Super Mario Party

I have a lot of quibbles with Super Mario Party that could have drowned it, but the extras pull it up above water. 80 new minigames, most of which aren't busts, is a feat. Having a team-based mode where you can move around freely and going back to basics with the core board game (goodbye car, hopefully see you never!) was a good move. Restricting play options and easing up on the amount of boards available? Not so much.

Super Mario Party is a rousing success as I saw nothing but smiles all around during my numerous play sessions with over a dozen different people. However, those smiles were short lived as they soon faded when we realized that there were only four boards to play and the rest of the other modes were simple novelties at best. A shame as this party was one I was glad to be invited to- I just didn’t feel the desire to stick around for too long.

The minigames of Super Mario Party are great, taking advantage of the Switch hardware in unique and creative ways. It's the dialed back board game and its lackluster extra modes that let the whole package down though. While it's still bound to be a great party game to break out when friends visit, it lacks the drama of the best in the series.