A party game that doesn’t make you bring your own party.
Pool Party seems to have all the traditional fun party game atmospheres but still lacks in substance. There are 7 game modes, which might sound like a lot, they just don’t feel distinct. You can play with up to 3 bots or 3 other players in couch co-op. The good news about this couch co-op is that you aren’t forced to play in split-screen. The downside is that you will grow weary of the game modes pretty quickly and likely just pick one. No matter how much I played, I just didn’t really differentiate between the different modes. From Football, to Tennis, to Idol to simply just playing the game. You end up with the feeling that all that changed from the previous game mode is where the hole placement is. The one I found more interesting or intense if you will, was the Sumo one. It allows for all 4 players to be on the same circle trying to knock each other off.
The controls and the rules to the game are super simple and that is a positive for a party game as you don’t want to spend half the night trying to understand the controls and the rules. Some game modes you are forced to only use kick rather than roll which definitely is a good thing as the roll can sometimes cause you to overshoot your target. That is basically Pool Party, you have 7 game modes where you will either hit your opponents in to holes or force them off of a platform but after that, it’s pretty much it.
There is very little difference in each of the game modes to make you feel like it’s worth your time to stay and play. Sure, fun can be had and was had while playing Pool Party but it came in very little spurts as it felt more like a chore after a few hours of playing. Ultimately, I think Pool Party is ok for a limited time and you can have fun with it. Just not the type of fun you’d expect from a party game as you’ll be wanting to switch games fairly quickly. Hopefully the game will see updates in the future that add some more atmosphere and challenge to the game that just isn’t present at the moment, such as online play. Final verdict would be to wait on a sale before purchasing but definitely keep up with the X account of the developers for possible updates coming to Pool Party.
Pool Party is available on PC, PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch.
