Party games aren’t complicated. Make a digital board game, add some minigames, release. Do it well, and you’ve got a recipe for fun with the whole family or all your friends.
Or so you’d think.
Do you know the quickest way to start a fight? Go to a bar and start swinging? Step into a boxing ring? Wrong! It’s booting up a game of Mario Party 3 with a full group of four people!
Intense as these arguments get, they’re where the real fun in these games are for me. Board games are fun already. Minigames can be decently enjoyable. But the sheer intensity that comes around from party games is difficult to reach. One unfair minigame, one bad dice roll, then bam! The whole dynamic of the game changes and all your friends are now killing you in real life.
Then again, maybe that’s just my friend group. Monopoly is a forbidden word.
It’s even worse in games where you can intentionally screw each other over. Dokapon Kingdom is my favorite example of this. An RPG board game where you can literally attack and rob the other players? Were the devs trying to make a party game or were they out to gather blood for the Blood God?!
These can make for some of the most fun, intense, and memorable moments in any video game. Fighting games are a 1 vs 1 display of skill and knowledge. FPS games are a test of teamwork and reflexes. But a party game? You’re in Lady Luck’s hands now. And she is a cruel, sadistic mistress.
As much as I love this, it’s also the main reason why these games are not fun. Yes, the thing that makes these games fun also makes them not fun. Being the one getting kicked down by the game at every turn isn’t particularly enjoyable. Nor is being the top of the list and having all that ripped away because of a bad dice roll.
Oh, and if you’re playing with Mr. Ultra Competitive, things can get a bit too toxic.
Either way, I’ve noticed a gradual lack of this explosive competition in more modern party games. Granted, party games in general have been kind of dull these days. When was the last time a Mario Party game came out that was actually well-received? I swear, they come out and are forgotten about within one week.
You know what it is? The minigames don’t require you to literally damage your hand in real life like Mario Party 1 did. Bring that back!
I can already hear the controller joysticks dying…
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