TGO Daily | November 1 | Mario Party Superstars - Review Roundup
📰 In The News
1. Mario Party Superstars Review Roundup
The latest entry in the Mario Party franchise has released. It’s the game everybody’s been asking for — featuring five boards and 100 levels from the original N64 trilogy of Mario Party games.
Critics have reviewed the game positively. IGN compliments how refreshing it is to play a simple version of the franchise again:
“2018’s Super Mario Party represented a “back to basics” shift for the series, and Mario Party Superstars has taken that idea several steps further by focusing in on the N64 and early GameCube days. There are no motion-controlled minigames, no item capsules, no character-specific custom dice blocks, no buddies to recruit, and of course, no party car. Just four players, each taking turns rolling dice, moving along a virtual game board, playing minigames to earn coins, and using those coins to buy stars. And maybe it's because it has been a long while since we’ve had a Mario Party game without some sort of extra gimmick, but this simplicity is incredibly refreshing, and I certainly didn’t miss having something there to mix up the formula.”
Many critics liked the quality-of-life options the game has, like the ability to control how many turns a game will run, or which minigames can be played. There is also online multiplayer, and the ability to leave and return to the game at any point.
The only downside that really came up was the limited selection of boards. For a compilation title, some expected more options to be available. This wasn’t a huge concern though, with some proposing there might be some updates or DLC waiting in the wings.
A summary, from GameInformer:
“The Mario Party franchise, with its interchangeable boards and minigames, is tailor-made for the compilation format. Mario Party Superstars aptly executes the notion of bringing together the best of the franchise while adding improved online features, plus options to let you play the way you want. Despite its lacking selection of game boards, Mario Party Superstars is a blast regardless of how many parties you’ve attended in the past.”
Mario Party Superstars is available now on the Nintendo Switch.
2. Krafton acquires Unknown Worlds
Krafton (developer of PUBG) has acquired Unknown Worlds — the developer most well known for Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero.
As we often hear with acquisitions, the companies claim that Unknown will be an independent studio with the same leadership. They also confirmed that updates will continue for the Subnautica franchise, while also working on a new project that releases next year.
Unknown Worlds becomes Krafton’s sixth subsidiary, behind companies like Bluehole Studio, PUBG Studios, and Striking Distance Studio.
💭Adrian’s Thoughts: Indie studios getting acquired is becoming more and more common, and it looks like Krafton is throwing their hat into the race as well. Subnautica is a fantastic game, and I’m glad the devs will be getting the resources they deserve.
3. Roblox goes down
The very popular game-creation platform Roblox went down last Friday for more than two days. As of this writing, they most recently announced that they were working to bring various regions back online:
Why it matters: Roblox is one of the biggest games in the world right now, with over 150 million monthly users and over half of all children under 16 in the United States playing it. A multi-day outage with that many users is a huge deal.
Some speculation was had that the crash was do to an influx of users participating in a Chipotle partnership, which was giving away free burritos. They confirmed that it wasn’t the case, however.
💡 Worth A Look
📅 Game Releases!
November 1: Unpacking
November 4: Just Dance 2022
November 5: Call of Duty: Vanguard • Let’s Build A Zoo • Animal Crossing: Happy Home Paradise
November 9: Forza Horizon 5 • Football Manager 2022 • Jurassic World Evolution 2
November 11: Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy — The Definitive Edition • Star Wars: KOTR (Switch) • Skyrim Special Edition (PS5/Series X) • Shin Megami Tensai V (Switch)
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