Since its announcement, Party Animals has made many headlines. A competitive team video game in which you will have to overwhelm your opponents with kicks and punches, all dressed up as cute animals that don't seem capable of hurting a fly. Here, the most direct association (whether due to the particular physics system, or the clumsy animations, or the entire idea behind the game) was immediately that of the beloved Gang Beasts, developed by Boneloaf and distributed by Double Fine in 2017. When I saw it, the resemblance was undeniable and, when I played it, the feeling hasn't disappeared.
Thus, the new title of Recreate studies He has a lot to prove. Is it just a copied video game or is there actually something else under the hood? Let's find out in this Party Animals Review.
beating puppies
One thing Party Animals definitely doesn't do is indulge in pranks. After a nice short tutorial, here we are ready to finish in a quick match or create our own game. In the first case, the name speaks for itself: you are thrown into a random game among those played on the servers. In the second, however, we have plenty of time to choose one of them. three game modes (Last Stand, Team Score and Arcade), select one or more maps, decide the number of computer-managed characters or friends to invite and choose whether you want to keep the game public or private (using a password), as well as a game complete. series of variables that can be modified in its configuration.
Depending on the mode you choose, the goal will of course be different. Last Stand is a game of up to four teams of two players each where the last one standing wins. Team Score is perhaps the most interesting mode, because, depending on the map, the objective changes. The two teams (maximum four players each) must compete in a whole series of particular activities, such as refueling their train's locomotive with coal to reach their destination first or throwing explosive barrels into the opposite field with a catapult or, again, scoring. as many goals as possible. possible goals in a strange soccer game where everything is allowed.
The last mode, Arcade, allows you to get into a real bar fight with the other players, but only on two maps, a tavern lost in the storm and an abandoned subway station, still crossed by cars launched at maximum speed.
All this, of course, is accompanied by crazy animations and by the clumsy movements of the cute (only in appearance) contenders that, although fun to watch on video, become a completely different kettle of fish when you have the controller in your hand.
The nightmare of responding to orders
Party Animals is a game that focuses heavily on direct interaction with your opponents. You have to be reactive, be prepared to respond to attacks. This is very evident, as the developers have given players many attack orders. We have the classic punch, the headbutt, the kick, but also the running punch and the flying kick, without forgetting the numerous weapons that can be brandished and thrown at enemies. There is also the possibility of clinging to all surfaces and climbing on them. Each interaction lives thanks to the proprietary physics engine from the development team, which allows the game to seem so clumsy and random in its movements, which is a panacea for laughs (you will have many during your games, that's for sure).
However, despite the great effort to offer such a number of approximation possibilities, the game loses itself in a trifle: the response to commands. We worked for hours looking for the possible cause of this delay between our input signal and the actual response. We tried it from the keyboard and from the controller (Xbox, PlayStation, wireless or wired, it doesn't matter), but in any case there was always an interval of at least a second between the command and the action actually reproduced on the screen. In the end, however, we realized that the problem was not with the game itself, but with the server.
In fact, during our test it was not possible for us to change the server region, which was constantly fixed in North America, despite several restarts trying to change to the European one. So we know that the game (having played the tutorial, the only thing offline) has good command response, but theabsence of a stable server It prevented us from trying first-hand what it's really like to play a real game, since for any mode, even one with only bots or only players on the same device, you always need to be online. We have no doubt that on launch day this server issue will be completely resolved, but right now our hands are a little tied, because what we tried only partially worked, partially done by hand. the wind and the miscalculated jumps, fun, for God's sake, but also a little frustrating.
Sight is your enemy
Another element that cannot be missing in a video game like Party Animals is the possibility of connecting two or more controllers and play in company with your friends comfortably sitting on the same sofa. Here it is present, but in a somewhat "old-fashioned" form. In fact, with great surprise (and no small disappointment), the screen is divided into multiple windows depending on the players who have joined the game from the same gaming device. Whats Next? An unsightly division of the screen with black bars above and below to fit the two (or more) shots on the same screen. "But why?" you ask. Legitimate question that can be answered in an even more legitimate way: the developers have decided to include a game room that you can rotate around your character to "better see" the scene. The result is that everyone can control their own vision of it.
What doesn't add up, however, is the reason, because in all the time we dedicated to the game there was not a single moment that helped justify the implementation of a freely managed game room. For most maps, a simple fixed camera, zooming in or out depending on the proximity between in-game characters, would have been more than enough. In fact, it's preferable, since most of the time the camera is blocked by objects on the stage that make it very difficult to understand what's happening. A choice is still a choice, but not all of them are correct.
Crazy customization
Another element that the developers wanted to focus a lot on is the Customization. The twenty unlockable animals are undoubtedly the stars of the game. There really is something for everyone, also because there are so many masks to choose from. Obviously, the more you play, the more opportunities you will have to unlock new animals to go into battle with. Everything works with the now classic. level dynamics and in-game currency.
One thing we appreciate is the fact that almost everything (aside from some exclusive rewards for those who pre-order the game) can be unlocked by playing the game, purchasing it through the internal store, or picking it up randomly in the store. Gashapon style surprise egg dispenser. These rewards are purely aesthetic and do not influence the game in any way (we do not count as a weapon if you make your opponents die laughing with questionable and improbable styles).
Even the eye wants its share
A video game is many things, but it is also avisual work. Therefore, when you think about a game you should never forget the style you want to give it. Being able to create a product so immersed in its graphic part that it seems almost natural to the eye, as if there were no other way to translate it into a visual form, is a result that every creator hopes for. Party Animals is the perfect example of this combination of what is needed and what is nice to have. Certainly, Recreate Studios' is not a title that requires out-of-scale graphics to achieve its goal, that is, entertaining a group of individuals with uncoordinated anthropomorphic animals fighting each other.
However, the team wanted to create not only a title that was visually consistent with the style of the game, but also, on a purely graphical level, of great impact, all without the slightest hint of fatigue or frame drops (as long as you have a level fairly tall). -performance settings, if you play on PC). Without a doubt, it is one of the video games of its genre with the most visually impressive 3D graphics. This is thanks, above all, to one lighting management very careful and with non-trivial work on the materials, helped by a fluid and "tangible" animation system. The crown jewel of the game is, without a doubt, its visual quality.
Conclusions
Tested version PC with Windows digital delivery Steam, Xbox Store Price 17,99 € Holygamerz.com 8.0 Readers (9) 6.6 your voteParty Animals carry on their shoulders a rock that is difficult to get rid of: the constant reminder of their "adversaries" Gang Beasts. The team at Recreate Studios did everything they could to distance themselves from the sword of Damocles hanging over his head. And, in part, he succeeded. The game is a panacea for the soul, creating all that carefree joy you want to feel when you play a quick game with friends to pass the time. Thanks also to its graphic, visual, artistic appearance and its already iconic style, it would have been one of the most precious jewels in the crown of board games. But despite some stupid things, some questionable decisions, it's still a diamond in the rough still embedded in the rock. However, there is no doubt that the potential for an explosive video game is there and it is still possible to achieve this goal, if you are willing to extract it and work with it carefully. But, for now, it remains a bittersweet laugh that makes us reflect even more deeply on how absurd it is to go in search of perfection.
PRO
- Visually impeccable
- The epitome of team fun
AGAINST
- Choosing to always be online undermines the local co-op experience
- annoying game room
