Announced at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase during E3 2021, Party Animals is coming to Microsoft's console next year. It originally released in a trial run during Steam's Game Festival during Summer 2020 and garnered some attention thanks to big YouTubers like Jacksepticeye. And in addition to becoming a huge success on Twitch, Party Animals became the fourth most played game on Steam with over 135,000 concurrent players during the demo period.
And marketed as a competitive brawler, Party Animals is reminiscent of the hit party game Gang Beasts, under the guise of furry creatures instead of monochrome bodies, but with much more content.
What is Party Animals?
Like Gang Beasts, the characters in Party Animals are gelatinous, and the goal is to be the last one standing. While flopping around, players can grab onto and drag one another. But instead of being pitted against each other on high surfaces and using fists, Party Animals features a number of weapons to choose from, such as guns and crossbows, but also wackier options like shovels and tennis rackets to knock their opponents away.
Players will assume the role of an animal, such as a cat, dog, shark, dinosaur, or even a unicorn. And in addition to the weapons, players can also jump, kick, toss, punch, and headbutt one another, not unlike launching oneself in Fall Guys. Also, players can be "knocked out" after taking a certain amount of damage, but that doesn't mean it's game over. Most of the time, they're just stunned and can return to the fight. Like Gang Beasts, Party Animals supports up to eight players, shown by Jacksepticeye when he played with other streamers kickthepj and Corpse Husband.
Why Gang Beasts Fans Should Play Party Animals
Ultimately, Gang Beasts didn't perform very well among critics, but that didn't stop its popularity with gamers, being nominated for two multiplayer awards in the past. Its design was unique: players flop around and clamor onto surfaces and objects in an effort to kill one another and avoid losing by falling off the edge. It introduced a new style of PvP fighting, so not only was it hilarious, but it was competitive as well, making it the perfect party game for friends.
But Gang Beasts while may be fun, its lack of substance grows old after a while, ultimately resulting in a short-term trend, though it still sees a few players to this day. As exciting as the game may be, that singular playstyle is about as far as Gang Beasts goes, meaning it gets a bit lackluster. Now, Party Animals takes the concept of floppy brawling and turns it into a substantial gameplay style that can keep the attention of gamers for much longer.
Like most online multiplayer games out there, such as Fortnite, Party Animals implement more than one game mode. Currently, there is Last Stand and Snatch Squad, a free-for-all battle mode where the goal is to be the last one standing, and a capture-the-flag mode, respectively, though the latter mode is less traditional. Instead of sneaking into enemy territory and capturing a flag, players will wrestle over a bright green gummy bear to win. Additionally, there are several maps like ships and planes, and eleven playable characters, but it may not end there. With the hype around online survival modes and massive battle royales, it wouldn't be surprising to see more modes implemented in the future, and it's a long way before Party Animals' full release.
While Gang Beasts is just the single game mode, and it looks like it will stay that way, Party Animals is more gameplay in a single package, possibly with more to be added down the line, and will likely be another successful battle royale.
Party Animals releases on PC and Xbox in 2022.