This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format.

Despite the deeply grim premise of playing as a house party slasher, Party Hard somehow manages to craft its concept into an amusingly horrific top-down stealth strategy game. You play as a chap called Darius who goes on a killing spree for the disturbingly trivial reason of ‘just wanting to get some sleep.’ His crusade leads you to a number of levels, through different house parties, all with large numbers of guests for you to silence. It’s morbid as heck, but is combined with a sense of humour that is as dark as it is quirky, which somehow works.

The pixel art and gameplay are equally quirky, with an emphasis on stealth and creativity. You have an extensive horde of victims to get through and are encouraged to slay in as many interesting ways as possible. You can, of course, just stab your way through the party and dispose of the bodies, but the real fun comes from spooking a horse and delivering a drunken partygoer a fatal kick to the head. The options are vast, including, but not limited to, burning down the house, causing electrical failure, and rigging an exploding oven. And that’s just the first stage! Later levels provide even crazier options that help to keep things fresh.

Unfortunately, monotony can sink in quickly, as despite the number of creative ways to kill, this will be your only task. It’s a slow burn, too, as you have to take your time on each stage, though this does admittedly add to the tension, incentivising you to be more careful and less all-guns (or knives) blazing.

The potential for boredom is there, then, but the reward of finally killing all patrons after taking your time is a strong, satisfying one. Additionally, the mixture of an upbeat techno soundtrack, hilariously shocking gameplay, and a decent number of unlockable extras – as well as a fun multiplayer mode – make this a fine (if sometimes samey) experience.