One potential answer to all of these questions is, of course, Super Mario Party. It's the 11th console entry in the series, so it's hardly Mario Party's first rodeo. But as the first for the Switch, the new game is also a chance for Nintendo to take the formula in a new direction. That much has been publicly promised, in fact - Nintendo is claiming that Super Mario Party represents a "complete refresh" of the series. And true to its word, Nintendo has certainly made the new game different. By combining elements of previous titles with new modes like River Survival and Sound Stage, this is most definitely a fresh take on the Mario Party formula.
But is it fun? Well, yes. Sort of.
Like most entries in the Mario Party series, if you're looking for a solid and dependable party game, this will absolutely do the job. The variety and silliness of the minigames is always a recipe for hilarity with friends, and Super Mario Party displays classic Nintendo charm. Yet despite the changes, some of the old Mario Party problems continue to linger, and it's unlikely to be a game you'll repeatedly return to in single-player mode. It does what it says on the tin, and does it well, but no more.
Another major change to the mechanics is the introduction of character-specific dice, of which I am a huge fan. Each Mario character has their own special die with unique properties, which not only gives players more tactical options, but ties the mechanic into the Mario world. The dice appear to be personifications of their characters; evil characters like Bowser, for instance, often carry high 10s on their dice, but also run the risk of losing three coins and a turn. Mario, meanwhile, has the world's most average character die with 1, 3, 3, 3, 5 and 6. Maybe I'm being a little harsh on Mario here.
Anyway, you're also not stuck with only one character die, as due to the return of the ally system, you can also choose from the dice of allies you find along the way. All you have to do is land on an ally space or pick up a buddy phone, and they will follow you around the board like a puppy. Again, this helpfully expands player movement options, and it's also rather charming to interact with the other Mario characters.
The boards themselves are, as ever, gorgeously presented. Megafruit Paradise is particularly vibrant, and reminded me of my days paddling around the tropics of Delfino Plaza in Super Mario Sunshine. More ominous is King Bob-omb's Powderkeg Mine, which is probably due to the giant crowned cannonball sat in the middle.
The event spaces, meanwhile, are a bit of a mixed bag. These normally bring an element of chaos to the gameplay (as if you needed more), but some of the gimmicks - particularly when mixed with the linearity of the boards - feel more frustrating than joyous. Whomp's Domino Ruins has an event space which triggers an Indiana-Jones style boulder to come hurtling down the board; entertaining the first time around, but with three players on the same stretch repeatedly triggering the event, it can effectively kill the game.
On Megafruit Paradise, too, the bridge collapse event (combined with the limited options for travelling between islands) means players can spend the game stuck on one island, desperately doing loops in the hope of landing on a space that would allow them to take a pipe across the channel. Chaos can be great - but the combination of devastating events with limited movement feels a little heavy-handed.
Strangely, many of the issues in Mario Party's core mode are resolved in the game's teamwork 2v2 version Partner Party, unexpectedly making it my preferred board mode. The movement in this is similar to the style of Mario Party Star Rush: there's a grid layout so players can move in any direction, except players can still move separately within their teams. It's like a halfway house between the cart and individual turns, and manages to both foster competition and keep players engaged. Ideal, really.
Partner Party also takes a much better approach to event spaces. Freed from the linearity problem, events are hidden around the map rather than on specific spaces. The area surrounding King Bob-Omb in King Bob-Omb's Powderkeg Mine essentially turns into an oversized game of minesweeper. Players can randomly trigger hidden event spaces where they must roll to determine whether they live or die, with a countdown that ticks away with each roll. It really cranks up the suspense, and the King Bob-Omb punishment doesn't feel quite so unfair - you just have to cough up a princely sum.
The Sound Stage mode, although a little gimmicky, offers a quick-fire round of gaming - and the rhythm game idea makes perfect sense. Although I'd class myself as an experienced hand at rhythm games, I found many of the Mario Party rhythm minigames pretty challenging. On a lower level, they're extraordinarily satisfying - who knew hitting a baseball in time to Mario music could be so rewarding? With a higher difficulty, I found myself frantically shaking the controller to keep time, which bordered on the comical. I got some strange looks in the office.
That being said, River Survival still provided us with a lot of silliness. Despite the snarky comments, most of us in the room were laughing - even if it was due to the suspicious hand gestures we were making in order to row along.
It has its issues, but Super Mario Party still delivers a solid and dependable multiplayer experience. Would I drop everything to rush out and buy it? Probably not - but if you need some light entertainment to distract your Christmas guests, you could certainly do a lot worse.
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