PAX Aus 2018: Scout’s Honor is a joyful, frantic couch co-op

Posted on November 6, 2018

Scout’s Honor, a cute 4 player couch co-op game in the vein of Overcooked, was one of the games on display at PAX Aus this year. I was fortunate enough to talk to the 2 co-founders of Inca Studios, Ian Nowatschekno and Andrew Caluzzi, who are also the developers of the game.

Inca Studios have said that Overcooked was a massive inspiration for Scout’s Honor, and it shows. I mean that in a good way. I’ve only played a little bit of Overcooked (it was fuuun!), and it’s clear that Scout’s Honor is going for the same kind of feel as that game. It has the same gameplay mechanics, as well as the same cute aesthetic, intuitive gameplay and co-op fun and mayhem.

“It was hectic, not as easy as it looked, and a lot of fun.”

I played what initially seemed like a pretty straight forward tutorial level, based on observing other players. You all choose one of 4 very distinct, and adorable, scouts. The level was a simple camp site next to a lake. Our goal was to set up camp, eat, and be in bed before nightfall, which translates to a 4 minute round.

When we started, there was a frantic emptying of bags, chopping of wood, breaking of rocks, fishing and cooking. It was hectic, not as easy as it looked, and a lot of fun. Our group of 4 failed miserably in our first attempt (and the devs said they chose a deliberately easy level so people could get a feel for it, so we must’ve really sucked!) – there is a lot more coordination and finesse required than expected, at least for a noob like myself.

Inca Studios further said that the campaign will have roughly 20 levels, spread across a world map. The levels will increase in difficulty as you progress, but there will also be mini-games and other breakout areas outside of that as a change of pace. There are also 5 different rankings that you can get per level, and these depend on the time it takes you to complete it. Certain levels will be gated behind you needing to get a certain ranking first.

One of the ways the difficulty will increase is by the use of hazards – even in the demo you could drown in the lake, and this would mean you’re ‘in need of medical attention’ and someone needs to grab the med kit and attend to you. If all 4 of you get incapacitated in this way, the game is over. Other hazards that Inca mentioned included being set on fire, moving platforms, ghosts and spike traps.

Campaign aside, the game is just fun, and also feels like it’ll be challenging enough to cause screaming matches, which is always the kind of party game we all want. There aren’t any explicit instructions for how to set up camp, but the design is intuitive enough that you pick up on it naturally. And Scout’s Honor’s art style might be a bit saccharine for some, but even if it’s not your thing, you gotta admit that it’s a very cute looking game!

Currently Scout’s Honor is just a 4 player local co-op, but Inca said that the idea is also to make it online. It’s currently looking to be released mid 2019 on Steam and all the consoles. Be sure to check out their official website more information. If you’re looking for a fun and frenetic co-op game, Scout’s Honor will be sure to please!