A few rounds with LEGO Party, and it’s pretty clear that this is very much, unapologetically, a Mario Party clone. From the board-based shenanigans to the string of entertaining minigames to the fact you’re trying to chase down golden bricks to win, there’s so much Mario in this party, it almost feels as though a minifigure snuck into one of the plumber’s bashes and claimed they could do it too.
But that isn’t really a bad thing here. When you think about it, outside of the odd Nintendo experimentation with games like Wii Party, there aren’t many party-style games that give the plumber a true run for his money. Hell, even Sonic failed to step up to the plate on the Dreamcast with Sonic Shuffle back in 2000. Of course, having another Mario Party isn’t necessarily a good thing if the quality isn’t up to scratch. Fortunately, though LEGO Party delivers a surprisingly entertaining alternative, one that borrows a lot of ideas but also has a few neat ones of its own, too.
If you’ve played a Mario Party game before, then LEGO Party will feel instantly familiar. Gather four players together (be that locally or online), have them move about an interactive board and compete in a series of random minigames, all in hopes of collecting more studs and golden bricks than their opponents. Challenge Zone offers what you may call that classic Mario Party experience, each of the four boards littered with all sorts of spaces that reward, punish and surprise in equal measure. That’s great, you may be claiming, but what exactly does LEGO Party offer that’s new?
For starters, the whole LEGO aesthetic is put to good use, players able to choose from an army of different minifigures to play as (or if that doesn’t suit, create your own). Similarly, players are able to actually build within each board, this opening up new routes with more surprises to uncover. For example, on the pirate board, you’ll be able to build ships and giant cannons, each presented through a charming sped-up montage of minifigures hard at work piecing together the chosen structure. One seemingly small difference between LEGO and Mario, but one I now hope Nintendo implement in a future entry in the series, is how turns play out. Instead of having a strict order in which players take their turn for the entire game, here players compete in a minigame to win studs but also to determine turn order for that round. It’s a neat system and offers added incentive to win minigames, as not only will there be a bigger pay but also the added bonus of going first and claiming a golden brick before your opponent.
As for the minigames themselves, all in all, they’re a lot of fun with relatively few stinkers in the mix. For the most part, you’ll be competing for yourself with a few team-based offerings thrown in, too. Highlights for our group have included a wacky game of golf, with players trying to push their giant ball into the hole before the others (with the added twist being that you can actually interact with their balls too), a game that saw us trying our best to trace a path drawn out on the ground (with the actual path hidden of course), a Trials-lite motorcross competition, a dance competition that had us trying to follow prompts, and a top-down racing game.
Just like Mario Party, you can anticipate the usual random elements, be that landing on a space that forces you to dish out a stack of studs or randomly having to hand over a precious golden brick at the worst possible moment. While some will hate these moments of chance, if you’ve already given yourself over to the chaotic unpredictability of the Mario Party series, then there’s plenty of fun to be had in these cheer/shock-creating events.
Despite the fairly low number, the four different boards do offer a nice variety of environments from pirates and Ninjago to space and a theme park. A couple more boards would have been appreciated, as you’ll easily get through these in no time, but adding a little more incentive to keep returning is the game’s levelling system, with your profile and each individual board offering minifigures galore to unlock the more you play.
One area where the game perhaps slacks a little is in its range of options. While Challenge Zone is certainly a lot of fun, outside of that, the choices are slim pickings. Minigame Rush is essentially a collection of minigame mix-tapes, bouncing from one to the next with no in-between shenanigans. While still enjoyable, it would have been nice to see some variation in how the games were presented. Score Chaser, meanwhile, is your single-player option, a handful of minigames noting your best times and scores.
From a presentation standpoint, LEGO Party will put a smile on the face of any LEGO fan. Making full use of the brand, everything from the boards to the minigames to even the round numbers are made from the coloured bricks. The same unfortunately cannot be said for the game’s audio; the music is a pretty forgettable mix of cheery tunes, and the commentary provided by its two voiced characters is something I turned off pretty promptly.
LEGO Party is a great Mario Party-like time. As much fun as my family and friends have battling it out in Nintendo’s long-running series, it’s nice to finally have another option to try that offers a similar level of entertainment and quality.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch
Review copy provided by Fictions
