First LEGO Party reactions say it fixes Mario Party’s flaws
The first reactions to LEGO Party are in from Summer Game Fest, and it sounds like the multiplayer bonanza is preparing to fix Mario Party’s flaws.
Riffing on Mario Party’s formula so hard that it’s barely changed the name of the game, SMG Studios’ LEGO Party tasks players with gathering gold bricks (in place of Mario Party’s stars) across a series of wacky minigames within an overworld board game. But the developers have apparently taken the opportunity to build on some of the common criticisms with Mario Party, including its late-game catch-up mechanisms.
“The team behind LEGO Party removed the concept of bonus [gold bricks] because the team understood that having late-game bonuses that can invalidate playing well in the early game is not an enjoyable mechanic,” wrote Gamespot’s Mark Delaney, who went hands-on with LEGO Party at Summer Game Fest, where the LEGO Group and SMG Studio unveiled the new title.
According to Delaney, the game also gives players the opportunity to go easy on their rivals by declining to steal gold bricks when offered the chance. “Since the LEGO Party team expects the game to have an audience of players with mixed experience levels, or parents playing with their kids, the change leaves room for the game’s older or more mature players to show mercy to younger ones.”
There’s one other big change to Mario Party’s approach, too: the turn order is variable rather than fixed at the beginning of the game, giving priority each time to the winner of the latest minigame – a mechanic regularly seen in modern tabletop games. And Delaney says it’s in these areas where LEGO Party can best distinguish itself from its clear inspiration, especially for Nintendo fans loyal to Mario’s party game franchise.
These big-picture changes probably won’t mean much if the core gameplay loop isn’t solid, but Samuel Tolbert at Windows Central reports that it’s ‘truly fun for everyone’. Examples of minigames given include stacking LEGO bricks without dropping any, bouncing across cracking ice on a pogo stick and even working in teams to collectively control a tank (each player controls a tread).
“These games require more careful coordination in order to beat the opposing team, so you might have to work with your teammate that you were just competing against,” Tolbert said. “It’s as hilarious as it sounds, and my demo group were all laughing throughout the experience.”
IGN’s Matt Kim and Ryan McCaffrey reported from the show floor at Summer Games Fest after playing 45 minutes of LEGO Party, which will include 60 different minigames. They revealed that players will be able to vote for which minigame they want to play next, and that everything in the game can be recreated in real life with actual LEGO bricks.
“I’m struggling to find any downsides to this,” McCaffrey said. “Do we have anything negative to say about this? It was just a good time!”
“The genre as a whole has just been monopolised by Mario Party,” said Kim, “which is great – Mario Party’s super fun and LEGO Party was also really fun. So I can see this being a hit at parties where you set it up, get four controllers out on a table and people can join in. I appreciated that it went by really quickly – party games can sometimes drag on, but this felt really snappy.”
You’ll be able to try out LEGO Party for yourself when it lands on PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch later this year. Physical editions of the game will be available exclusively on PS5, Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X/S. Head here to check out the game’s pre-order bonus.
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