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  1. We've all been there. It's late, you just want to get to sleep, but your neighbors are partying long into the night and just won't stop making a racket. While some of us would probably just grumble in bed or maybe call the cops, the protagonist of Party Hard takes matters into his own hands—by viciously murdering everyone at the party. From developer Pinokl Games and publisher tinyBuild Games, this stealth-based action game offers up a hilariously dark (and darkly relatable) crime spree full of inventive ways to ultimately get some peace and quiet. But while the concept is great the actual execution leaves something to be desired. Our protagonist in Party Hard might take the cake when it comes to grumpy neighbors. Who could blame him though, when the party next door just won't quiet down? The entire premise of Party Hard is delightfully macabre, and even as the killer expands from just killing neighbors to taking on extravagant parties around the country it's certainly an entertaining ride. The story is framed with a police officer interrogating a detective about the crime spree, and even if the writing itself feels a bit on the bland side it's a good set up for watching the vicious gameplay unfold. At its core the goal of Party Hard is perfectly simple: kill everyone at the party. Actually carrying out your murder spree can be complicated though. Thankfully the party goers are pretty oblivious to a lot of things, but if you murder someone standing right next to them they'll notice, call the cops, and that'll be game over. You have to think carefully about where and when to strike, which is what gives the game its stealth/tactical aspects. And like a lot of stealth games it's so rewarding to see your efforts pay off as you're the last person left alive, dancing alone in the midst of the mayhem. The catch is that Party Hard can be hard. Really hard. Party goers can move in quite random patterns, and isolating one for a kill isn't easy. Plus, even if they don't see you actually doing the deed, if you're found alone in a room with a dead body you'll still have the cops sicced on you. The biggest challenge in Party Hard is often just the number of people you have to kill. Some parties can have over sixty guests, and picking them off one by one is a tedious prospect. Also your murderer just moves. So. Slowly. Granted, clearly the game is designed to be more of a stealthy, methodical kind of game rather than just running in knife-swingin', but your slow movement can really stymie the variety of actions you take. It's incredibly difficult to get off a quick kill and escape unnoticed, so you have to err on the side of caution and take things slowly and carefully. It's fine to have a game that encourages you to be tactical but it just gets boring in Party Hard when you have so many targets and such poor means of taking them out. Thankfully the game does give you a few other tools aside from your knife. Each stage is littered with traps you can set (sabotaging the DJ's speakers to explode, poisoning the drinks, pushing someone into an open fire pit, etc.) which are both more stylish ways to execute guests and oftentimes helpful ways to clear out multiple guests at once, especially while you're somewhere else, clear of suspicion. The traps are a blast to use and easily the highlight of the game, but it's a shame that there are relatively so few of them. Certain traps are repeated often in different levels, and generally there are only a handful of them per level, so even though you can take out multiple guests with one trap they still only cover a fraction of the guest list. It's also hard to build a consistent strategy when the traps and their placement is randomized every time you retry a level. It would have been great to see an even larger variety of traps to really make the game feel unique. Each level can be completed in a matter of minutes—if you know exactly what you're doing and are lucky. Your first playthrough will likely require plenty of trial and error, so the game should still last a four or five hours, plus there are bonus levels if you just can't get enough party crashing. Additionally there's plenty of variation to keep you coming back. In addition to the slightly randomized traps, you can unlock and play as different characters with unique abilities. The police officer, for example, is able to carry around bodies without raising suspicion. There's also a local co-op mode to get a friend in on the mayhem which can be a lot easier at times—just be sure not to trip each other's traps. Considering how gory the premise of Party Hard gets it's probably for the best that the graphics are squarely in the retro pixel art style. Regardless of how bloody things get though the visuals look great, and offer plenty of humorous little touches and pop culture references when you pay attention to the details. The soundtrack isn't bad either—as you'd expect each level has a thumping dance party background song, most of which also have a certain retro, 80s synth flair to them. The game also features voice acting for its between-level cutscenes which isn't particularly noteworthy but is a pleasant surprise for an indie game like this one. Despite the satisfying sense of accomplishment that accompanies most stealth games, Party Hard squanders a hilariously dark concept with mediocre execution. The high challenge of picking off party guests isn't inherently bad but the relatively few options that your knife and traps provide makes the game tedious and plodding, like a monotonous cycle of waiting for a guest to wander into an area alone so you can get a clean, stealthy kill. A version of the game focused more on inventive kills rather than slowly eliminating the huge guest list would have gone a long way toward making Party Hard more engaging and rewarding. Rating: 6 out of 10 Parties Review copy provided by publisher Party Hard is available now on the Switch eShop for $14.99.
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