Paddle Paddle Paddle – The Co-Op Chaos You’ll Love to Hate

If you’ve ever thought, “I want to destroy my keyboard and my friendships at the same time,” then Paddle Paddle Paddle might be the perfect game for you. Developed solo by Mateo Covic under the Zoroarts banner and published by Assemble Entertainment, this chaotic, physics-based co-op platformer officially launched on July 25, 2025. What began as a silly idea in the shower quickly evolved into one of the most frustratingly fun indie games of the year.

A Simple, Sadistic Premise

The premise is simple: you’re in a rubber paddleboat, surrounded by lava, and your job is to paddle through one giant obstacle-filled gauntlet without dying. Easy? Not even close. You can play solo, controlling both paddles yourself, or team up with a friend for a true test of coordination and sanity. Each player controls one paddle, and that single mechanic is all it takes to create pure, unfiltered chaos.

You’ll face swinging axes, blistering wind gusts, infernal slopes, and jumps so unforgiving you’ll miss them 27 times before finally getting it right. The controls are intentionally wobbly and physics-based, which means you’ll spend as much time flipping your boat upside down as you will making progress.

The Pain Is the Point

The genius of Paddle Paddle Paddle is how effectively it weaponizes its simplicity. With only one handcrafted level and a few toggleable checkpoints, every inch forward feels earned. The Speedrun Timer adds insult to injury, daring you to complete this madness faster while tracking every humiliating second.

The High Frustration™ Mode isn’t just a tagline—it’s a state of being. Rage-quitting isn’t a bug; it’s practically a built-in feature. But somehow, this agony loops back around into fun. You’ll scream, yes, but you’ll also laugh. A lot. Especially when your co-op partner presses R by accident and resets the last 20 minutes of progress.

Designed for Mayhem

Visually, the game leans into vibrant absurdity. The lava glows menacingly, the obstacles are cartoonishly evil, and the boat animations perfectly capture the sensation of barely clinging to life. Mateo’s humor shines through in the game’s design and settings—even the pause menu feels like it’s mocking your suffering.

The level isn’t just long; it’s sprawling, wild, and constantly throwing curveballs. Biomes shift with new hazards, each one crueler than the last. And with no traditional level system, you either persevere or give up. That’s it. Checkpoints offer a mercy option, but true masochists will turn them off and go raw.

Co-op: Where the Real Pain Begins

While solo play is challenging and rewarding, Paddle Paddle Paddle was built to be experienced with others. The local and online co-op modes are where the true madness unfolds. Trying to coordinate paddling with another human being, especially when each of you only controls one side of the boat, is a recipe for hilarious disaster. Expect yelling. Expect blame. Expect the collapse of long-standing friendships.

And yet, it’s addictive. Every failure is a learning moment, and every success feels like conquering Everest in a kiddie pool. You will hate this game—but you’ll keep playing. And that’s the brilliance.

An Indie Gem Born of Chaos

It’s worth noting that Paddle Paddle Paddle was made in under a month by a single developer. That alone is impressive. But what elevates it is the polish and vision. The game includes full input remapping, a speedrun mode, co-op flexibility, and thoughtful accessibility features like adjustable checkpoint systems. It even includes settings just to “sit in the menu and scream into the void.”

Zoroarts and Mateo Covic have created something rare: a game that embraces its weirdness wholeheartedly and doesn’t try to be anything it’s not. It knows it’s dumb. It knows it’s hard. And it leans into that with unapologetic joy.