With a friend, my experience was more carefree even if we weren’t totally coordinated. I was able to do a good chunk of the missions by myself - using the stretcher is quite easy to do without a co-op partner - but it was a more methodical and calculated approach to the challenges. There is a follow button you can press so the second paramedic will follow around the first, but it doesn’t always work right and the A.I. When playing alone, you still have to control both EMTs independently with the two Joy-Con thumbsticks. While driving around the islands can be entertaining as a solo venture, the same can’t be said for the rescue missions or side-jobs you take. If you screw up, it’s no big deal and honestly, it’s part of the fun.

In co-op, getting several of the achievements can be a coordinated effort as you and your partner will have to time your functions of the ambulance perfectly to hit a jump just right or make it cleanly through a hoop.

In co-op, those functions are divided between the players with the person in the driver’s seat controlling steering, acceleration, and braking while the passenger gets to mess around with the various upgrades of the vehicle. When going through it by yourself, the player has full control of their ambulance’s functions. There are hats and catalogs to be found, and recklessness is encouraged through points and achievements. With plenty of free time between cases, there is ample opportunity to explore the many side-jobs, jumps, and secrets of the map. Driving around the Greenhorn Islands is great fun and the arcade nature of the ambulance controls reminds me of all the quarters I used to pump into the Crazy Taxi machine at the now out-of-business Taxi’s Hamburgers. The bulk of The Stretchers‘ campaign is divided into two parts: driving around the islands to your next destination and saving peoples suffering from the Dizzies from a variety of different puzzle-heavy locations.

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