Hello frog friends!
It's been almost 7 months since BIG HOPS release back in January. Time flies, right? We fixed a lot of bugs, made a lot of tiktoks, released the free photography content update Cappler's Conspiracy, and since April we've been working on one last major update.
I'm very happy to share this with you:
BIG HOPS TOGETHER
Play the full adventure with up to 8 players
Pick up, carry, and throw your friends
Tongue swing from other players while they climb or swing
Steal items from each other's hands and backpacks
Explore on your own and Warp to other players at will
Story progression, Dark Drip collection, and Trinket unlocks are all shared
Start a new game or continue from your existing save
From all the way back in 2019 when I started BIG HOPS my design goal has been to bring emergent play to 3D platformers. Games are singular as a medium because they let you be in conversation with them. Stories told in games are your stories, at best created through your choices and how you interact with the worlds around you. Hop's moveset, our item interaction paradigm, and even the tongue are about allowing player expression so you can create your own stories in the world we've built.
Our last update takes emergent play further. With BIG HOPS TOGETHER we want you to be able to create new stories with your friends. Up to 8 players can play together through the whole game. There are no concessions here, no single-player only content, no half baked version of the game you know and love. It's all there to play together.
The best part is, you can play right now! BIG HOPS TOGETHER will officially release on Steam on August 9th, but as of today we're in open BETA.
Here are the steps to access:
Install BIG HOPS
Right click the game in your library and select Properties
Open the Game Versions & BETAS tab
There you'll find the public 'together' branch
Open the game and host a game (your offline saves will be there to start from, plus lots of presets)
Other players can join from their friends list
Also consider joining the BIG HOPS Discord!
There you can find a group to play with, report issues you find, get into speedrunning (solo or co-op), and make suggestions on how to improve the experience. We've been testing this update with members of the Discord for the last few weeks, so it's also the best way to get early BIG HOPS news.