Tipston Salvage Preview

During this year's Steam Next Fest, our incredible Gorz and I decided to try out some of the multiplayer demos available to see if there was something we could add to our various game nights or just to our personal collections. During our searches, we ran into (pun intended) the title Tipston Salvage, a cooperative game of junkyard mayhem. What we thought would be a fun little title turned into a session of screaming, epic maneuvres, and howling laughter we’re not soon to forget!

Note: Tipston Salvage is not an online co-op game, but is meant for local play. However, with the magic of Steam Remote Play Together, you can play with your friends via the net!

In the game, you take on the role of a forklift-esque vehicle with a claw tool meant for picking things up and setting them down. Your mission is to take on the many different junkyards the game has to offer, fulfilling the objectives as fast as you can while working together. While this may sound pretty simple, it is far from it! Much like titles such as Overcooked, Tipston Salvage relies on the intentional clunkiness of its controls to make the simplest action an endeavour in itself!

Your forklift is slightly limited in movement, you see, as it basically moves like a tank: pressing forward or backwards will send your vehicle in that direction while pressing left or right will spin your vehicle in place in the respective direction. This may sound simple, but mastering this movement while also trying to be accurate and within a deadline is anything but easy, as myself and Gorz learned very quickly. The tight spaces, scattered debris, and quirks of the terrain also make sure you’ll never be able to comfortably turn or spin without being in someone's way.

Each junkyard has its own set of objects, ranging from placing certain materials into the correct area — making sure they are stacked efficiently — clearing an area of junk multiple times, to creating and delivering blocks of metal for delivery. Additionally, each level has environmental hazards, such as conveyor belts, impassable walls, and spinning turbines to make the task even harder and put an emphasis on cooperation. Before each level, you are given a chance to draw up your plans with your fellow drivers, agreeing on responsibilities, pointing out hazards or one-way doors, and then forgetting everything once the actual level begins.

The game has a delightful habit of adding timers to some levels, requiring you to empty an area, deliver blocks, and push a button within a short time span in order to not incur a penalty to your overall time for the level, which adds another layer of both tension and excitement to the experience. For example, during one level we were separated by a huge wall, with only a conveyor belt between us. Gorz’s side had a button and I had an area that would be filled with junk once the button was pushed, granting the area was clear. Each time the button was pushed, a countdown started before it needed to be pushed again lest we suffer a penalty. Nearing the end of the level, the countdown was quickly running out with me screaming for Gorz to “PRESS THE BUTTON” only to forget his side had another button used to change the direction the conveyor belt moved in. You can imagine the rest.

Tipston Salvage is definitely worth a look if you enjoy a bit of couch co-op fun with your friends. The awkward controls make blaming anyone for a failed manoeuvre difficult, whereas the constant panic and rush are a recipe for hilarious chaos and screaming. As you can tell from the stream, we definitely enjoyed the experience and I am, without a doubt, making my other friends give this a try as I laugh in the background once it comes out!