Party Hard Review

We’ve all been there. It’s the middle of the night, you’re trying to get some shut-eye, and maybe you have work the next morning. Unfortunately, your neighbours have decided to have themselves a little shindig, with about 200 of their friends and a professional MC with the biggest speakers known to man. If you’re feeling bold you may ask them to turn it down, or even call the police if that’s your style. Party Hard is intended as a showcase of what can come of these moments when restraint is thrown out of the window.

The game begins with a police officer being interviewed regarding the ‘Party Hard’ killings, because the developers couldn’t think of a better name and figured the game’s title could do with a little more justification. After this brief intro we are dropped into the gameplay, which sees us control an angry wee soul who just wants some peace and quiet. Armed only with a knife and a few environmental nasties, you are tasked with killing every person at the party without getting yourself caught by the 5-0. The prospect of so much bloodshed has you interested, doesn’t it? A little stealth action as well to wet your palate? Sorry to rain on your parade, but it gets really boring really quickly. While some of the environmental kills are fun, a lot of them are present on multiple levels which wears out the novelty fast. Many times you’ll find yourself wasting such traps as you set them and no victims come anywhere near them. For the most part, you’ll find a secluded spot in the level where no-one else can see your dirty deeds and wait for party-goers to amble over so you can off them and dump their body in a dumpster sharpish. For this reason I only managed to get a few levels into the game before the tedium turned me towards other, infinitely more interesting titles. Fair enough there are additional characters to be unlocked with special weapons and abilities of their own, but you’ll stop caring long before they become a factor.

Pinokl Games have jumped onto the 80s 16-bit revival bandwagon, so when it comes to the game’s graphics it’s difficult to either praise or criticize the visuals. I must say that the gameplay and tone of the game do suit the retro style as the plot is straight from a direct-to-video slasher B-movie, however this would have been more impressive had the gameplay actually been any good. The music employed within the soundtrack does a very good job of encapsulating the time period, blasting synths and drum machines in all directions with a setlist full of funky electro-pop tunes. Party Hard was in need of at least one saving grace, and composer Felipe Adorno Vassao has done the developers a solid by serving up a fine array of beats so that the audio side of things is at least enjoyable.

Ladies and gentlemen, I apologise for what is a rather short review. As you will all know I like to provide a nice meaty article with plenty of superlative and adjectives coming out of the wazoo, and I find myself unable to fulfil my usual lofty expectations when it comes to Party Hard. Perhaps this is a further indictment of the title, as even with games I truly despised I’ve been able to churn out a LOT to say, and with Party Hard I just don’t care enough about it to justify the glorious vitriol I am more than capable of laying down. I’m sad, guys. This really could’ve been a special little game with a fun premise and a healthy dollop of wish-fulfilment when it comes to noisy neighbours. Instead, I kinda wish Pinokl Games had just closed the window and tried to get some sleep.