Another Year, Another Jackbox
Party games were forever changed when the first Jackbox Party Pack was released back in November of 2014. From the twisted trivia-fest You Don’t Know Jack, to the devious liar’s delight, Fibbage, Jackbox Games had a winning collection on their hands. With follow-up releases every year since, we’re now on the fifth installment in the series. Aside from one failed experiment, Jackbox Party Pack 5 is a zany good time.
The formula of connecting to Jackbox servers via one’s smartphone has returned. The same goes for room codes allowing audience members across the internet to observe, or even interact with certain games. This time around, up to 10,000 people can join the audience; a welcome upgrade in the age of live-streaming.
The presentation is colorful, playful and functional. The music and sound effects are as charmingly silly as ever, and the voice-overs are highly amusing. Those who are fans of the podcast Hello From The Magic Tavern will recognize the voice of the mysterious man as the host of Split The Room.
Do You Know Jack?
The first game in the collection, You Don’t Know Jack: Full Stream, is the same classic trivia game with a new theme and new questions. Poking fun at streaming services is a constant part of the presentation. Each game even ends with a “monetize me” button that links the player to a purchase screen for the game.
The questions are a brilliant combination of trivia, pop culture, and off-beat humor. Sometimes the resulting question is so hilarious that regaining one’s composure in time to think of an answer is more challenging than the question itself. The special rounds such as “Dis or Dat” elicit frantic moments of fun. The “screws” which create challenges for fellow players (such as having to scroll through an overly long terms of service before answering the question) make for a hilarious experience that never lets up.
Split The Room is an interesting experience that involves creating divisive questions with the goal of splitting the votes as much as possible. This plays out as a game of would-you-rather, and striking the winning balance between comedy and sincerity can be challenging. While this game is clearly meant to be played with a large group or audience, there’s still some fun to be had for smaller parties.
Stupid Inventions, Robot Rap Battles
Those familiar with previous Jackbox games such as Drawful will feel right at home playing Patently Stupid. A player creates a problem to be solved, and others draw an appropriate invention with a product name and tagline. Upon presenting everyone’s inventions, a vote is taken. This allows for some truly silly ideas to take shape on screen, but committing to one’s presentation is what creates the funniest moments in this game.
Requiring the most creative input from players in this collection is Mad Verse City. That being said, this game allows for some of the funniest moments in any Jackbox game to date. Players take on the role of giant robots seeking to destroy one another through freestyle rap battles. The game asks for a specific type of word (think Madlibs), and then forms the first verse around it. The player must then write the second line of the verse; sometimes this results in duds, but comedically inclined players can bring the whole room to tears.
Hearing the text-to-speech function rapping lyrics in a delightfully soulless robotic voice is an endlessly entertaining experience. Players face off two at a time, and the group votes on the winning rap. Thankfully, there’s an option to save lyrics from particularly entertaining battles; a feature which comes in handy more than one might think.
Zeeple Nope
While the first four games in the collection are all fun in their own right, the fifth is a letdown. Zeeple Dome is an Angry Birds rip-off that feels unoriginal and out of place. On the positive side, the controls are surprisingly responsive, and the touch-and-slide mechanics will be familiar to anyone who has a history of flinging cartoon birds into pigs. For a game series all about party games involving humor and wit, the inclusion of Zeeple Dome brings to mind the age-old question, “What were they thinking?”
Four Winners And A Loser
Those looking for an activity to enjoy with family or friends this holiday season need look no further than Jackbox Party Pack 5. The instantly accessible smartphone-based controls make it easy to pick up and play. You Don’t Know Jack: Full Stream is a finely tuned machine that churns out laughs and engaging trivia in perfect doses. Split The Room is a unique exploration of divisive thinking, and it’s great fun to see how everyone answers. Patently Stupid is a satisfying mixture of improv comedy and the show Shark Tank. Mad Verse City is the combination of freestyle rap and giant robots that we never knew we needed; but we do. It’s best to ignore Zeeple Dome, and luckily with four fantastic games alongside it in the collection, you can. Jackbox Party Pack 5 gets an impressively fun, impeccably funny 4 out of 5.
Want to find out if you know jack? Or perhaps live that robo-rapper life? Jackbox Party Pack 5 is available now on PS4, X-Box One, Switch, Steam, iOS, and Amazon Fire TV for $29.99.
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