Ever since the first 'You Don't Know Jack' game arrived in the mid '90s, the Jackbox brand has increasingly targeted consoles with its quirky cooperative and competitive experiences. As 'traditional' party game experiences have been joined by more and more virtual board games and digital quiz shows over the last few years, Jackbox has claimed its own space and gained popularity through its use of smart devices. Ice breaking and rival building are the goals, in the tradition of multiplayer institutions that graced communal living spaces of the late '90s; the Jackbox Party Pack games aim to create as many laughs on a 2017 night as we saw in the olden days with conventional titles like Mario Kart 64 or GoldenEye 007.
With only one of the previous fifteen games in the series being available as a single player experience, the latest in the series - The Jackbox Party Pack 4 - once again relies on two factors: an internet / Wi-Fi connection, and a friend (or handful) to actually play the games via their smart devices. While Twitch streamers (and theoretically a group of distanced friends) could play together, part of the allure of the experience is the proximity of its players and the resulting banter around the TV. Whether it be trying to read someone's reactions to an outlandish yet oddly plausible red herring in Fibbage, or pressing the select button a fraction of a second too late in a certain round of 'You Don't Know Jack', there's plenty of opportunity to bluff, deceive or sabotage while having a good time.
If you have previously played the Jackbox Party games, then this fourth instalment is going to be a mostly familiar set up. Choosing from the 'five and a half' games on offer, 1-8 (or sometimes more) people either compete or cooperate to fulfil certain improvisational scenarios or answer pop culture-based trivia. The voiceover work, varied visual styles and stellar soundtrack / sound effects are present again, but the nature of the games themselves do have a more improvisational theme when viewed as a whole package.
The first game in this new set, 'Fibbage 3', is the tried and tested game of 'call my bluff' with a new set of popular culture questions, a garishly vivid 'Austin Powers'-style décor and a new mode, replacing the 'defibrillator' from The Jackbox Party 2. The traditional setup of Fibbage was always most entertaining when based on the wit and like-mindedness of its players, which has been further highlighted in 'Enough About You'. Using the same premise, players can now input answers based on their own personality, opinions or experiences. This more personalised angle certainly tests how well a group of friends know each other, while still keeping the core idea of fun through deception.
Complete with a nostalgic, polygonal desktop wallpaper aesthetic (instantly recognisable to older folk like this reviewer, who remembers a time before YouTube or Twitch), 'Survive the Internet' is a topical 'game of two halves', where players twist headlines and comments out of context to make funny news headlines, job postings and other potentially cheeky scenarios; players then vote on the best. Old-school IT in-jokes regularly appear, from the dropdown menus in the settings, to pop-up ads and classifieds. It's not the snappiest of games, but there's plenty of scope for a few risky results; it's best to play with people that you know well.
'Monster Seeking Monster' is an aptly-timed spooky, cutely presented and witty dating simulator, where players (the more the better) try and outdo each other by sending enticing messages with the intent of scoring a date. This glorified popularity contest disguised as Blind Date - albeit with a cartoony Halloween theme - adds random secret super powers into the mix to try and spice things up. Ultimately, though, you'll mostly spend the time texting one another almost as if art is imitating life...
'Bracketeering' has a glorious TRON like décor - neon pinks, purples and plenty of lightning blast all over this tournament-style game. Given one prompt - such as 'what is the best---' - each of the submitted answers are paired off, with the goal being to win the bracket; you earn money from correctly predicting who is going to win. There's an opportunity to sway audience voting, and being able to change your vote in real time adds tension and a sense of ruthless competition, especially if the results are equal. Things get mixed up in later rounds, too, such as blind brackets. The more players, the bigger the bracket, which allows as many as possible to get directly involved.
'Civic Doodle' is the arty one of the bunch, taking over from Bidiots and Drawful from the previous games. For starters you write your name in real time; you don't just type it - a minor but nonetheless fun little detail. The premise is that the town mayor is commissioning a new mural. The first two players start with separate canvases but the same basic shape, which they can 'artistically interpret' any way they want and draw on with a few basic (yet still more than ever before) tools. The hilarity of civic doodle is twofold - the artists facing off against each other do so in real time, with everyone able to see the magic appear before them. Secondly, the pictures are then voted on with emojis and the winning entry is brought forward into the next round, with the next competitors using it as a base for their masterpieces, and so on. There's a great sense of collaboration and competition that keeps everyone interested and involved, right up to suggesting a title for the final artwork. Where a game of 'Word Spud' could descend into crude nonsense quickly, civil doodle takes that potentially fun idea and makes it (literally) visually appealing.
The absence of an updated popular culture based trivia stalwart like 'You Don't Know Jack' notwithstanding, the variety of games on offer here depend more on the audience playing them than their core concepts. The new twists on old 'genres' of Jackbox games work really well - the personalized element in fan-favourite Fibbage adds another layer to the already immensely fun routine. Likewise, Civic Doodle takes all of the competitive components of previous 'arty' games Drawful and Bidiots, while making the experience collective, organic and briskly paced. Two of the remaining three new games, namely Survive the Internet and Bracketeering, take topical humour and improvisation into a social media space. They can be a bit hit and miss, but the chances are pretty high that both will produce a decent amount of laughs.
The stale, awkward and random Monsters Seeking Monsters is the weakest of the bunch; with long gaps of silent communication on your smart devices and a crude matchmaking end game, it feels like a sloppy student pub crawl.
Conclusion
The Jackbox Party Pack 4 does enough to warrant another dive into its zany, over the top party game world. The visual presentation is mostly stellar and varied throughout, but of course it comes down to the games themselves. When it's good, it's great - the new Fibbage mode 'Enough About You', refined drawing game Civic Doodle and the fast-paced tournament style Bracketeering will keep any social gatherings going. Survive the Internet can be rather hit and miss due to its topical humour, so it depends heavily on the crowd. Aside from its cooky and spooky presentation, meanwhile, Monsters Seeking Monsters falls flat.
As long as you're aware of the requirement of web-connected smart devices to play, The Jackbox Party Pack 4 is another worthy addition to the Switch, and for the most part there's a good balance of familiar and fresh material for newcomers and veterans alike.
Comments 25
I have a couple friends who swear by these games. I'll have to try them out eventually.
I've only ever played the 3rd one, but that one is a blast with a good group of friends. I think whether you enjoy these games or not is really down to having the right group of friends, and having 8 players is much more fun than 3-5.
This is one of the VERY few games that I prefer to play on PS4 or XBOX. The Switch screen would be too small to gather around and if I plug it into the TV I might as well be on the others. I will say however these games are all amazing in their own way and anyway to play them will be fun though!!
NEW UPDATE FOR THE SWITCH
Bought a 15% eShop card for this. I presume it comes out around midnight as it still isn't in the Australian eShop yet...
Honestly though, I'm really anxious to try Survive the Internet. From what I saw in the trailers it sounded very entertaining and quite fun, so I'm a little surprised by what was said in the review about it. Then again I suppose some Jackbox games can be more appealing to some than others.
@Dayton311 I think the benefit in the Switch version is less tabletop mode and more easy transport to parties. Hauling my big ass PS4 around to hook up in case we want to play some party games is more of a pain than the Switch and the dock, which I can easily toss in a bag with other things.
I do wish these were a bit cheaper though, and took up less space. They just sit when yr on yr own. A physical Jackbox 1-4 collection for $60 is something I'd pick up, no doubt. As is, gotta think about it a bit more.
Own all the others on steam so I'd have to connect the laptop to a TV then play it. Will gladly buy this one on the Switch!!!
@tsdenizen : I agree. I simply won't (or can't) play these often enough to justify the high cost (and storage space relative to how often they'll be played).
If the entire game was playable out of the box by connecting to a local Wi-Fi connection (without the need for internet), then I would definitely have considered buying all of the Jackbox games released so far, but knowing that the servers will eventually die out and the games will be unplayable is a dealbreaker at the current asking price.
I love this series, but getting all four entries in just a few months might be a bit much. I'll pick this up down the line but for now I'm plenty entertained by the first three games...
I got a review code myself and have been having a lot of fun playing these games. My main issue was with some technical troubles in Civic Doodle, where the drawings wouldn't show up correctly on the big screen. It was a bit of a bummer in the games I played. The other 4 are great, and I found Monster Seeking Monster hilarious!
Another 7 for a jackbox game???? For probably the best set of party games ever made its definetely better than a 7
Any chance these will come out in other languages?
I'm really bothered by the comment in the article saying YDKJ came out in 2011... I mean, the reboot sure, but if you're talking the origins, we have to return to 1995. UGH, OCD. I apologize..
@Azikira you’re not alone - I noticed that too. I remember playing the first one when I was in high school!
@MetaRyan That's good to know (8 friends more fun than 3-5)
Thanks for the pro tip
How easy is it to connect to the smart phones? Do you all have to download an app on the phone and which app stores are supported (Google Play etc)?
@Mqblank Nah, you go to a website and log in with a 4 digit code the game gives you.
@Twinder I was in the single digits of age when it came out, and I remember the adults had fun playing it. I wasn't very good. XD
@adarker Excellent, thank you very much.
@Eigotaku
So...on one hand you call yourself part of "older folk like this reviewer", only to start your review with something as bollucks as
"Ever since the first 'You Don't Know Jack' game arrived on PC in 2011"?
YDKJ started way back in 1995. In 2011 it only came back after something of a hiatus.
@keeperBvK @Twinder @Azikira I want to sincerely apologize for any offense caused by the wrong date that was put in the review regarding when You Don't know Jack was first released. I will do everything in my power to get this rectified and it won't happen again.
@Eigotaku changing lives one game review at a time. You are a saint.
@Eigotaku You're cool bro, I just have wicked OCD. To be fair, it DID get sort of rebooted in 2011, but the YDKJ series has a rich lineup starting from 1995. My personal favorite was Headrush.
If your group is in a more competitive mindset when playing Monsters Seeking a Monsters (or at least aware that this is the expected mode for it) this game becomes an fantastic game theory sandbox of scheming, bluffing, truces and betrayals and has nothing to do with a popularity contest. It got really a bad treatment in this review, probably because the players didn't play along with the premise.
I think this is mechanically the strongest Jackbox game so far and I think it's a shame that people are turned off to.
Tap here to load 25 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...