Building a path out of whatever is lying around
Dumb Ways to Build is a physics-based co-op game set in Dumbville, where you work for the town's least reputable construction company. The jobs are deadly, safety violations are expected, and survival is optional. Your crew gets a tool belt full of hardware: grab, rotate, and throw anything that is not bolted down and use it as building material, then fire the nail gun to staple bridges, ramps, and other sketchy structures together. Everything you place behaves physically, so a beam can slide, tip, or take your buddy with it. You build your own platforms, work through hazard-filled maps, and try to escape the jobsite.
Playing with your group
Online Co-op supports one to four players, so the whole crew can build together or one person can take on the worksite in Solo Play. Proximity Chat lets you coordinate placements and tool use, or just listen as everyone discovers a new way to die. Crisis Jobs are the structured jobs: each one has its own challenges and hazards and expects teamwork plus inventive use of your tools. The tools cut both ways, which is the point. A sledgehammer can drop a steel beam where you need it, or launch a co-worker off a roof. Expect your friends to be as much of an obstacle as the map.
Before you start
The maps hide secrets and challenges, and finding them unlocks cosmetics for your Bean along with extra challenge modes, so exploring pays off beyond finishing the job. Character customization is a big part of it: you unlock a truckload of cosmetics and dress your Bean up before heading in. Expect failure to be routine rather than punishing, since the game is built around bad decisions and their consequences. Bring people who enjoy laughing at a collapsed bridge more than they mind replaying a section, and be ready to hold your tools steady when someone else is holding a sledgehammer.