Read: The biggest video games still coming in 2021

It all depends on chance, with a minor dose of player decision-making. There are plenty more event spaces here, Bowser and his ruinous nature is far more involved, and it’s very easy to make a wrong move regardless of what number you roll. The boards were milquetoast in comparison to Mario Party Superstars, which has surprises around every corner. The last instalment on Nintendo Switch, Super Mario Party, never felt overly aggressively or unfair. As someone who didn’t grow up with the original Mario Party titles, I was baffled and amused by how much the game left to chance. If you’ve played classic GameCube and Nintendo 64 Mario Party titles, you’ll be familiar with how the game works, and how vicious rounds can be. It’s not always fair, but it is a very fair representation of what it’s like playing board games in real life. These are the rampant highs and lows of Mario Party Superstars, which can throw for you for a loop or hand-deliver you victory. On another turn, I landed on a Bowser space, and he ended up stealing and dividing all my coins between the other players.

On one turn, I managed to nab a special warp pipe that would take me directly to Toadette’s star. You can spend whole rounds getting lucky dice rolls and landing on squares that give excellent boons. When you’re on the winning side of the equation, travelling through the game’s many boards is an absolute blast. So many times I was close to victory, and so many times the game pulled the rug out from under me.

Download mario superstar party for free