LEGO Party! makes its way to the Switch 2 and brings a much-needed boost to the party game genre with visual updates and new features.
Vacation time is family time for us, so when we head out of town together we also prefer to game together. We were in Europe for a couple of weeks recently and the evenings turned out to be a perfect time to relax and set up the Switch 2 in tabletop mode in our hotel cafes, jumping into party games to keep us yelling and laughing.
Party board video games certainly have a formula, and if a developer sticks too close to that formula then the final product gets boring quickly and feels empty. Sure they can throw the glaze of an IP on top, but that usually ends up being surface work to what’s most crucial. Developers SMG Studio knew that they had a big challenge ahead to approach the genre with something fresh, so they relied on two aspects: the gameplay and the LEGO IP. In this case both work together, perfectly.
So how is it special? Well, the LEGO twist. For one it looks really good — it’s LEGO, so colorful geometric shapes can consistently look like they all belong together. And because it’s LEGO it’s also aimed at playing with the characters and the world rather than just in it. These are toys, so treat them like toys in the game. That makes the experience more inviting and accessible to players without losing the challenge. The game has all of the typical party game systems (mini games, a board, collect the most of an item to win) but there’s more to do in the world than JUST win the most bricks. There are times when I lose a game but feel just as satisfied causing chaos for everyone else.
There are 4 game boards, which isn’t a lot from a number standpoint but there’s actually a lot that happens in each one. They’re constantly shifting and adjusting, and feel fresh each time we play. There even are events we have to engage in, like lite boss battles and group events. In fact they tend to feel like “levels” rather than a game board, as if we’re playing through LEGO sets across different worlds. As we play we can build them up, we can adjust them, and depending on how long of a game we set they can sometimes feel like we’re playing a full game within a game. It’s a neat way to make the experience fluid and unique, so that when we play the next time we aim to make the board our own rather than rely on the spin of chance. Speaking of which, the mini games take place at the start of the rounds, too, and determine who goes first, second, etc. It feels better than rolling dice, because it’s something we can control. We can face off in the middle of rounds, some of the events have multiple stages, and some are free-for-all or co-op, but by removing the rubber-banding of fate it actually feels like a more level playing field, even when it’s parents and young kids playing.
The game has been out for a year already, but it’s now finally on the Switch 2. There’s nothing specific to the console besides nicely improved visuals, but with the new features and four new modes added in the 1.6 update the game has become pretty full of content. Most importantly it looks and feels great on the Switch 2, even on the LCD screen on that little table.
LEGO Party! is, as our family would attest, “a blast,” especially when giggling and laughing in the middle of France with passersby wondering why our hands are up and high-fiving and empty cappuccino cups litter the table in front of us.
This review is based on a Switch 2 eShop code sent to the Editor by the Publisher. It originally appeared on The SideQuest Live! for August 16, 2026.
