Party Animals Review

Great party games to play with friends are always something that I am on the search for. I have been excited about Party Animals ever since I saw the first trailer on the Xbox show that displayed titles that were going to be released on Game Pass. Super cute animal-themed characters and crazy mini-games to play with others locally or online that look like something along the lines of a Gang Beasts game. Will Party Animals be a game that I will add to my rotation of fun multiplayer titles, or will I cast it to the side to keep searching for something different? 

When I first started playing, the game took me through a tutorial to learn how to control my seemingly drunken otter. I think there was a crazy party before this tutorial started taking place! Here, you will learn all the different attacks that your character can perform: punch with X or throw the item you are currently holding, jump is Y, which seemed a little weird at the time, B is a headbutt or if you are holding down LT to run, this becomes a roll that is useful for dodging or a faster way to cross a field. RT lets you hold on to an object or another player, this will also be used to hold onto a ledge or wall to scale up it. Plus, who doesn’t want to hit their opponent with a lollipop or a shovel? If at any point you need a refresher on the controls, you can access the tutorial through the main menu. Here you will also be able to start a Quick Match by jumping into an existing online match, create your own Custom Game to play with friends or AI Bots, access the setting, or head to the Locker to change the appearance of your characters fur colour or snazzy outfits. 

Even once you learn all the moves, it still feels as if you aren’t totally in control. There were multiple times when I would be running in circles trying to grab or hit my opponent, or other instances where I tried to punch the enemy and knock myself out. This can get frustrating when you are playing on your own, but when playing with your friends, it leads to a lot of ridiculous situations where you all erupt in laughter. 

Once you complete the tutorial, you have the option to jump into a quick match that someone online has already started, or you have the choice to create your own round where you get to select all the maps that you will play, which of your friends to play with, and if you want to turn on some AI bots to face in competition or others that will work along with you. 

My first few rounds of Party Animals were just me and a bunch of AI Bots. Playing by myself without any friends wasn’t overly exciting. Unless you are trying to unlock some new stuff like outfits or skins, chances are you won’t be playing too much on your own unless it’s online against other players. This is a game that is made for playing with your friends, whether it be local or online. Playing by myself was quite dull, but as soon as I jumped online to play with my fellow GameGrin writers Artura and Spooky, we had a ton of fun and were killing ourselves laughing. I was impressed by how smoothly the online playing worked since we weren’t located anywhere near each other! 

Party Animals offers three different modes to play: Last Stand, Team Score, and Arcade. In Last Stand it’s everyone for themselves. Try to be the last one left standing, there are nine different mini-games to select from. Some have you taking cover from natural elements, like freezing cold water in the Typhoon map or just cold weather in Winter is Coming. Whereas others have you trying to stay on top of a platform so that you don’t get blown off or fall to your death like Beat-Up Bridge. Team Score has you playing as a team or creating separate teams to face off against your friends locally or online. You could team up with AI bots, but playing with others is always more fun! Party Animals has nine games that the teams compete against including some sports-themed maps like hockey, soccer, or American-style football. My favourite is Trebuchet where you are launching explosives and any other junk you find over the river to hit your opponents. Arcade — These last two maps don't fit in with the other two mode types so they are collected here. These maps have more of a fight club-style vibe where you are trying to knock your opponent out and throw them around, the games included are Winter Cabin and Final Destination.

Party Animals makes it easy to view your profile to see what Animal Level your character is at and see which in-game achievements you have unlocked so far. My favourite thing is the ability to see the pictures that were taken after a game has finished. All the animals that competed are fighting for a spot in the summary snapshot that shows how many points you earned. These pictures are hilarious and show the chaos of everyone fighting to be in the frame for the photo!

The visuals in Party Animals are so fun and vibrant. Once all the animals are unlocked, there is a selection of 30 different animals to play with, ranging from cats to bunnies, and gorillas to birds like a Canada Goose (he even has a winter coat!). There are so many adorable creatures, each with a unique personality, and I had a hard time deciding who I wanted to be. Every round I played, I tried to switch who I played as. At times, it made it harder to figure out which of the current animals I was until I saw the little arrow over your head that pointed it out to you, labelled YOU. 

The selection of characters wasn’t the only thing that looked cool in the game, with so many different themed mini-games, you will be in a lot of different areas that are fun to explore. Though, from personal experience, I don’t want to be reminded how much winter sucks, so the Winter is Coming game was definitely not my favourite. It’s bad enough that I have to experience super cold weather, but I feel really bad for my cute animal, who is freezing!

The soundtrack to the game, like the visuals, was fun and upbeat. It was silly and fit all the different maps very well. When you are on the moving train, the whistle blowing and the sound of the wheels on the tracks felt authentic and was perfect for the game. I never found the tracks to be repetitive or annoying, though if you only want to play the same game over and over again, like the soccer mini-game, I am sure after time it could be a bit irritating, but at that point, you really only have yourself to blame.

Party Animals is a game that truly shines when it is played multiplayer. If I were to play it solo, I would get tired of it pretty fast. I found that the maps and characters added a lot more variety to the title than other similar titles like Gang Beasts, where you are only focused on beating up the other players. Being able to select the levels that you were going to play was also nice as you got to play all the maps that you did like and avoid the ones you didn’t or have set so that there is more variety than a Fall Guys round. Playing as a team with friends felt so much more rewarding than titles that only reward the one player who survives to the end. It’s frustrating to be the second-last person, who was only deemed as the first loser. If you have friends that want to play locally or online, you really should check out this game, especially if you have Game Pass on the Xbox or on PC, as Party Animals is set to release on the service, so you have no reason to not check it out! Unless you are playing solo with only the AI, then this may be a title that isn’t worth your time.