Official Review Nintendo Switch Updated

Very Very Valet (Nintendo Switch)
Official GBAtemp Review

Name: Very Very Valet
Item: Very Very Valet
Rating: 7
Author: Prans

Product Information:

Release Date (NA): May 25, 2021
Release Date (EU): May 25, 2021
Publisher: Toyful Games
Developer: Toyful Games
Genres: Indie, Simulation, Action, Party, Multiplayer

Game Features:

Single player

Local Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

Co-operative

Available as both digital and physical versions this May 25th on the Nintendo Switch is Very Very Valet. Playable solo or with up to 3 other players in couch co-op, this seemingly simple parking game quickly turns into a parking mayhem game. Should you join in the frenzy?

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The Nintendo Switch’s latest exclusive title is not some AAA shooter or a JRPG where you embark on a fantastical journey but it’s Very Very Valet, an indie title from Toyful Games. Essentially, it’s essentially a valet simulator where you’re tasked to perform very valet things: parking and retrieving cars.

Surely, this doesn’t sound like the most exciting concept for a game, but for its review pitch I was asked if I ever wondered why more places don’t employ fuzzy puppets to park their customers' cars (no, I never wondered). The answer to that was provided in the next sentence (phew!): because it would be absolute chaos. Shortly after booting the game, I found out why.

There’s not much of a plot to speak of in Very Very Valet, except that you are part of the titular "elite" squad of puppet valets, ready to take on any valet-related challenges so as to save the world from an apparent “severe parking crisis”. You’ll get parachuted to various locations from restaurants to airports for this purpose and you’ll have to handle the waves of customers as they come and go with their cars.

Very Very Valet’s focus is not on the plot as it is mostly meant to be a fun, party co-op title. It’s still playable solo but the most fun is to be had in couch co-op. In either mode, you’ll quickly find that in a bid to save the world from unattended car chaos, you will be yourself in a car-handling chaos. You will be faced with waves of customers and their cars of increasing frequency and you’ll realize before long that in order to serve them all, you’ll have to forget all about the rules of parking.

You’ll have to stack them where it is most convenient so that you can quickly attend to the next customer, whether it’s to park another car, retrieve one or do both! You’ll have to use your imagination regarding where you think is best to leave a car, be it next to the pickup spot or across a cliff (yes!); and you should also get creative when returning those cars. This led me to sometimes drive fully in reverse, leave cars at the collection spot while I jump off to catch the next car (talk about quality service… at least it’s a fast service!) or exploit the momentum of the car for it to automatically reach the pick-up area while I jump out of it to catch the next one.

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Very Very Valet’s challenge lies in the fact that you don't know which customer will come back for their car first as this will influence where you stack that vehicle. Some give you some hints like they’re a slow eater, so you can park their car in a way that won’t block other cars whose owners will be ready earlier. Other maps introduce “no parking zones”, so you’ll again have to get creative with parking, meaning that parking lots and even traffic lanes turn into a hot mess.

The game aids you with some challenging maneuvers with features like trampolines to quickly get you to the parking lot, speed boosts, trebuchet car launchers to propel cars closer to the pickup spot or even portals!

Very Very Valet sounds over the top and indeed it is (who takes car parking so seriously anyway?!); and that’s the fun part of it. The frantic short-bout sessions (around 5 minutes per map) are really great in co-op and can result in some funny moments like bumping into each other while scurrying to deliver cars to their owners or when you drive a car from the second floor of a parking lot, crash into an incoming customer and land straight on the pickup spot.

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Thankfully, the customers don’t seem to mind the state in which their car is delivered; as long as it is delivered on time. There’s a waiting gauge that slowly fills up while a client is waiting to have their car picked up or retrieved. This gives you some leeway to maneuver your way from the parking lot and pick up your next client’s car. But beyond this waiting time, the cars will be abducted by some alien (told you it’s over the top!).

Playing with others is also better as you can better manage how you perform your valet duties. You can devise a relay system where one player parks cars while the other heads back to the pickup spot so that you don’t miss any customers.

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However, Very Very Valet is no It Takes Two in terms of a co-op game. The scope is much more limited and often feels repetitive across its 24 maps (there’s so many restaurants you would like to be a valet of in a video game). To make the title feel more varied (and more appealing), the same fast-paced co-op concept could easily have been applied to other situations like as a waiter or a barista that would make for equally hectic sessions.

But Very Very Valet already gets hectic or even stressful as it is in practically every session, sometimes even leaving me a bit dazed about the controls. Thankfully, the game features customizable settings so you can choose your desired level or even craft your own.

One feature that feels lacking is zooming out on maps. This is because it’s often not very obvious where some parking lots are, and you only discover them by driving in its direction (and only then the view pans out). A zoom out feature (with the left stick for example, which is not used in the game) would easily address this and would further help in planning your elite parking strategies.

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At $25 on the Nintendo Switch eShop, I find the asking price to be a bit steep for the limited variety the game offers. But Very Very Valet will surely prove to be entertaining as an original, party/ co-op game that you can pick up and play in short bouts.

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Very Very Valet - Retail Release Official Trailer

Verdict

What We Liked ...

Fun co-op sessions
Sessions are fun, fast-paced and in perfectly timed shout bouts
Playable solo

What We Didn't Like ...

Lack of varied content
Lack of zoom out feature
Sessions can often get confusing

Gameplay

It’s very easy to pick up and play Very Very Valet and its short sessions are perfectly timed but those will be hectic, if not stressful, bouts. While part of the fun, the frenzy can sometimes be confusing and the lack of a zoom out feature to get a better grasp of maps is blatant.

Presentation

Very Very Valet is said to have the style of “Overcooked meets Sesame Street” but I even found it to feel like Crazy Taxi with a teeny tiny flair of Mario Party all mixed in a blender to deliver a decidedly original title.

Lasting Appeal

While original and fun in co-op, the game lacks in variety when the same concept could have been applied in other situations to make for a more enticing package.

out of 10

Overall

Valeting might not sound very interesting of a premise for a game but Toyful Games subverts expectations with a fun couch co-op title that can be easily picked up and played in short bouts that inevitably turn valeting into parking chaos.

Reactions: smallissue, KiiWii, Julie_Pilgrim and 2 others

The 'valet' looks like a muppet...

Reactions: smallissue and Julie_Pilgrim

furry valet uwu

Reactions: Mama Looigi and Prans

A stupidly fun looking game I may try out one day to mix my play up a little.

Reactions: Prans

The main character looks weird , but the game looks fun!

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Very Very Valet - Retail Release Official Trailer

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