We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip Review (PS5)

PlayStation players have been treated to a surprise cooperative release in the form of We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip. A two-hour, bite-sized iteration in the series, it gives players a taste of the series’ inventive co-op gameplay that can be seen more in-depth in past titles like We Were Here Together and 2022’s We Were Here Forever.

Just like Forever, cross-play is available, and you can team up together via in-game IDs. The process is pretty painless, although it adds a step when you just want to play with someone on the same console. After a quick tutorial sequence that introduces you to your in-game walkie-talkies and the basic controls, you’re left to work together with a partner to solve puzzles and take a trip from the cutely named boat that the game’s title references — the FriendShip.

There’s not much of a story here, but there are three trials for players to take on. The first one is pretty simple and similar to what other asymmetric co-op games have done in the space, like Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, by having one player describe what symbols they can see while the other player looks for matching ones. To make things a bit more challenging, these wind up being timed, and performance is broken into graded tickets you can get of bronze, silver, and gold variety. It’s a fun time, although the differences in some of the symbols are too small, and it’s too easy to fail in what seems like a cheap manner as a result.

The second trial is the only real puzzle, as it has players moving colored pedestals and floor pieces. It’s quite convoluted and way too difficult to describe via text, but basically, you have to think a step ahead as the other player’s choices impact what the other can do their next turn and vice versa. If both players don’t have patience and the willingness to engage with the puzzles, this can become quite frustrating and a negative experience. And even if you both grasp the puzzle, it’s not a particularly fun one as it is quite time-consuming as you try to get a high score over 10 turns.

The third and final challenge is the high note for the game, as it measures trust by having the two players work together to get through an obstacle course. After one of the characters is gassed, they can’t trust their vision and must be guided through a series of obstacles and invisible walkways. This is easily the most fun as it is enjoyable even when you come up short and really takes advantage of the unique cooperative gameplay. There is some added difficulty for the more advanced maneuvers, though, as the sometimes imprecise controls and delay between the players could cause some failures, but this was one we were able to complete fully after giving it enough attempts.

We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip Review: Final Verdict

We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip is a fun diversion for up to two hours, but there really isn’t enough meat here for it to be more than that. More of a relationship test than a full-fledged game, its third trial is absolutely the highlight of the experience. While it’s worth going through once, don’t expect it to reach the highs of the previous entries or offer too much new to the winning formula.