Waluigilicious
Member
Jackbox Party Pack 1/2/3 (Fully Recommended)
The Jackbox series can be enjoyed with all sorts of players. Age, skill level, none of that comes into play here and I can say with full confidence that all of these games are a must have for any local multiplayer gamer. All three of these packs have at least one must have game and is worth the purchase. I recommended getting 2 and/or 3 first, and getting the first one last. Also, you definitely have enough controllers for everyone to play as the game uses a smart device/computer for each player.
(Single Player: There is basically almost nothing to do on your own).
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Fully Recommended)
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is packed with content. With 48 tracks and a robust battle mode, you will always be coming back for more. This version is extremely beginner friendly as the lesser skilled players can turn on assisted steering, and fear not, this does not give them an advantage at all. Its literally there so your grandparents or young sibling can play, and it does that job perfectly.
(Single Player: Fully Recommended if you will be playing online, otherwise it all comes down to how much you like Mario Kart).
Super Bomberman R (Fully Recommended)
Ignore the reviews and ignore them good. This is as good as classic Bomberman gets. You have 20 courses to choose from, a lot of them providing a twist never before seen in a Bomberman game. Different characters and their different abilities also add a lot of variety. It can be played for up to 8 players, and the stages increase in size so its never too chaotic. I recommend turning off revenge mode especially if you are playing with a lot of people. If you have lesser skilled players, the game has team mode so you can put two players on the same team. For example, if there are 6 of you where 4 of you are confident and 2 are not, why not try doing teams where the 4 players are in their own individual teams and then the 2 that are less confident are teamed up. There is a bit of a learning curve but with a little bit of patience and perhaps using team mode wisely, youll all be having a blast!
(Single Player: The campaign is short but fun and the cut-scenes have a lot of love put into them. Worth a play through).
Overcooked (Highly/Fully Recommended)
This one could possibly be the one on the list that gets everyone pumped up the most! The game is completely co-op by nature (there is also a competitive mode but no one wants to play that, come on), as you all either win or lose together. Also, the game is designed in such a clever way that everyone has to contribute at least a little bit if you want to achieve a good score. You can set your own difficulty depending on the people you are playing with by either simply trying to pass the stage or by going for 2, or even 3 stars! The game is about prepping, cooking and serving dishes according to what has been ordered, but dont let that make you scroll down so fast it is not your average cooking game! I highly recommend this game as controls might be a little tricky for younger or older players, but for a group of hardcore or even casual gamers, it is fully recommended.
(Single Player: Avoid. You have to control two characters at once by switching through them, not fun at all).
Use Your Words (Highly/Fully Recommended)
Let me start off by saying that if you arent bothered about a game being a bit light on content, and you are more worried about the experience it gives then this game is fully recommended. The only reason Ive put it down as highly recommended is because it only has one mode to play, and this mode is split into four sections. However, these sections are all great fun and provide even more laughs than most of the Jackbox Party games! Also, by light on content I certainly dont mean you will see repeats of the prompts given. The game is rich on content there. The game is about writing amusing subtitles/headlines/sentences to different prompts and then voting for your favourite. Its very unique as two of these modes are writing to a foreign movie and to a newspaper headline, and these always turn out to be hilarious. Just like the Jackbox games, these are played with your devices and anyone with any skill level can play.
(Single Player: Non-existent).
Puyo Puyo Tetris (Highly/Fully Recommended)
Puyo Puyo Tetris has an amazing multiplayer mode that can be played free for all or with teams. You can choose to play just Puyo, just Tetris, a mode where it swaps between the two or even a mode where it combines the two! There are also a few other fun modes to try out. This game is fully recommended if all players are around a similar skill level on at least one of the modes. Other than that it is highly recommended as a skill gap in these type of games can really show as there is no direct contact between players, so if someone has a much lower skill level than someone else, there probably isnt much they can do. Thats where teams, handicaps, and items come in. Also, both Puyo and Tetris is easy to learn (but hard to master) so two completely casual players will have a blast playing against each other.
(Single Player: A robust story mode with many challenges, fully recommended for people who like puzzle games of any kind).
Death Squared (Highly/Fully Recommended)
Death Squared again is a completely team based game which means someone with a lower skill level will not be left out and will be needed to play and complete the level. The game is very simple to control so any type of player can play, however it can get quite complex very quickly, and people with a lower attention span may lose interest quicker than others. Even then, they are part of a team and can simply follow instructions and have fun. If all players are fully engaged and are equally taking part in the decision making then this game is fully recommended, otherwise it is highly recommended. The aim of the game is to get all four squares to the goal, but everyone must move carefully and in a certain way and certain timing to open paths for others and not accidentally kill them.
(Single Player: Avoid, have to switch between characters).
Arms (Highly Recommended)
Arms does have a 2 v 2 mode, but personally I dont recommend this mode. If you do have 4 people available, I recommend doing 1 v 1 and taking turns while keeping score like a mini-league, or perhaps doing winner stays on until they get a certain number of wins. Arms is great fun and the controls are quite easy as you can use motion controls or buttons depending on your tastes. However, if someone does have more experience than someone else, then they will win almost all of the time as granted, it is a fighting game. This game is great fun when two players of similar skill levels are playing against each other, and can get pretty hype pretty quickly. The characters are all vastly different and great fun to use. I highly recommend it.
(Single Player: Fully recommended if you will be playing online, otherwise not much content but AI can be (annoyingly) challenging).
Namco Museum (Highly Recommended)
This is an interesting one. It comes with 10 arcade games, and a few of them are extremely iconic in that most people will recognise Pac-Man and Galaga. These arcade games can be played multiplayer through taking turns, which can get competitive between gamers of similar skill levels. Yes, its arguable that you can do this with every game out there, but these games acknowledge it on the screen and are designed to be competitive between players. There are also a couple of games in there that can be played simultaneously. However, the meat of the multiplayer experience comes from Pac-Man Vs. It is a very unique experience (mostly comparable to Mario Chase in Nintendo Land, but Id say more fun). As far as multiplayer is concerned, if you know what you are paying for then I highly recommend this game.
(Single Player: Fully recommended if you are into arcade games and achieving high scores).
Rocket Fist (Highly Recommended)
Rocket Fist is one of those games where there is one mode and one thing to do. Kind of like Bomberman in that sense, except Bomberman gets away with it more as the depth of the gameplay is bigger than anything like it. Rocket fist is a very unique game and is great fun, easy to control and can be enjoyed by pretty much anyone. You have one fist that you can throw, and once you throw it you must get it or someone elses back before you can throw it again. The game does have two different ways to play (score or stock) and both of these modes add a different feeling and is a great change of pace. This game is surprisingly fun, polished, and highly recommended. Just keep in mind it is to be enjoyed in short bursts.
(Single Player: Has a fun single player mode that is worth a play).
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (Highly Recommended)
Although this rating is based off the multiplayer and not the single player experience, as the game allows you to play the whole Shovel Knight campaign in multiplayer, the fun you have does indeed depend on the same factor as the single player experience, and needless to say, Shovel Knight is great fun. In the co-op mode (2 players only) you can play the whole campaign together. Shovel Knight gets tough for people who are not very good at platformers, and unlike something like New Super Mario Brothers a good player cannot just carry you through the level as parts of a level where the screen has to scroll you both must move. This game is highly recommended if you can get someone decent enough to play with you.
(Single Player: Yes. Yes. Yes.)
1-2 Switch (Recommended/Highly Recommended)
1-2 Switch is a compilation of micro/mini games that can be played 1v1. However, the game easily lends itself to a group setting as the joycons can easily be passed around and there are no options to fiddle around with. The games themselves are quite hit or miss, but since there is a good amount of them, there is bound to be at least a handful that your group will enjoy. If you only play with hardcore gamers then this game is only recommended as a silly thing to do but if you do play with lesser skilled gamers or in a party setting then it is highly recommended.
(Single Player: Avoid completely).
Snipperclips (Recommended/Highly Recommended)
Snipperclips does have a 4 player mode, but it is light on content compared to the 2 player mode. It is a fun game that is easy to pick up and play, and will probably catch the interest of non-gamers even more easily than gamers themselves. However, the controls can sometimes get frustrating as you have to be very precise, but if the person youre playing with is stubborn then this shouldnt be a problem! The game is all about cutting each other into the correct shape to carry out certain tasks and is great fun and provides many laughs the first times you play it. After youve seen it all though, there isnt much more enjoyment to be had. Its more of a game to show off to others than to constantly have fun with yourself. It does have a few competitive 4 player mini-game type modes and these are very welcome, but they do feel a little rushed and not much point in playing them. Whether this game is recommended or highly recommended I feel is pot luck on how much the person you play with will like it. If they can try it out first that would be even better.
(Single Player: Avoid completely).
Astro Duel Deluxe (Recommended)
Comparable mostly to Rocket Fist, Astro Duel Deluxe is another multiplayer game where there is one objective, and there is not much variety to that as there is no character choice so the experience will largely feel similar. The difference is, its slightly less fun. The controls are like asteroids as you control your triangular ship in space being able to turn 360 degrees and try to shoot each other down while dodging asteroids and other obstacles. The twist of how you cant shoot multiple times and have to wait for your bullets to come back adds some strategy to the game. This game is fun in short bursts, and if you don't mind these short bursts being quite short then this game is recommended. Can be played with upto 6 people which not many games offer at the moment.
(Single Player: Playing against bots is really no fun. Avoid)
Flip Wars (Not Recommended/Recommended)
Now, I know that is a very weird rating to give as it is a huge contradiction. The thing about this game is that it is quite well polished and the idea is good on paper. However, when you do start to play it, it really doesnt feel that deep, and it feels repetitive quite quickly. However, there is a chance that some people may like it or find some enjoyment in it, as there are different stages to choose from with hazards which may possibly add some layer of strategy. The aim is to ground pound and change tiles into your colour. If timed correctly you can get others to fly off the screen, making it easier to change their colours into yours.
(Single Player: Game is even more boring to play against bots. Avoid).
Sonic Mania (Not Recommended)
Pitchforks down! This is a review of the multiplayer portion only. You can choose the Sonic & Tails option of the main game, which allows player 2 to control Tails sort of. This is more of a novelty than anything as the player will constantly be going off screen and not having much impact, except for on boss fights where it is a nice way to help the main player out. The game does however include a competitive race mode where you can have a 2 player race on the single player stages you have beaten. This mode can be a fun diversion from the main game but I dont recommend a purchase for this alone. If you like Sonic then you will already have this game and the multiplayer stuff is a welcomed bonus.
(Single Player: Fully recommended if you are a fan of Sonic. If not then you should still give it a try if you like 2D platformers).
De Mambo (Not Recommended)
De Mambo is a game that only uses one button to attack. The aim is to knock everyone off the screen. This sounds great at first, until you actually play the game. The controls are very floaty, the attacks dont feel all that effective, the stages take a long time to get going, and it just doesnt feel satisfying to play, whether you win or lose. There are a lot of stages to choose and play from, so if you are someone who has all of the above games and wants more, then feel free to download this and mess around on them.
(Single Player: Frustrating controls are still there but there is a single player mode and if you do end up getting this then there is some (frustrating) fun to be had).
Ultra Hyperball (Not Recommended)
This is literally a mini-game turned into a full game. The aim is to jump and keep the ball above your head in the air. There is a certain timing where if you jump at the right time the ball will go even higher. The aim is to get the ball as high as possible in a certain number of jumps. There is co-op play and also a 4 player mode, but there is no way you will be playing this game unless youve played all of the above multiple times.
(Single Player: Just as shallow as the multiplayer).
