Conga Master Party! (Nintendo Switch) Review

Conga, pigs on the dancefloor, UFOs on the night sky, and… Cthulhu(?!). Yes, this will be a crazy night - and yet the premise is, oh, so simple: enter the nightclub, and try forming the longest conga line possible. In order to do so the main character has to approach an NPC to make a "Like" meter start filling, "capturing" that said fellow when that finally fills up. Keep on doing so, and the place will liven up a bit more.

Rules: first, don't push - it's rude, and it resets the whole capturing thingy. Secondly, avoid anything that might slow you down or decrease your chances of "surviving," whether that's waiters that intoxicate you, angry men who punch you around, slippery surfaces, and… pigs. Finally, keep an eye on that constantly decreasing Momentum gauge, as it acts as your health bar. Making people join your partying fills it up, but the longer the line, the faster it goes poof!

…Aaand that's about it. No really, there's not much else to say about this. Just tank-control your dancer around with the shoulder buttons (piece of cake), avoid "traps" (also a piece of cake), and try to keep Momentum filling up through pulling off capture combos by reducing the time between NPC grabs. Is Conga Master Party! bad or anything? No. In fact, it can be quite addicting for a couple of hours, but the line between simple and simplistic quickly gets really thin.

The Story mode, which is basically the "Campaign" here, has little difference between the more arcade-y Endless mode. In Story you complete levels to move on to the next one, and have to collect specific dancers to do so, while in Endless mode you just choose a level and try to last as long as possible - but, besides the fact that Story gives you the opportunity to unlock more characters to try out, these aren't as different as one might expect.

The Story mode should be an introduction to a more "meatier" Endless mode experience. Unfortunately, the latter actually feels even weaker, as it lacks that extra spark, with one example being the removal of the boost items available in Story. As for the folks that can be unlocked, they are quite the unbalanced pack, as their differences in running, turning, and capturing speeds, as well as their capturing range, makes them great for some modes, and completely garbage for others.

The characters are cute and all, as most are actually pop icon wannabees ranging from Steve Urkel and Elvis, to Robocop and Freddie Mercury, and the stages themselves are filled with lots of pixel-y references to all things geekdom… but these aren't enough to save this - and while on the subject of audio-visuals, Conga Master Party! is in some desperate need for additional tunes, as those available are far from enough, or, at least, pleasant (God, that UFO level theme!).

Could multiplayer save the day? Well, the good news is that its modes are more varied, as well as more entertaining than solo Conga… ing. Up to four players can join in the fun, and, depending on the mode selected, try to cut the enemy's line, capture and steal dancers, or even work together while being chain-linked. Furthermore, there are two multiplayer modes exclusive to the Switch, although, to be honest, they aren't something special, and just feel as if they were shoehorned in.

In the end, however, it doesn't really matter if you are playing alone or with friends, or whether you prefer Mortal Konga and Command & Conga over 1-2 Conga or Just Conga. No matter the mode chosen, Conga Master Party! will always feel the same. It's definitely a title that's worth a spin or two, but it needs far more from what's on offer to also be worthy of a price-tag, be it more rules, more moves, or more tunes.