level from point A to point B. It was only platforming. And now we just were thinking about creating with more context. I mean, for example, what if our characters will be in the kitchen? What if our characters will go in space? What if our character is tied down? So it gave us the opportunity to think about new gameplays. And so we thought it would be funny to create it. And so we worked on it for four years. And we will release it this summer on Switch 2, Switch 1. So it's the end of the production. And we're happy."
"And what do you think is the reason for why people are so, you know, why that interest in cooperative gaming has sort of surged again? What do you think is driving that?
Of course, there is, you know, the COVID. I think we saw that with Hebo 1. During the COVID, a lot of people enjoyed playing Hebo, but not only Hebo, Overcooked and many other games, co-op games. I think also there is more and more the families. The families love to play together. And it's a good reason to play co-op games. And also there is some more social, you know, we told us that Hebo was like a generator of social link. And I guess it's a new way to get some friends with friends. So yeah, co-op, it's a big success. Of course, there's also the social medias. It's funny to watch people playing the games. So yeah, I think it's the reason why we like it."
"And with cooperative, the game like Hebo 2 and making it so that it's accessible for all people so that, you know, people who are young, people who are old, they can jump into the game, play it together. How does that impact your sort of philosophy on difficulty?
You know, on Hebo 2, the best setup is people who know how to play and new gamers and casual gamers. Because it's funny, it's enough challenge for gamers to help the others. And the others, it's a good way to get close contact with the video game. We saw a lot of people, it was their first contact with video games, thanks to Hebo. And I think it's a good balance when we mix them."
"And you mentioned a minute ago about some of the new things that are offered in this game compared to the predecessor, you know, going to space and all that. How does that change the dynamic of gameplay?
For example, there are many levers. How can I say that? I mean, there are eight chapters In the kitchen, it's a new gameplay. You have to create the recipes and so you have to use the ingredients, cook them and stuff. So it's not only about platforming. In the space, we tweaked the gravity. But it's going from point A to point B. But we also put some, for example, rockets. You have to pilot the rockets. I mean, we try to create some contextual gameplays around new contexts. Is it an answer?
So obviously, as well, the game's coming out in summer, right? So it's relatively close, isn't it? So with that being the case, for people who are about to get their hands on the game in a few months, what's sort of one thing that you'd love to spotlight? One thing that you want to highlight about the game and give it a reason for white people to check it out?
Well, I think if they don't know Hebo 1, it's more and more chaotic than Hebo 1. But also there is a new possibility of online play. So it's a good reason to play with friends but not on the same sofa. And if they don't know Hebo 1, I guess it's a lot of fun. We see the players, there are a lot of laughs. So if they want to laugh, they have to play Hebo."
"And as a final question then, launch is happening in the summer. What platforms can we expect?
PC, Switch 2 and Switch 1.
Well, there you have it. For more on Hebo 2, stay tuned. We'll no doubt get a firm release date relatively soon. And yeah, for more interviews, you know where to find them, on your local game press or region."
