Super Mario Party Jamboree review roundup: 'the best Mario Party to date'
It's time to get the party started with Mario and friends once again
👍 Super Mario Party Jamboree has a Metacritic score of 82 after 59 critic reviews
🤩 The game has 92% positive reviews, 7% mixed and 2% negative
🥳 It’s the third Mario Party game for Nintendo Switch
📆 The game is out on October 17 and costs $59.99. You also get 3-months of Nintendo Switch Online
Super Mario Party Jamboree is the latest entry in Nintendo’s popular ‘Mario Party’ series, and even though it’s the third game to be released on Nintendo Switch, critics seemed to enjoy it.
The game is currently sitting on a Metacritic score of 82 after 59 critic reviews, which means it’s received generally favorable reviews. Here’s what reviewers had to say about Super Mario Party Jamboree.
Nintendo Life loved the latest Mario Party, saying, “Super Mario Party Jamboree is a fantastic new entry in the franchise that focuses on improving the core mechanics and experience, making for a more involving board game in the process, whilst also polishing everything to a slick sheen. Online aspects and modern stuff like the game's battle pass and collectibles are woven in smoothly, and the various new modes all have their place in a package that also delivers the goods in terms of minigame quality. Jamboree is the best Mario Party to date, so best make sure you've got your invite sorted.”
IGN felt the same and said: “Super Mario Party Jamboree is an amazing followup to Mario Party Superstars and easily one of the best games in the series. 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.
“It’s also the most flexible Mario Party has ever been, with tons of ways to customize your game, including its brilliant new optional Pro Rules that reduce luck-based elements to a minimum and crank up the strategy for those who want it. The wonderful maps are supported by a great lineup of new and returning minigames and character-specific challenges that steal the show, even if I wish there were just a few more minigames in the rotation. The side offerings may not have much staying power, but when partying with friends and family locally or online, Super Mario Party Jamboree boldly completes the series’ redemption arc as its newest superstar.”
However, not everyone was impressed. Eurogamer said Super Mario Party Jamboree is “the biggest Mario Party game yet, but fails to find the fun at almost every step” and GameSpot said: “Many new elements are attempted in Super Mario Party Jamboree, and unfortunately I feel like a lot of them are unwelcome. 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. I've reviewed many Mario Party games over the years and it's always a weird series to assign a number to.”
Still, the majority of outlets enjoyed what is undoubtedly the last Mario Party entry on Switch before the Nintendo Switch 2 releases. If you’ve enjoyed the series in the past, you’re bound to find some fun here. It’s worth noting that the game costs $59.99 but you also get 3 months of Nintendo Switch Online, which is a nice bonus.
Check out the upcoming PS5 games and upcoming Xbox Series X games to see what’s next for Sony and Microsoft’s consoles.
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Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.