Let’s get one thing out of the way before we take a deeper look into Tools Up. Yes, it’s clearly a direct response to the phenomenal success of the Overcooked franchise, and no, it’s not quite as good. Nevertheless, that doesn’t make Tools Up a bad game, as such (it’s actually great fun when you get a few friends together), but it often trips over its own feet with over complicated tasks and fiddly controls.

Designed to be played with friends (seriously, don’t try and play this game on your own), Tools Up will be very familiar if you’ve played its cooking counterpart. You’re tasked with performing fairly menial jobs like painting walls and laying down carpet whilst against the clock. Communication is key, and you’ll need to assign you and your friend specific roles within the game if you’re to work to your optimum level.

Rather than immediately telling the players what to do, your first task is to locate a blueprint located within the working area. Opening this with X then lets you see a list of jobs to undertake, and also allows you to rotate an otherwise static camera in order to take in your surroundings properly. Once you’ve got your bearings, you need to locate and utilise paint pots and rollers and other bits and bobs to complete the task at hand, before tidying everything up when you’re done and dusted.

At its core, Tools Up is very endearing in its premise, and for the most part, it works pretty well. Sadly though, the controls just aren’t quite as responsive or intuitive as you’d hope, and you’ll find yourself slipping up – quite literally in some cases – frequently. Additionally, objects in close proximity cause confusion, and you’ll often pick up the incorrect object, resulting in a lot of wasted time. Nevertheless, if you’re after an alternative to Overcooked, then Tools Up offers up enough incentive to take the plunge, even if it doesn’t quite match up.