It’s time to get down and conga! Developed by Undercoders and published by Rising Star Games, Conga Master Party is a silly little arcade game in which you shake your virtual hips in order to attract fellow dancers and try to create the longest possible conga line behind you. Just choose one of several stylish-looking characters, each sporting different stats, and you’re ready to hit the dance floor!
Each level is portrayed as a nightclub with its own unique soundtrack, visual theme, and personality. Locations include a bowling alley, a burger restaurant, and even the local Conga University, all beautifully crafted in vivid pixel art! All the venues are colorful and lively, packed with various pop culture references that will be noticed by the attentive eye, one example being Doc from Back to the Future. The general layout of each nightclub consists of a bar on one side, a dance floor in the center, and a secret area that is unlocked after your line reaches a certain number of people.
Once you’ve chosen your venue, you’re ready to conga! Overall, the gameplay is simple enough to pick up on the spot. Using the L and R buttons on your Switch, your goal is to steer around the dance floor and add people to your conga line as quickly as possible by dancing next to them. Gaining a certain amount of people will lead to the completion of a level. The catch, however, is that there will be an assortment of hazards lined up that you will need to be wary of. For example, banana peels will cause you to slip and rabid pigs will lead to chaos if they join your conga line. If your dancer runs out of a certain amount of momentum in increasing his or her conga line, it’s game over and the fun ends. Don’t fret too much, however, because there are green tokens at each venue that offer brief power-ups: some can refill your momentum gauge while others can increase the range from which you can attract people to your conga line for instance.
Single player is fine and all, but it takes two to conga. The real party begins with multiplayer mode, in which two to four players can conga fight across a variety of unique mini games that parody classic video game franchises. For example, Mortal Conga has players collect bubbles instead of dancers, with the aim being to pop those of your rivals before they pop yours. In Grand Theft Conga, players have to capture and hold onto a solitary dancer to their corner of the dance floor until a certain gauge is full. And my personal favorite has to be Just Conga, based on Just Dance, in which one player strikes a certain pose for others to replicate; other players are required to copy that exact pose or they lose momentum. This is all enacted using the Joy-Cons: the other players must match the exact way the one player holds his or her Joy-Con, which can lead to a lot of hilarious situations. There are eight unique multiplayer modes in total that will test to see who is the true Conga Master!
Of course, this particular review wouldn’t be complete without an assessment of the game’s music. I can wholeheartedly say that the soundtrack is what gives Conga Master Party a lot of its chic flavor. Dance tunes draw inspiration from a variety of musical genres such as disco, rock & roll, jazz, and samba. Not only that, but the soundtrack is used quite fittingly for each level. Mortal Conga mode for example features Mortal Kombat inspired music. The major impression that I got was that the music, along with the vibrant art style, is what gives this game a ton of kinetic energy that will keep you coming back for more.
Overall, Conga Master Party is a great little party title to bust out when family members or friends are in the vicinity. Single player is an alright experience with little replay value, but the game is best enjoyed with friends with the variety of wacky multiplayer modes available. It’s a delightfully goofy game with slick graphics that will lead to you to dance several nights away.
8/10
Watch the Conga Master Party Nintendo Switch Trailer:
Conga Master Party is available digitally for a suggested retail price of $9.95/€8.99/£7.99.
Nintendo Switch Review
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Overall Score - 8/108/10
Freelance reviewer and critic. I am currently attending Columbia University majoring in Computer Science and East Asian Studies, but I try to play video games as much as I can in my spare time. I'm passionate about games that are atmosphere-heavy and are able to transport me to another world.
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