Party Hard Review

Party Hard was developed by Pinokl Games and published by tinyBuild GAMES. It was released for the PC on August 25th, 2015 and releases on both XboxOne and PlayStation 4 on April 26th, 2016 for $12.99. A review copy was provided to The Hidden Levels.

Party Hard is about a man on a mission to get some peace and quiet. Imagine that you’ve been woken up at three AM because your neighbor is having a loud party. You’re tired and have been pushed to the edge. There is only one way you’re going to be able to get the rest you deserve. You must kill them. Kill them all! In the game you play as a guy who travels to parties across the country killing everyone in attendance using your weapon or the environment.

What I enjoyed:

Simple controls – When you first start playing Party Hard after a short cut scene there is a tutorial provided. It is basically making your way to your first party level to get acquainted with the game controls. They made the controls simple which was an excellent call since you have to stealthily kill a set number of AI party goers that move randomly around each level. Not having to worry about multiple button combinations for various attacks allows for the player to focus more on tactics and stealth killings to quickly end the party.

Where’d the time go? – The game’s story line is not long or drawn out. Although when I played hours felt like minutes. The main story only has twelve levels but each level presents new challenges to make things more difficult, as if mass murder wasn’t hard enough. Each environment contains multiple traps you can utilize, items to pick up, or containers to hide bodies. Sometimes there are bouncers to avoid, limited or no passageways to use to make a quick exit, and other events like SWAT or Special Agents appear to making things more difficult. If someone spots you and calls the cops you have to avoid getting caught. Each time you escape the police they come back faster if they are called again on the same level. Using passageways while trying to escape triggers a character to come along and seal it so it cannot be used again.

Once you have been busted by the cops, or killed, or you accidentally kill yourself with a trap which I became a pro at, the level starts from the beginning. I found myself restarting levels over and over again because I’d come so close to the end then I’d die or get busted. At this point it wasn’t about the game; I was not going to let an eight-bit snitch, cop, bouncer, or my own stupidity beat me.

But wait there’s more – Party Hard offers unlock-able characters creating a new playing experience each launch. Characters have their own unique traits and you can only unlock them by completing certain achievements. Those who are not into unlocking achievements may find that annoying. Then just when you thought the party was over there are seven additional levels called LDS levels which you can complete after the story. The levels are challenging and each level provides a completely new situation that has not been encountered previously in the story. I don’t want to get into what each character or LDS level is about because it needs to be experienced. The developers did an awesome job creating them. I will say that my favorite character is Katie and my favorite LDS level is surviving a zombie horde.

What I disliked:

The music – The only major flaw is that you hear the same song on repeat for each level. If you complete a level quickly it’s great. Playing a level that you may be stuck on for a while is annoying enough let alone hearing the same song for long periods of time. If the music did change it was not noticeable, lowering the TV or the music volume in game was essential on the harder to beat levels.

When I first heard about Party Hard all I knew was the general basics of the game. I was immediately excited to play it. When I started playing it I didn’t know if I would like it. After playing it for a while I thoroughly enjoy the game and find it to be quite addicting. Each time you play even if it’s the same level it’s not the same experience since the AI move around at random. Events can be triggered and level traps are not always the same. Any game where I am talking out loud to myself saying, “Please don’t see me. Please don’t see me.”, while carrying a body to hide in a dumpster is a winner in my book.

Score: Buy it now