Round Up: The Reviews Are In For Super Mario Party Jamboree

Live and let dice

by · Nintendo Life
Image: Nintendo

Super Mario Party Jamboree is right around the corner and we are ready to get off the starting space. Before the game gets underway on 17th October, however, we better check whether the latest party entry is worth rolling the dice on. Cue the reviews round-up!

Below, we have gathered a selection of Jamboree reviews from across the web so you can get an idea of the critical consensus before diving in. The game currently sits at a favourable 81 on Metacritic, but there is quite the spread of opinions, as you'll soon see.

Here at Nintendo Life, we loved it. In our 9/10 review, we called Nintendo's latest "the best Mario Party to date," praising its minigame selection, boards, new modes and just about everything else you can think of. You can read all about it right here:

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Family-friendly good times ahead

Now then, let's head into the round-up. We'll start things off at the top with a similarly positive GamingBible, which also awarded Mario and the gang an "exceptional" 9/10.

As someone who was a bit underwhelmed by Super Mario Party and desired more from Mario Party Superstars, this title feels like the best of both worlds and I’d be more than happy to see this become the formula used for future entries.

IGN went for an equally optimistic 9/10, giving particular praise to the board gimmicks and game mode variety.

Not only does it faithfully return to the classic formula established in the Nintendo 64 entries, it confidently improves upon it with a fantastic set of boards that introduce unique and memorable mechanics.

Techradar awarded the game a 4/5, liking the 20-player Koopathlon mode but feeling expectedly let down by the single-player content.

Super Mario Party Jamboree doesn’t break new ground but takes the best of the series’ past and present to make a big celebratory package, best experienced at get-togethers where the real magic (and carnage) happens.

Keeping the good times coming, VGC also gave Jamboree a 4/5. While the outlet wished for some balancing and Buddy gimmick improvements, it praised just about every other element of the game.

It still hasn't managed to shake some of the core issues of the series (especially when it comes to balancing the game for younger and less experienced players) but judged against previous entries it stands out as a top offering.

Things drop slightly with GameSpot's 6/10 review, which found the number of game modes to be slightly bloated despite the fun of the base game.

The new modes are largely duds, the tantalizing promise of 20-player online falls a bit flat, and several of the new minigames are a slog. That said, the new maps are the best original ones in many years and Jamboree promises to still be a blast when you've got some friends over.

While in the minority, Eurogamer rounded out the full spectrum of opinions and gave Jamboree a slightly lower 2/5, struggling to find the fun in the luck-based minigames and unlockable content.

I get that all's fair in love and war and all that, but when the route to victory seems to lie so firmly in fortuitous flukes rather than hard-won ability, it can't help but leave everything feeling a bit arbitrary as a result.

Buy Super Mario Party Jamboree

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  • Jamboree Bundle
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All seems pretty positive, but some found the party lacking. What's your excitement level for Super Mario Party Jamboree? Let us know in the comments.

Related Games
   •  Super Mario Party Jamboree (Switch)
See Also
   •  Super Mario Party Jamboree Review
   •  50 Best Nintendo Switch Games To Play Right Now (2024)

About Jim Norman

Jim came to Nintendo Life in 2022 and, despite his insistence that The Minish Cap is the best Zelda game and his unwavering love for the Star Wars prequels (yes, really), he has continued to write news and features on the site ever since.

Comments 36

Glad that most reviews are positive, but even if they weren't it wouldn't particularly matter as based on all I've seen and heard of Jamboree I can confidently say that many if not most Mario Party fans, me absolutely included, will definitely enjoy it overall!

Party games are better when they're random anyway. Party games where players choose who to punish can ruin friendships and create frenemies, I speak from experience ☹️

Eurogamer woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

Eurogamer's summary feels like they straight up never played a board game to begin with. Like yeah no s***, board games have luck elements to them that can influence the game.

It's called a family game, and that element will ensure it will be fun for everyone playing and that everyone has a chance at winning, even those lesser skilled.

Maybe try smiling for once; you don't need to roll critical for that!

Bit offtopic: Is it me, or is it very suspicious that Nintendo is handing out free Nintendo Switch Online game time with most games and systems these days? And that apparently there’s something on the horizon for NSO for early next year?

Apparently this Mario Party also comes with a year of NSO time.

@Friendly Id wager that since online multiplayer and features are a huge part of this new Mario party, Nintendo is giving the codes out not only to boost sub numbers and maybe get new subs, but to help people play the online features with little hassle for three months so people resub to keep playing said modes

@Kaiffe123 @Yosher
Right, Eurogamer rated it far below Metacritic‘s average, so absolutely and objectively wrong. People having limited fun with this game are miserable. There is objective truth for games reviews, Putin will confirm.

9/10 in Gamereactor Sweden.

@Max_the_German there is absolutely nothing objective about reviews, whether you agree with them or not. Reviews are someone’s opinion, and so by their nature are completely subjective.

Also, with the way averages work, something is always going to be below average! It doesn’t automatically mean it’s wrong.

@Max_the_German Just realised you were being sarcastic in response to the other comments 🤣 I do apologise for not having my sarcasm detector working

@Max_the_German I understand reviews are personal, but they just genuinely don't seem to understand how board games work, and as such this score does not feel genuine to me.

Of they complained how the game is just not fun to play because the boards aren't fun, the minigames suck, the characters feel lifeless etc, that all would feel more genuine than "RNG bad".

Board games typically come with RNG, and you typically go into a board game knowing this. As such, that complaint feels really weird to me, especially when it comes with such a low score.

It's like buying a waffle and then complaining that your waffle doesn't taste like a pizza. It makes little to no sense, and feels like they're complaining for the sake of complaining because they're miserable and want to pass that misery onto other people. I'm sure they're not (like I HOPE you realize that part of my content was satire), but that's what it feels like to me.

Edit: if GravyThief is right about your comment being sarcasm though.. then consider this message not sent. My sarcasm detector on the internet is very bad lol.

It's just a shame we didn't get this the first time... I feel like I've been stung by Mario Party twice already on Switch so I'm sorry but this one is a bridge too far.

(I didn't buy 3 on the N64 either, so there!)

@Max_the_German
It’s okay to think that a review that makes no sense is stupid, nobody is saying that they’re paid off or whatnot. Just don’t review a game you know you’re not gonna like. If I was a reviewer, I wouldn’t review an open world game because I don’t like the feeling of being lost in a game, although I know many who do. Likewise, there’s been around 20 MP games if you include handhelds, you kinda know what to expect when you play it, and maybe handing the review off to someone who actually enjoys a slightly luck-based party game (I know there are people like that bc these games sell crazy every time) is the best strategy. Maybe don’t review a pizza place if you hate cheese.

Looking good.

At the time of writing:

Metacritic
82/100
Based on 55 Critic Reviews

https://www.metacritic.com/game/super-mario-party-jamboree/

Look, I totally get personal taste. I think it's a very positive thing that reviewers have their own bias and are not shy about it, because that lets us find a reviewer who's bias aligns with our own. But that said ...

There is NO POSSIBLE UNIVERSE where a Mario Party game is legitimately this divisive. It's Mario Party.

The fact that Eurogamer rated it lower then they rated Redfall is just a horrible statement about the state of the industry. There is simply no way to call that anything other then sensationalism.

Waiting for Nikoderiko review instead.

@HeadPirate

Or an opinion

@electrolite77 It's definitely an opinion and everyone has right to have them, but reviewers should try to be more objective than the average gamer. Of course it's practically impossible to avoid personal preferences and in the end it will come to their perspective, but at least they should be able to give credit where it's due. I checked that review, an it is evident that the person dislikes Mario Party games and maybe even board games in general as she even criticized factors like luck, which are present in all of these type of games because she focuses on that instead of trying to understand the appeal of it and deliver an informative perspective for both fans and people that dislike them. A 4/10 is too low for such a polished product with great presentation and so much content. I genuinely can't justify her math.

@electrolite77

Reviews are not "opinions". They are subjective statements of fact.

To be an opinion, you need to limit the statement to your own experience and not justify it.

Opinion - "I didn't like this game. I found it unenjoyable".

Subjective statement of fact - "I think this game is bad because [reason]".

This is a really common misconception. The reason an opinion can't be wrong is because you're simply describing your perception of reality, something no one else can experience. You can't "justify" thinking the world is flat or gravity is a lie because it's your "opinion". You're just wrong.

Redfall was released in an unfinished state. The Eurogamer review is saying that the subjective negative of a game where textures do not load, the AI was broken and resulted in most enemies not moving, hit detection on enemies was broken to the point where they couldn't hit you with melee attacks, and several areas essential to the plot not loading, preventing progress past the 2nd act is not as bad as the subjective negative of "you can't play all the mini games in all modes".

That is simply an invalid statement. Period. They said it for the engagement.

@Yosher Not just the summary but most of that review reads like the reviewer just tried to make everything about the game look bad.

Btw there's also a 10/10 review by The Enemy.

Come along and sing a song and join the Jamboree!

Hey there, hi there, ho there! You're as welcome as can be! S-U-P-E-R M-A-R-I-O!

What's really baffling about the Eurogamer review if there is a pro-mode that removes the luck based mini games.

So like ... If you want to be try hard about it you can do that.

To still complain is to act like simply having luck heavy mini games at all is a negative.

@Summer235 Just because some of us are pointing out why we disagree with that review and why it seems unprofessional doesn't mean that we are angry. At least I can assure you I really don't have any strong feelings about it and I don't see any indicator that others feel that way. Also, going against the norm just for the sake of it is childish and fake. There's nothing wrong with being on the minority, but doing it without good reasons will lead to people pointing it out. The reviewer is free to feel and enjoy whatever they want, but a score has to make sense and that one is really on the extreme side for a game that has so many technical, measurable aspects done right.

After checking out the Eurogamer review I feel like they’re just trying to cause some commotion on purpose. Everyone can have their own opinion, sure, but this didn’t seem completely genuine to me.

Publishing a controversial review might get them some extra traffic or community engagement...

"Things drop slightly with GameSpot's 6/10"

Slightly? 🤣

@Banjo-

An 8 out of 10 instead of a 9 out of 10?

Oh, you might have forgotten to do the GameSpot math. To get the REAL score, take the review, add one if it's not a PlayStation exclusive, or add 2 if it's exclusive to another console, given that they automatically remove that much in each of those cases.

Now I know that sounds like a joke and it obviously kinda is ... but actually if you look at GameSpot's deviation from the average score on most games ... it's scary how accurate it is.

@HeadPirate I don't trust most reviewers these days (PJ included), but the chosen adjective ("slightly") is hilarious.

In my experience, very few are not biased and they don't even write what I want to know. It wasn't like this before. Now, I just watch some gameplay, try if I can and then buy, but a 5 or a 10 doesn't affect my decision. The name of the publisher and the brand of the console influences the score too much. I say 5 because 99% of video games are rated 5 or higher, unlike films, so a 5/10 video game equals roughly 1/10. Anyway, a score these days is anyone's opinion. I have had enough Mario Party, but I hope that those that haven't played enough enjoy this!

I'm fed up with Mario Party franshise.
I have Mario Party Superstars and thats enough. I played 40 hours and now i am out.

@Banjo-

I hear ya. But I would say don't look at it as "trust". Reviews are supposed to be bias. The whole point of having so many review sites if you find one that matches you own personal bias, rating games you like that other people don't highly, while rating popular games you don't like lowly, and you go with that one! Not because it's the "best" or the "most objective", but because it's the one that's closest to your personal tastes. And when you look at GameSpot ... being extremely bias towards PlayStation while crapping on Nintendo and Microsoft is going to appeal to a lot of people.

You're totally right about the 5 thing, but there is a reason. You don't have to worry about going to a film and it just cutting out after 50 minutes. At every outlet I've freelanced for, scores lower then 3 were reserved for games that simply didn't work. 4 is the absolutely worst score you can give a "working" game. It's effectively a 1.

Um with Eurogamer here, lol, sorry. I'll never get the fun in this series.

@HeadPirate I also agree with you. If the reviewer doesn't like the game, genre or platform, it's going to affect the review and vice versa, and the review becomes pointless. What I find more disappointing is when I read a review searching for information, you know, actual information, and don't find anything, just someone complaining or praising and trying to sound important, but not explaining nor defining anything!

What I'm finding more insightful lately is user reviews and comments. Sure, you get fifty 10/10 fanatics and fifty 0/10 haters, but skip those and you find a lot of details about the gameplay, the mechanics, the technical performance, the soundtrack, the voice acting, the difficulty and what kind of difficulty (cheaply designed or interesting and challenging?)... Things that have helped me a lot when I was hesitating and that I didn't find in the "professional" reviews.

@Yosher It's a simple concept, a lot of modern game sites just choose who is available to review, whether they like the genre, or not. And it shows.

@LikelySatan That's a good point but why review it professionally if you already hate the series? Would be like me reviewing Call of Duty 78, or whatever number they are on. They shouldn't choose someone like me to review something I already don't like.

@tseliot I enjoy reviews but don't take them super seriously.

LOL, Eurogamer struggling to find the fun in games seems like a pretty good summation of the site of late, especially its dramas with articles from Digital Foundry moaning about good games ruined by fairly small performance blemishes.

@TheBigBlue i agree with your statement, but do you think there’s a reason that they’ve included a year of NSO subscription to the Switch Lite Hyrule Edition? Other than ‘an extra bonus that doesn’t cost Nintendo any money’?

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Game Profile

Title:

Super Mario Party Jamboree

System:

Nintendo Switch

Publisher:

Nintendo

Developer:

Nintendo Cube

Genre:

Board Game, Party

Players:

4 (20 Online)

Release Date:

Nintendo Switch

  • https://static.nintendolife.com/themes/base/images/flags/us.gif 17th Oct 2024, $59.99
  • https://static.nintendolife.com/themes/base/images/flags/eu.gif 17th Oct 2024, £49.99

Series:

Mario Party

Reviews:

Review: Super Mario Party Jamboree (Switch) - Only The Best Game In The Series

Official Site:

nintendo.com

Where to buy:

Buy eShop Credit:

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