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| The Jackbox Party Pack 5 poster. |
The fifth and final game has been revealed for the Jackbox Party Pack 7 - Blather 'Round, a game that involves guessing a chosen topic via given clues during a set amount of time. And given that I was on a hiatus at the time, all five games have now been demonstrated on the Jackbox YouTube channel. But that doesn't mean that this will be the final Party Pack review I'll be posting!
The Jackbox Party Pack 5 sees the return of the You Don't Know Jack franchise along with some brand new games. Some of them make some particularly bold choices when it comes to gameplay.
You Don't Know Jack: Full Stream.
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| The Full Stream title screen. |
Jack is back! This time, the megalomaniac streaming service Binjpipe has bought up the rights to the in-universe YDKJ show and Cookie is being forced to comply to their demands. Not only do we get the old rounds, but as a result, we get new rounds such as "Binjpipe Recommends" (which consists of Binjpipe recommending particular works based on a users interests) and "Data Mining" (which consists of looking at "search" data and trying to find out who it belongs to). Now whilst a premise like this could risk coming off as "trying to stay relevant", it actually gets handled pretty well. The voice of Binjpipe is a creepy yet seductive woman voiced by Alyssa Davis, who previously hosted Civic Doodle, and she aces it as someone who is controlling the increasingly frustrated Cookie and will just not leave him alone.
The game can now allow up to eight players and includes an audience bonus, in which they can cause the players to gain less bonus money if another audience members answer correctly to the same questions. The final Jack Attack round works different to past Jack Attacks in that multiple answers will pop up on the screen to select from rather than just one - it's odd, but still rather interesting. Also, the gibberish question is back! You won't lose money (well, you will, but it's treated as a general wrong answer) or be kicked out for typing in "fuck you" this time though - Cookie will just get annoyed and make you watch a silly video or read an exasperated essay on your device.
Whilst it's a shame that some characters like the Old Man do not make a return during the actual gameplay itself, you can still hear them during the credits in the famed commercials (those are always a treat). Overall, a satisfying entry in the YDKJ franchise that takes bold risks and yet stays faithful to the most beloved aspects of other installments.
Patently Stupid.
Yet another fun drawing game from Jackbox Games. This time, you are given the task for inventing something that can solve the problem given to you on your device, complete with a name, an image of what the invention looks like and a catchy slogan. You must then present your invention and try and get funded with enough money, with the winning player being the one who gains the most money. The first round has individual problems being solved, whilst the second round involves everyone responding to the same prompt.
Your seminar is hosted by Toby and Lena, who are totally trustworthy people who definitely don't have any ulterior motives with regard to your inventions. Jackbox regular Phil Ridarelli voices Toby whilst Alex Frenkel voices Lena, and they do an excellent job voicing this friendly-sounding duo who still have some tricks up their sleeves.
It's especially ideal to play this game with a group of friends in the same room - it will make it much easier to present all the information you need on your invention. That said, the Present For Me prompt that you can use on livestreams can get downright priceless at times - Toby and Lena will do most of the talking for you, even if your invention is downright ridiculous or vulgar. Oh, and Gene is also back for this game, so he's always bound to come up with something amusing.
Your seminar is hosted by Toby and Lena, who are totally trustworthy people who definitely don't have any ulterior motives with regard to your inventions. Jackbox regular Phil Ridarelli voices Toby whilst Alex Frenkel voices Lena, and they do an excellent job voicing this friendly-sounding duo who still have some tricks up their sleeves.
It's especially ideal to play this game with a group of friends in the same room - it will make it much easier to present all the information you need on your invention. That said, the Present For Me prompt that you can use on livestreams can get downright priceless at times - Toby and Lena will do most of the talking for you, even if your invention is downright ridiculous or vulgar. Oh, and Gene is also back for this game, so he's always bound to come up with something amusing.
Split The Room.
This game has a very Twilight Zone-esque feel to it, which suits the premise of it well. Your host, who happens to a humanised greyscale cat (as well as a very clever reference to Schrodinger's cat) will take you on a journey through alternate dimensions. What this means is that you will be be given a prompt to fill in the blank for, which requires a yes or no answer from the other players. The aim is to present a prompt that will cause an equal split between the votes - the more balanced the votes are, the more points you earn. The final round involves a situation where one choice has been presented, but you must come up with the alternative choice.
Plenty of these scenarios are downright insane and it becomes hilarious when you see what people filled in the blanks with. The host obviously has a mysterious vibe to himself, but as he is voiced by the irreverent Tim Sniffen (who you may remember from Bidiots), he has some very witty and sarcastic comments to offer to lighten the mood too. In a way, the juxtaposition of seriousness and humour works well to this game's advantage, along with the premise itself, making it a good one to try out if you're playing this party pack for the first time.
This is a very quirky and fun game to play and it has a very interesting premise. This is one of the few Jackbox games to be hosted by real life people (in this case, rapper Shadow Master MC and DJ Raych) rather than fictional characters, which not only provides an interesting take on the hosting business, but also allows these two to provide their hosting chops as well as musical talents. As expected from a game about rapping, it also has some great music, especially the end credits song, along with a really nifty art style that reminds me of street graffiti.
A very different game to the other four in this pack, but still a charming and underrated gem. This is a game that relies on the players working together as a team, since all of you have been captured by aliens and are being forced to take part in a gameshow...hopefully winning your freedom in the process.
Mad Verse City.
This is a very quirky and fun game to play and it has a very interesting premise. This is one of the few Jackbox games to be hosted by real life people (in this case, rapper Shadow Master MC and DJ Raych) rather than fictional characters, which not only provides an interesting take on the hosting business, but also allows these two to provide their hosting chops as well as musical talents. As expected from a game about rapping, it also has some great music, especially the end credits song, along with a really nifty art style that reminds me of street graffiti.
The players are given two phrases that they must fill in the blank for, and then write sentences that rhyme with their answers. These become the rap verses that players use to throw down against each other, and players vote for who performed the best rap. Honestly, I feel this works perfectly - I have read poems before where all the writer had to do was fill in the blanks (true story), which just seemed uncreative and stale. But with this game, the writing format allows you more creative freedom whilst also giving you helpful prompts. Obviously the flows of the rapping can be rather slow compared to real-life rapping due to the artificial voices provided, but then again, the characters are robots so it makes sense.
The robot theme also works well - they are all themed after pieces of retro technology such as radios and floppy disks, which adds a nice touch. Oh, and Gene is back for this game too, now in full robot mode. In fact, it may have been this game that made him somewhat memetic with the Jackbox fans. Definitely a game worth checking out.
Zeeple Dome.
A very different game to the other four in this pack, but still a charming and underrated gem. This is a game that relies on the players working together as a team, since all of you have been captured by aliens and are being forced to take part in a gameshow...hopefully winning your freedom in the process.
The gameplay is very fast-paced - players must fling themselves across the screen to defeat monsters and gain points. There's no time to really stop and think, which poses quite a good challenge. Non-gameplay wise, the characters look downright adorable and the music is just as fast-paced as the gameplay itself. Add a hammy announcer (voiced by Edward Moses) and it does indeed feel like a gameshow...albeit a rather deadly one that your characters never wanted to be part of in the first place.
I still don't understand why the Let's Players I watch have not played this game yet. It's cute and entertaining and above all, very different to the other Jackbox games in general, let alone the ones in this party pack. Overall, this is a game best played with close friends and family, given that stronger teamwork skills will increase your chances of winning.
Overall, we've got some classic gameplay and some entirely new ideas too. Just what we've always wanted from a party pack. ;)
Overall, we've got some classic gameplay and some entirely new ideas too. Just what we've always wanted from a party pack. ;)
Once Party Pack 7 gets released, I will post my review of Party Pack 6. Obviously I'm still trying to balance this blog with Masters coursework, which is now finished, fortunately, and my creative works (and the hot summer weather did not help either). Hopefully though, the sixth review will be finished earlier than this one now that the coursework is out of the way.
