TEST Party Animals: Is Gang Beasts dethroned?

Until September 1, 2023, Gang Beasts reigned supreme over the party game genre in fighting mode. It was quite easy you might say, he had no real competition. The arrival of Party Animals changes the situation, he will simply send his mentor from 2015 into retirement. Beyond a solid gameplaywhich we will detail a little further down, the little fur heads that we embody are very endearing. A panel of creatures which are not necessarily hairy, dogs, cats, rabbits, otters, but also sharks, manta rays, walruses and many others. A real humanoid zoo that we can revamp if the wallet allows it. Indeed, the money hard earned during the fights allows us to acquire new costumes for our favorite characters.

20 levels allowing you to vary the pleasures, solo or in a team.

Micro-transactions are not left out, you can also spend your real savings to buy in-game currency… it’s starting to take a lot of transactions to be fashionable. Still, this is only cosmetic, having class while giving big slaps is everyone’s choice. This does not prevent you from fully enjoying the content and laughing heartily at each game. Players subscribed to Game Pass Ultimate can enjoy the title on PC (thanks to Xcloud). Others must acquire the game, but can join their friends from other media. Indeed, the game is completely multi-platform, a simple room code allows you to join the games. Only the PlayStation cannot take advantage of it, hoping that one day the game arrives on the side of Sony…

From the point of view of game modes, there’s plenty to keep you busy for a while. Last Standwhich as its name suggests is summed up as “may the best win”. Team scorewhere team spirit takes on its full meaning. Arcade, which finds itself in a corner but we haven’t really understood why… The two maps which make up this choice are ultimately quite similar to the others. One is to eliminate opponents by sending them under a subway train! The other calls for throwing enemies out of a saloon, so they freeze outside in the freezing cold. Identical objectives are offered in the other modes (why Arcademystery…), on rather varied levels. Fight on a gigantic plane in flight, or a submarine preparing to dive, or even on a suspension bridge which is gradually collapsing. If you have been eliminated, you can still throw objects on the ground (or with good aim, knock out the opponent), in order to destabilize the enemies.

The scenarios proposed are quite original and allow you to vary the pleasures. Although most require throwing the competitor off the battlefield. To do this, you can use many formidable weapons, taser, baseball bat, frying hair etc. If you want to fight with bare feet, no problem! Kicks, punches, throws, even headbutts are allowed. If you aim well, you can also run to gain momentum and kick your butt in the air! After all this surge of violence, why not play ball-ball ? As a team it is possible to play sports, based on football, American football, or ice hockey. Even if the goal is to score points, you can still knock out an opponent behind the referee’s back… (a referee, where??)

Party Animals is indeed the worthy successor to Gang Beasts, it offers levels, each more original than the last. Like for example the hot air balloon box, where you have to twirl and pull a flying box to the take-off point. Or the locomotive, which must be supplied with coal to go faster than the opposing team. There are a total of 20 arenas of this style waiting for you, all with shimmering graphics and catchy music. The only downside to this lovely score is the gameplay, which requires a little familiarity and experience to master. Also note that the game is currently not available in French, but these are only the menus and some instructions for the levels. Knowing that the game will be updated in the future, we can expect lots of new features soon.

Nicolas Balaguer

An avid traveler of virtual worlds for over three decades, I have visited thousands of different universes and gameplays. All these journeys have allowed me to shape my existence on this earth and live superb stories in this life.