These rankings are based on a direct vote put out to DualShockers’ 100+ contributors, writers, and editors, not our individual reviews.
While story-heavy sequels likeBaldur’s Gate 3,Alan Wake 2, andMarvel’s Spider-Man 2have been the poster children for gaming in 2023, there’s still a lot to be said for games that let you cozy up with your friends on the couch, each with a controller in hand, or stand a safe distance from each other as you wildly swing around your Joy-Cons in front of the television.
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Party games symbolize one of the best things about video games, and that’s how they can bring us together for a good time. This year has been filled with some great ones, running across the spectrum from established AAA franchises to impressive start-out efforts from indie developers. Each member of our staff at DualShockers got three votes apiece to pick their favorites, and here’s where the best party games of 2023 ranked.
10Headbangers: Rhythm Royale
Be-Boppin' With The Birdies
Pigeons aren’t really known for making beautiful music. Their coo may not be the most impressive bird call out there from an auditory aesthete’s perspective, but the pigeons inHeadbangers: Rhythm Royale will take you on a musical journeyin which 30 players can jump in at the same time to compete in a collection of 23 different minigames.
Glee-Cheese Studios seems to have really worked hard to put a lot of variety into a genre that can easily get repetitive. Sure, there are rhythm-based minigames included in the package, but Rhythm Royale offers up so much more, from guessing games in which you have to listen to a sound clip and pick out the instruments that were included in it, to a giant piano (made of other pigeons) that you need to fire slingshot bolts at to operate. Sound-wise, there should be something for your listening pleasure no matter your musical taste, from rock to opera, classical to hip-hop.
Headbangers: Rhythm Royale
9Oddballers
If You Can Dodge A Chicken, You Can Dodge A Ball
Straight from music class to phys ed, Oddballers captures one of the great playground pastimes — pitting six players against each other in classic dodgeball action. Of course, a basic dodgeball game would hardly be enough to make this list, so indie developer Gameswing added plenty of twists to the classic formula.
While the basic dodgeball action is fun, it’s the titular odd minigames that really make this a great party game.
Depending on whether you’re playing in the city, on the farm, or in the sunny glow of a tropical island, unique challenges await across the game’s 30 different arenas. You may have to put the dodgeball action on hold to shear some sheep that wander into your field of play or toot on a horn as you attempt to avoid being hit. While the basic dodgeball action is fun, it’s the titular odd minigames that really make this a great party game.
Oddballers
8Samba De Amigo: Party Central
Shaking It To The Beat
And we’re straight back to music again! Bringing back the maraca-shaking action of the 1999 arcade game, Samba De Amigo: Party Central will have you moving your Joy-Cons or Meta controllers and dancing in tune to the beat of 40 different licensed tracks from artists like Bon Jovi, Flo Rida, Ke$ha, and Gloria Gaynor, as well as some familiar Sonic the Hedgehog tunes.
… up to eight real players (and 12 computer-controlled opponents) can square off in a three-song, winner-take-all “World Party” mode.
But this is a party game list, so what makes this Samba game great for two or more? Well, if you’ve got two players, you may go head-to-head or try to match each other in “Love Checker” mode. Plus, if you’re jumping online, up to eight real players (and 12 computer-controlled opponents) can square off in a three-song, winner-takes-all “World Party” mode. With a mix of great tunes and a ton of ways to play, this game is a great way to get up and move it with your friends.
Samba De Amigo: Party Central
7Crash Team Rumble
Capture The Wumpa Fruit
A team-based battler set in the familiar world of Crash Bandicoot,Crash Team Rumblelets you join together with a team of four as you try to collect more Wumpa Fruits than your opponents in a first-to-2,000-wins contest. If that sounds like a pretty basic premise, you’ve also got to account for all the game-changing gems and relic stations positioned around each map.
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This summer’s surprise hit, perhaps?
These points of interest make playing CTR a total blast, as there are a ton of different powers and effects that can come into play if you’ve got the chutzpah to take them and keep them away from your opponents. Wanna summon a sandstorm, a dragon, or an army of explosive drones to ruin the other team’s day? Then you’d better grab the single epic relic station on each map. With all that chaos, it’s no wonder CTR made our list of top 10 party games for 2023.
Crash Team Rumble
6Moving Out 2
A Different Kind Of Crash
Moving a big, bulky sofa probably isn’t most people’s idea of a good time. However, when you and your friends can huck that sofa through a picture window while dodging spinning obstacles and while dressed as cutesy and creatively designed characters that makeAnimal Crossingseem mundane by comparison, you’ve stumbled onto the winning formula of Moving Out 2.
In the end, that’s just a testament to its quality as a party game.
Among the games on this list, Moving Out 2 has scored on the lower end in user reviews. In the end, that’s just a testament to its quality as a party game, as a lot of people seem to have found the single-player mode lacking. Trying to squeeze your way around obstacles with multiple people pushing and pulling at a piece of furniture, though? Priceless.
Moving Out 2
5Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
Who Lives In A Pineapple And Wields A Mean Spatula?
Ah, finally we arrive at aSuper Smash Bros-esque multiplayer platform fighter. What party games list would be complete without that?Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2brings a heavy dose of nostalgia, packing in characters from some of Nick’s most iconic cartoons, like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Jimmy Neutron,Ren and Stimpy, The Wild Thornberrys, TMNT, and, of course, SpongeBob SquarePants (as well as a dozen more).
While the game does feature a single-player roguelike campaign, it’s the multiplayer aspect that keeps people coming back. All-Star Brawl 2 features 26 base-game stages and 25 characters, with more expected to be added to the game throughout 2024. So, if you’re up for some animated nostalgia, there’s still more to see from this brawler.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
4Just Dance 2024
Dancing The Night Away, 15 Years Strong
No party games list in the last decade and a half would be complete without aJust Dancetitle, and Just Dance 2024 Edition is carrying on a long legacy that started all the way back in 2009. Jam Packed at launch with 42 licensed songs spanning from 1965 to today (but mostly filled with modern entries), Just Dance 2024 has this year’s other top music titles — Headbangers and Samba De Amigo — beat in the numbers game.
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Let’s dance the dies away.
As far as competitive multiplayer modes go, the new Challenge mode lets you try to snipe the top score from players around the world or from your friends list, which is a nice touch. And this game’s actually got a utilitarian function, as the Workout Mode will track your scores against each other not in points, but in calories burned. Who knew working out from home could be such a good time?
Just Dance 2024 Edition
3WarioWare: Move It
Chaos Personified, Now With Motion Controls (Again)
Capturing the votes of a third of our staff, WarioWare: Move It takes this year’s bronze medal for Party Game of the Year. The11th entry in the seriesholds true to the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it (and also fail it) minigames that have made this series so beloved for so long. And using the motion-sensor-equipped power of the Joy-Cons, it brings back the beloved nostalgia from 2006’s WarioWare: Smooth Moves on the Wii.
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Honestly, there’s not much more to say about this game or the series that it comes from. If you haven’t played aWarioWaregame, you can’t truly appreciate the joy of utter chaos on the screen and in your hands. But for those of us who know that feeling, Move It is another solid entry in the series.
WarioWare: Move It!
2Party Animals
Come On, It’s Right There In The Name
How do you make animals like corgis, ducks, and otters even cuter? Why, give them ragdoll physics and watch them flop around with each other in possibly the most adorable multiplayer battler ever made. Party Animals cranked up the kawaii factor to such a degree that40% of our staff choseit for this list, landing it in second place.
It’s a laugh-out-loud party watching the little dudes flop around in the least threatening way possible.
With a base game pool of 19 different critters to pick from, and three different modes of play (two team-based and one all-out brawl), this game isn’t just fun to play with your friends; it’s a laugh-out-loud party watching the little dudes flop around in the least threatening way possible as they battle both each other and the physics of an unforgiving world. Getting tossed about by a windy squall or tumbling off a collapsing rope bride never looked so adorable, and we’re happy to see this one landing in a solid second.
Party Animals
1The Jackbox Party Pack 10
The King Of Party Games Does It Again
It’s hard to compete withJackboxwhen it comes to offering up casual multiplayer fun, and our staff agrees that The Jackbox Party Pack 10 deserves its spot at the top,capturing 57% of the votes.Jackbox Games has a time-honored tradition, releasing a pack of five party games every year going all the way back to 2014, and players just can’t get enough of its charming wit — most of which is provided by the players themselves.
Making up for last year’s lack of a true drawing game, Tee K.O. 2 will have you drawing funny tee shirts for your friends to vote on. Hypnotorious is another in Jackbox’s line of co-op/competitive deduction games, Timejinx brings the trivia by making you guess years that actual events happened, and FixyText is uproariously funny, having teams cooperatively respond to text messages in chaotic fashion. Lastly, Dodo Re Mi is the second bird-themed music game on this list packed with 32 different songs, which alone makes it a contender. This year’s pack really has something for everyone, and that’s why it’s our Party Game of the Year for 2023.
The Jackbox Party Pack 10
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