Nintendo’s first party Wii U titles have been huge wins for the console and the publisher. But Nintendo’s run of releasing great first party Wii U seems to have ended with Mario Party 10. It’s the first big Wii U game of 2015, and it seems to be a dud.
Mario Party 10 was released last week and reviews have been disappointing from all major gaming publications. The game has a MetaCritic score of just 65 — way below what’s expected from a first party Nintendo game. In fact, it might just be the lowest rated first party Nintendo Wii U game ever.
Even Wii Karaoke U and Wii Sports Club are rated higher than Mario Party 10. Technically, Game & Wario has a slightly lower rating, but it doesn’t really count since it was a remake (and more of a GamePad tech demo) and Nintendo didn’t market the game all.
Nintendo has previously had a streak of high rated games — just last year, they released Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2, and Super Smash Bros, with an average score of 90 on MetaCritic. Other first party Wii U games have been just as good: Pikmin 3 (87), Wind Waker HD (90), and Super Mario 3D World (93 — highest rated Wii U game to date).
But the party seems to have ended with Mario Part 10. IGN called it “Party Yawn”, saying it was designed for “Small children and inebriated adults”.
GameSpot called it “Party pooper” (yes, the “party” puns are going strong in reviews), saying that the game “just doesn’t have the depth or the challenge to hold your attention for long”.
GameTrailers weren’t impressed either, criticizing its mini games. “It’s completely possible to go through an entire match as a passive observer and still win first place.”, the review stated.
At least it’s not as big of a party pooper as Arnold:
