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0 Are you looking for a new party game to dive into? Well Dumb Ways: Free For All might be just what you’re looking for! From the wonderful minds at PlaySide Studios comes a game based on the viral Australian public campaign to promote railway safety from 2012. Honestly if you haven’t checked out the song, or have no idea what it is, go and check it out here. So it can be stuck in your head, just as it is in mine!
Not So Dumb If You Play This
Whilst the game’s name says Free For All, unfortunately, it isn’t free for anyone. At £15.99 on the Meta store, it’s a small price to pay for a lot of fun. Wait. I should get you to read the review before I give you my overall thoughts.
Gameplay
With over 50 mini-games to play over two destinations. Dumb Ways: Free For All has a lot of content to get to grips with. Playing in either solo or with up to 5 other players each game has different mechanics to play through. Solo is a nice relaxing experience, as you play through a playlist to get the highest score. Whereas multiplayer up’s the ante, as you go head-to-head competing for the highest score!
Let’s talk about these mini-games a bit more. There are so many with so much variety. From bowling coconuts down the beach to prevent crabs from getting to you, to firing bananas at grumpy monkeys. All equally as ridiculous and fun. Which is exactly what you want from a party game!
At the end of each playlist, there is what the game calls an extra difficult level. During these you go face to face with extreme weather conditions in a final game to test your skills. I must admit that I didn’t find the extra threat from extreme weather make any difference to the level difficulty. Nor did it make it more difficult to see. If anything, this feels like it’s more just for the show, for the drama. I’m not complaining though, I love some dramatic flair!
DLC
It has already been announced that there are two free DLC updates on their way. On December 9th you can travel to Freezerville and then in January, you can embark on a journey to Beanulon Prime. Each update will also include an extra 25 mini-games for you to play. Ensuring that Dumb Ways: Free For All continues to grow into an almighty party game.
Graphics & Audio
Those familiar with the characters from the safety campaign will instantly recognise the character models in the game. Their bean-shaped bodies and goofy faces are there for all to enjoy. Each level is rendered beautifully, and the environments are lush with activity. Before you start a game, make sure you look around to take in the surrounding areas. More often than not you’ll be able to spot other bean characters doing their own quirky little things.
Audio-wise, you are greeted with great sound effects. Even down to the intense moments as your timer runs down. Everything is packed into a nice little neat package.
Longevity
Dumb Ways: Free For All has a lot of games to it. With 50 at launch, expanding to around 100 by the end of January. There is a lot of scope for even more creation. My only concern is that there may come a point where PlaySide Studios end up regurgitating the same mini-games and only just changing them slightly. Hopefully, I’m proven wrong.
However, adding friends and online multiplayer to the game will only expand the life cycle of the game. It does rely on you potentially playing the same games over and over. Is that such a bad thing? Only time will tell.
Final Thoughts
So what does all this mean? Well, it means that Dumb Ways: Free For All is an absolute joy to play. It is a lot of fun and I only played Solo due to the lack of friends playing the game. It left me with a smile on my face. Granted I’m old enough to remember the original song, but still.
Dumb Ways: Free For All receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received to write this review.
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