Frustratingly hilariously chaotic fun | Full Review - Party Animals
Party Animals is a multiplayer physics-based brawler and party game developed by Recreate Games and published by Source Technology. This game brings a delightful selection of cute anthropomorphic animals in chaotic battles, similar to like Gang Beasts and Gummy Life. With its unique blend of physics-based combat and Fall Guys-style objectives, it offers players a hilariously chaotic fun experience.
🟩Pros
+Really, really fun, hilarious too
+Cute fluffy animals for its characters
+Graphics are incredibly overdetailed and overkill
+A great deal of fun and variety in the maps
+Eliminated players can still participate and play with their own mini-game
🟥Cons
-The controls feel floaty and can be hard to grasp especially at the beginning
-Map design can be somewhat frustrating at times
-Confusing teamplay system
-No Offline play
🎨Graphics and Art style
In terms of the casual art style that the game aims for, the graphics are incredibly overdetailed. You could say that it’s a bit of overkill for this type of game, but it looks impressive nonetheless. Party Animals easily stands out in terms of graphics and art style due to its incredible attention to detail, realistic fur rendering, well-executed motion blur, and impressive lighting effects. Even the Black Hole featured in one of the maps had proper light bending around it, Just wow!
🎮Gameplay
The gameplay is where Party Animals is at its best, offering players a dose of mindless chaotic fun. It’s really really fun! You will literally shout and scream while playing this game, at least that’s what happened to me, and I don’t normally do that while playing.
The physics-based combat system allows you to engage in melee combat, punch, toss, jump, kick, and headbutt opponents, all while taking advantage of the physics engine for unpredictable and hilarious battles. Players can also pick up weapons scattered and randomly spawned around the arena; swing, shoot, and throw them at your enemies, or even your friends. The addition of weapons and environmental hazards adds to the madness, and the randomness of it all pretty much evens the playing field for players of all skill levels, from beginner children to sweaty hardcore gamers. However it can still get a bit frustrating from time to time, especially when taking the controls into the equation.
🕹Controls
The controls can be quite complicated and hard to grasp, especially at the beginning. While you can perform basic actions like moving, punching, and picking up objects, there are also complex maneuvers such as drop kicks, running power punches, and the ability to pick up and use weapons. Unfortunately, the controls lack responsiveness and can feel somewhat floaty, even more so than your typical physics-based game. The characters often feel very heavy, and aiming punches, throws, and kicks often results in unfavorable and unwanted outcomes.
📜Game Modes
As for the maps and modes, they offer a great deal of fun and variety. There are nine maps for each of the two main game modes (duo and squad), along with two maps designed for the third game mode called Arcade. These maps feature numerous gimmicks, including a Black Hole that occasionally sucks everything, a wooden hanging bridge that gradually collapses, and sports-inspired matches where players compete to score goals against each other.
However, as mentioned earlier, the map design can be somewhat frustrating at times. Players often find themselves at the mercy of these powerful environmental hazards. With very limited control over these elements, anyone can easily die unexpectedly and quite randomly. The game is undeniably fun, but frustratingly chaotic fun.
💀 Dead but not forgotten
When players get eliminated, I do love how they give these eliminated players something to do instead of just spectating. Eliminated players are introduced to a small mini-game where they can continue to interact with the game by attempting to knock other players out by throwing items into the arena.
🎭 There is no ”I” in TEAM, but there’s an M.E. in it
The game modes are fun and varied, but they rely too much on teamplay without giving players an avenue for proper teamwork. More often than not I’ve had confused teammates who have absolutely no idea I was friendly and tried to eliminate me, and I was more of the same at times. There should be a better indicator on who’s a teammate and who’s not, and the ability to queue single and teamplay separately.
While there is a traditional solo free-for-all game mode, you're more likely to encounter team-based games. However, it's worth noting that you still have the option to create custom matches if you really want to, and fill it with bots as well. Unfortunately, despite the initial marketing description for the game, there is no true offline play, which means the game is always-online.
💵 A “Paidmium” game
The game costs $20 upfront on all platforms, which is reasonable for the content and fun the game offers. However, I do find that the microtransactions are somewhat aggressive, considering that it's already a paid game. Fortunately, these microtransactions are limited to cosmetics, so we can overlook them.
⚖️Conclusion
Party Animals offers a frustratingly hilariously chaotic fun multiplayer experience with its fluffy cast of anthropomorphic animals. it does have its share of quirks, such as the challenging controls, level design, and confusing teamplay system. It doesn't quite dethrone classics like Gang Beasts or Fall Guys, but it stands as a competent alternative with notably superior graphics. With its reasonable price point, Party Animals provides good value and an entertaining option for those looking for light-hearted multiplayer fun.
Mentioned games
