Funnel Runners blew me away

I hate the term friendslop, but it’s come to describe a genre that I absolutely love: indie co-op games where you have to work together to complete tasks while the game constantly gets in your way. The ‘slop’ part probably comes from the low production values a lot of the most popular titles get away with, but it also feels like an insult when some of these games are so well made. Funnel Runners might be friendslop, but I’ve never played a game like it.

The premise of Funnel Runners is simple: you and up to seven friends are in a storm-chasing RV when it breaks down in the path of an incredibly destructive storm. You’ve got about fifteen minutes to complete some basic repairs before an F5 tornado (Twister taught me that an F5 is the worst possible storm) comes to wipe you off the face of the Earth. 

In the RV, you can monitor your teammates on an array of TV screens, pick up gear to help solve various problems, and check out optional missions like finding hidden tapes. Then it’s time to try to start the RV to see what’s wrong with it. Usually you might need to change a tyre or two, fill up some coolant or oil, and maybe swap out some fuses. Unfortunately you don’t have all of those spare parts and tools required in the truck, so it’s time to go exploring.

Right now in early access, the game only has one map: an American suburb that is remarkably similar to the starting level of Phasmophobia. Unlike Phasmophobia, you have a few blocks to explore. You can go into any house you want, but some might require a crowbar to break into. There’s also a gas station and a few other areas to check out. There’s no way of knowing where exactly the parts you need are, so it’s just a matter of searching through the town until you get everything.

The problem is the weather. Everything’s randomised — from the objectives to the time of day — but during a run you can expect to deal with tornadoes, hail storms, acid rain, lightning, and more. When there’s hail or acid rain, you need an umbrella to avoid taking damage whenever you’re outside. Lightning means you need to avoid being too close to metal objects like stricken vehicles. And tornadoes mean you need to run.