Pool Party [Review]

So, some madman pondered the idea of, “What if we turn pool into a party game?” Unfortunately, this was an overly drawn-out concept that feels like it could have been a mini-game in Mario Party. In Pool Party, up to 4 players can become pool balls in a crazy all-out minigame killing spree. The game modes available in this game are the standard for most 4-player party games. 

Here are some examples of some game modes:

Tag

King of the hill

Sumo

Free for all (everyone gets kills for points)

Tennis (pong is what it felt more like)

Soccer

Tournament

When starting the game, players can choose a color for their pool ball from a small selection of cosmetics, which unfortunately do not stand out. I was puzzled about the option to change my pattern or if I had a scar on my pool ball. The camera is too far away to see that kind of detail; the color of the ball is the only important aspect. This was about as pointless as character creation in a first-person game. The controls are simple; there's a button to roll yourself and a button to grab. When you roll or grab another player, the game gives you a few seconds to aim in the direction you plan on launching your ball or the other players. 

Although this game is fun, the amount of content in this title is sparse for its asking price of 19.99

Pool Party is a local multiplayer game only, regardless of the platform you are playing on. The inclusion of a tournament mode seemed redundant since the game has a randomizer for the minigames and makes players play through a list of game modes that all rank who did the best and worst, and when it's over, you have an overall winner. Tournament mode just seems like a random, tacked-on feature; it's offline and adds zero substance to the game. For me and my friend group, that's fine, but, unfortunately, I have to think of all the other gamers out there who do not have the pleasure of having friends and family over often enough to do local multiplayer-only party games. Sure, Nintendo does this exact thing, creating games that are local-only, but Nintendo's titles have single-player content. This is something expected from them, and generally, a game that has the local only issue is nine times out of ten a Nintendo Switch Only game, and lastly is not above 9.99 on the Eshop.

Pool Party is available for PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, and Nintendo Switch.