Introduction
Let’s face it troops, we all love a party. Whether it’s heading to the beach with some steaks and a disposable barbecue, or it’s grabbing 3 friends and ordering a Pizza Hut Delivery, a party can be good for the soul, and I’m happy to report that Pool Party is one such game. I wouldn’t put it up with Wii Bowling or MarioKart Double Dash when it comes to party games, but it’s up there for great games to play among friends with very little stakes but endless replayability. But what is Pool Party? How does it look? How does it play? Read on dear gamers, as we go through a “wee daunder” (A Scots word meaning “journey”) to find out…
Designed and published by the clever people over at Lakeview Games and Mindscape, Pool Party is semi-customisable game designed to be played by 4 gamers at any one time but does have bots with varying difficulty levels. It’s a bright, colourful game with plenty of things to like and is generally quite inoffensive as a whole. There’s no storylines to worry about or conversely get riveted into, and the game isn’t really that sort of thing. The reason you should by this game is simple, it’s the gameplay. Speaking of which…
Gameplay
Oh boy, this is by far the best thing about this game. I hate to sound like a social media influencer from Tiktok, but this isn’t a game: it’s an experience. Seriously, no matter which console you play this game on, grab some friends and have a laugh with this game’s ludicrously funny mechanics and the games on offer. It is at this point I should tell you that this game isn’t a pool game. There’s no men in brightly coloured waistcoats. This game is ostensibly set on a pool table, with pool balls playing different games. Football is downright hilarious and you really can play dirty, knocking your opponents into the net. During my review time of this game, I ended up inviting the lads round for Pizza and to help me review this game, and I’ll say now: This is probably the most fun I’ve had reviewing a game in quite some time. If you’re at someone’s house and you want my recommendation for which minigame to play- Idol is the one that brings the best laughs, Football brings out the worst in your fellow gamers.
As for the mechanics side of things, this game isn’t really that complicated. As one of four balls on your platform, you must roll or kick to get around. Most of the games rely on you eliminating other players off the platform or getting a ball into either a net or a pool-table style pocket. Learning how to control your rolling is difficult to learn, but rewarding when you master it and become king/queen of your party. I put myself off the table and lost so many minigames learning how to master this it wasn’t funny. The great thing is that all the minigames have timers on them, so when it comes to playing this game, it’s a “pick-up-and-play” sort of thing, where the stakes are low and the fun is high.
Graphics
There’s not much to shout about on this particular aspect: The game is quite obviously designed so that kids and adults can play together in a family setting. Bright colours and soft edges reign abundant here. I am aware that this game can also be played on the Nintendo Switch, so I do wonder whether the game has been limited somewhat by the hardware. For the sake of clarity, the beautiful people at Lakeview Games and Mindscape gave us this review copy for the PlayStation 5. Being able to customise your characters and seeing that reflected as you game was great fun though, as I managed to make my character resemble the famous kit of the football team I support. There aren’t any particularly deep colours in this game, as it’s designed for literally everyone, but again, that is part of the charm of this game.
As for the audio: whilst the music is nice, and often reflects what is happening on the screen, again, there isn’t too much to rave on with. The music is about as complex as the minigames, which is to say that you can’t really expect music like the music featured in Ghosts of Tsushima for example. It’s simple, because the game it’s based on is uncomplicated. I’m not being negative here: the music fits the game perfectly, but it you’re the sort of gamer that looks for the soundtracks on Spotify, this isn’t that sort of game.
Accessibility
There’s not much in the way of options for accessibility here, as the game is uncomplicated to say the least, but the option to turn off the music and sound effects was welcome for the 4 of us lads as we decided to have our own music on instead. One criticism I will make is that this game isn’t particularly accessible for those, who like me, are left handed. I know that having controls able to be better for us people who used to be described as “sinister” is a new thing in gaming, but for a game of this particular quality, you’d expect a left-handed option. I would have completed this review far more quickly had that been the case.
Final thoughts
This game isn’t going to be setting any records, but it should be kept in your gaming collection in the sections “fun for all the family” or “party games”. It’s a bright, breezy and sometimes hectic game that can bring laughter for a good few hours at a time with a sense of humour that can appeal to a lot of people. Whilst playing against the game’s AI is admittedly great fun, this game really does come alive with a few people. I do have a couple of criticisms. For the price point of £19.99, I’d expect more than 7 minigames, no matter how fun they are. I am aware that there will be more to come, so I will amend this when the time comes. Also, for a game such as this, I’d expect a left-handed control scheme option, which disappointed me when this game didn’t have one.
I summarily give this game 3 out of 5 Joysticks, and I’m sorry I couldn’t give it anymore than that.
For the Gamerhub, I’ve been Daibhi, and you are all legends.
See you at the pool!
