Ever played a racing game and thought that it just needed more variety? Well, Hobart-based developer Giant Margarita has sought to answer your wishes in the most extreme way possible with their new title Party Crashers. Their previous title was Party Golf, which had 100 different modes of golf, as well as an insane number of settings and modifiers to make each game unique. Now, Giant Margarita have brought that basic format to the racing genre with Party Crashers, which is bursting at the seams with crazy customisable options.
I was lucky enough to get a hands-on opportunity with the game at PAX Aus this past weekend as well as an insightful chat with the team behind the game.
Party Crashers offers over 60 different game modes, which can be further tinkered with in the options. There are the basics like race, time trial and elimination. However, it’s the additional options where things get crazy. These include modes where the player must outrun a wall that will kill them, modes where there are power-ups to attack your enemies, a top down mode, a Tron-like mode where players must defeat opponents by swerving around them, and much, much more. Other elements can also be tweaked such as the speed of the cars. There are also different types of cars with their own physics. My personal favourite was the car that looked like a banana on wheels, although there’s something for everyone with busses, sports cars and golf carts to choose from.
These different modes and variables can be mixed and matched to provide virtually limitless options. Would you like a mode where racers take no damage, drive at half speed and can’t fall off the course? The game allows it. Or would you prefer to view everything from a top-down perspective, Micro Machines-style, and be constantly chased by an approaching wall of death? You can do that as well.
When I experienced the game at PAX Australia, I played through three very different modes which showed off how versatile Party Crashers can be. At first, we played on what the developers called “Baby Mode”, where the cars couldn’t fall off the track and with minimal hazards, so that we could become accustomed to the controls.
I was then shown how merciless the game could be when the track’s walls turned lethal, the game’s speed shot up, the cars begun auto-accelerating, and a wall of doom begun steadily advancing. Levels lasted mere seconds as most of us were obliterated almost instantly, but it was a fun kind of chaos that would be a blast whilst playing with friends.
It’s the sort of game that can be tweaked for pretty much any group set-up or experience level, making it ideal for bringing out at gatherings. Furthermore, each track is procedurally generated, bringing surprises with every race. The game’s minimalist sci-fi visual presentation brings to mind the 80’s film Tron, which the developers acknowledged as being an influence on both the visuals and some of the gameplay modes.
Party Crashers also supports split-screen play, and this is really where the game shines. Whilst it does contain AI bots to play against, the developers have emphasised that it is designed as a multiplayer party game, as the title suggests. Party Crashers is now available on Steam, PS4 and Nintendo Switch, with an Xbox One port in development. Get your friends together because Party Crashers creates a party that won’t be slowing down.
About the Author
Tom Quirk
he/him
Tom Quirk plays a lot of video games, but when he isn't, he is reading fantasy novels and watching way more television than is healthy.
