Party Animals Impressions: Perfectly suited for Game Pass

If you ask me what is the perfect type of game to launch on Game Pass, I would without question suggest Party Animals. This adorable and hilarious multiplayer game comes across as the next evolution of Gang Beasts, as it combines silly mini-games with a physics engine that makes it feel as though you are controlling a sack of potatoes with legs. It's a significantly more cutesy title than Gang Beasts however, as the game also features a cast of characters that resemble plush animals, and range from corgis to gorillas, moose to ducks, pigs to dinosaurs, and so forth. On the surface, it's a recipe that doesn't seem like it could possibly fail, and from my time with the game at Gamescom this year, I can add that Party Animals is shaping up to be a must-play for Game Pass subscribers.

During the German trade show, I had the chance to play Party Animals for around 20 minutes at Microsoft's behind closed doors booth. The session put me on a team with three other journalists or Xbox team members and pitted us against a similar team of four. From here, we were thrust into an array of game modes, including one that could best be described as last animal standing and another being a short round of football.

For the last animal standing mode, the idea was to have one of your team members as the last animal left in a very small arena that was littered with silly items that you could pick up to use to bash other animals over the head with. The arena was also slightly elevated, meaning you could fall off and face the challenge of having to climb back up all before a battle royale-like mist consumed your character and forced you to spectate until the next round began. With the ability to grapple and throw other animals around, as well as having to evade hazards and bombs that spectating animals hurled at you, this game mode came across as very hectic and almost without strategy, all because the Party Animals control scheme is one that is challenging to master by design.

As I mentioned earlier, like Gang Beasts, the animals feel as though they are top heavy. What this means is that they aren't the easiest to control, but this is a fundamental design choice for Party Animals, as you're not supposed to feel completely in control of these creatures. If anything, it feels more like you are controlling a human in a mascot suit, as it's all very clunky and silly, however this all adds to the charm of the game and it makes it just that little bit more hilarious and fun.

Looking at the other game mode I had the opportunity to play, this was where teamplay felt far more important. Unlike the last animal standing mode, the football mode depended on teamwork, and we as a group had to arrange ourselves so that we could effectively move the ball up the pitch and score all while evading the opposing team. Don't expect a FIFA level of tactics here, as there are no defined pass buttons or so on, instead you simply run at the ball and throw yourself at it to generate some momentum and blast it down the pitch. Both of the game modes were a 'best of' scenario, which was helpful because Party Animals rounds don't seem to last very long. It's fast-paced and if you aren't paying attention, you will find yourself in a spectator screen incredibly quickly.

Despite both game modes being entertaining, some of the highlights of the session came after a round wrapped up. In the awards screen that celebrates the victors, both teams collide and start hurling themselves at one another to get the best possible position for a photograph to commemorate the occasion. It's similar to what Media Molecule created in Little Big Planet at the end of a level, and it just allows for all players to let loose and get crazy without any repercussions whatsoever.

It really does feel as though Recreate Games are onto a winner with Party Animals. It's silly and fun, delightful and adorable, and has that perfect level of ease of play that means you can jump in and bash out a few rounds without needing to be overly familiar with the controls or aware of combos and such. As I said to kick things off, Party Animals is a perfect game for Game Pass, as it has that accessible and interesting nature, all while being a title that wants you to experience it with friends, be it locally or online. Sure, the game will have tight competition with it launching on the subscription between Lies of P and Payday 3, but regardless of that, this really does seem like a game that you won't want to miss out on.