At GDC I got to try out Pool Party, a cute little party game you might want to wishlist if you have the friends for it. The game supports four-player couch co-op. You take control of the cutest pool ball character that you can customize. There are only six game modes, but they have more planned for the future. The game modes include Sumo, Tennis, Pool, Football, Jinxed, and Free For All. Each game is based on a sport and has been adapted to fit the pool theme, and it works brilliantly.
The developers wanted Pool Party to be skill-based. Each game relies heavily on physics. Although each round erupts into chaos, you need to put thought into the moves you make to complete the objectives. The devs also wanted the focus to be on the mini-games, so they eliminated all the boring bits you would find in games like Mario Party. Instead of waiting through boring animation, you spend your time between rounds voting on the next mini-game.
The mini-games are a lot of fun, but I loved football (soccer) the most. Having to recalibrate my approach for each game mode kept me engaged, and the chaos had me focused. You have been warned, this game might destroy a couple of friendships.
The biggest draw to this game is its appearance. This game is super cute, and the maps are vibrant and fun. The developers plan on releasing multiple maps to give the game its variety.
If you are looking for a party game and have the friends to play with, you should at least wishlist Pool Party on Steam. They also plan to release it on the Nintendo Switch, but there isn’t any information on that release yet. There is also a demo you can download and try before you commit.
I want to thank the devs who joined up to play and answered all my questions. I didn’t win any of the matches, but I had a lot of fun regardless. Make sure you follow them on their socials to stay up to date on all the news. You can find them on Discord, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and Instagram.
*images taken from the press release