The Mario Party franchise has long been the gold standard for family-friendly mini-game fun. Even with its occasional missteps, the series has consistently delivered a high level of quality. A number of indie efforts have attempted to break into the space, with My Singing Monsters Playground being the most notable among them. Unfortunately, none of these have been able to truly compete with the OG Nintendo party games.

Party Friends is the latest to try its hand at the genre, but it unfortunately does little to change the status quo. Featuring a mere 20 mini-games, which is a far cry from the dozens found in Mario Party games, it is already off to a rough start. Even more disappointingly, many of them simply aren’t terribly engaging overall, too often featuring either tired premises, poorly-implemented controls, or a general lack of clarity in how to be successful with them. Worse, many of them simply are not very fun, providing little incentive to return to the game after you’ve sampled all of its offerings.

Overall, Party Friends is a disappointing entry in the family-friendly mini-game genre. It features only a small number of lackluster mini-games that vary too much in their quality, suffers from some control issues, and simply lacks excitement. If you are looking for a fun and family-friendly mini-game experience, there are simply better options out there in the eShop.