Samba de Amigo: Party Central

Samba De Amigo: Party Central delivers beautifully on its basic appeal, and any maraca-shaking session is likely to provide a proper dopamine rush. Series enthusiasts might be disappointed, however, by its lack of focus on Latin flavor and the general dearth of truly challenging options. It's hard not to wish that Samba de Amigo: Party Central built a little more on top of its wonderful foundation, but it's still a great party game for the Switch and a welcome return for one of SEGA's best titles.

Samba de Amigo: Party Central is a decent party game for people who are up for getting their arms moving and shaking to the beat. The different modes offer something for solo and more players. However, it's a shame the Apple Arcade game is the only version that saw a story mode. Samba de Amigo is a fun series. I hope Sega doesn't keep us waiting so long for more to keep the party going.

Samba de Amigo: Party Central is a fun title that still has some faults. The use of motion controls is fine until the game misreads your movements, while the more traditional gamepad method works well because it does more in mimicking motions and being challenging in its own right. The lack of focus on more Latin-themed music is disappointing considering the nature of the maracas, but the variety of music ensures that it's trying to reach a wider audience that enjoys the likes of Just Dance. The modes are fun, but the grind in replaying certain songs multiple times to earn more currency for cosmetics can be bothersome, especially given the presence of two different currency types. Samba de Amigo remains a charming rhythm game experience that genre fans will enjoy if they can forgive those quirks.

If you are a fan of rhythm games, Samba de Amigo: Party Central may go to the shelf of oblivion due to the strong market for similar games found on this same console. However, it is an exciting game if you have someone to enjoy a little rhythm, dance, and humor with songs that we all like and will become instant classics of American culture.

Samba de Amigo isn't perfect, but it's a good time for all, and I can already see this being brought out at parties as an instant ice-breaker.

A perfectly solid rhythm action experience that manages to cater to casual and experienced players alike, although it lacks ambition.

Samba de Amigo: Party Central is more of a small get-together than a full-on party.

Samba de Amigo is a hoot with friends, sure to generate laughs and memorable moments. Just don’t expect an engrossing single-player rhythm game experience.

Samba de Amigo: Party Central isn’t exactly the deepest rhythm game, but there’s still fun to be had here, even if the overall product is held back by its finicky Joy-Con controls. A great soundtrack, enjoyable gameplay modes and a bold, eye-catching visual style help keep the party going even longer, but with a little refinement, future shindigs in this series can be even greater than ever.

Samba De Amigo: Party Central may not a perfect experience, but it’s fun enough to be a fun addition to any Friday night get-together.

It's could never a good sign when a musical game isn't in the position to offer a memorable playlist. Unfortunately, Samba de Amigo is a forgettable experience which at best may offer a few laughs when played with friends.

Samba De Amigo: Party Central isn’t quite the revitalisation of the licensed music rhythm game, but it is a decent, weird and charming little title. It’s a big deal that the franchise is returning after fifteen years and to celebrate is a fun enough and grooving adventure that celebrates both a wide range of excellent songs across multiple genres and even the SEGA name as a whole. Playing in multiplayer, competitively or co-operatively makes for dastardly sabotage or harmonious pairing fun. While this lets up somewhat in motion control movements not being as responsive as they should, button prompt inputs make for a rhythmic good time as you work up a finger cramp or two gliding your fingers across the face buttons. The Streamigo campaign mode may offer a nice setting but will test players with its grindy nature and artificially bloated length. Still, for every shortfall, there’s enough whimsy in Party Central that it will be certainly worth picking up those maracas and shaking it all out to a moving, grooving time.

Samba de Amigo: Party Central isn’t a particularly necessary addition for rhythm gamers on the Switch, but it’s a solid party game if that’s something you’re looking for. While the controls aren’t as accurate as I’d like, the core gameplay is still enjoyable. The song list is largely inoffensive, and it’s likely you’ll find at least a handful of songs you might like. There are some fun additional modes and options to try that, while imperfect, add more playability to this game. I’m eager to see future song packs added, because the ones that exist are already pretty entertaining. I can only dream that Sega will release a maracas peripheral like they had for the Dreamcast.

Samba de Amigo: Party Central is an entertaining music-rhythm game in theory, but it slips on banana peels that Sega threw on the ground constantly. The controls are certainly an improvement from the Wii game, but the game still suffers from a lack of input when you move sideways. The roulette system is a nuisance — especially in the single-player mode where you can’t turn it off — and the song list is a little disappointing with some overused pop tracks that have been featured in other games...Despite all that, I still find enjoyment in this game as the concept of shaking a Joy-Con to the beat never gets old to me. That’s despite Amigo’s smile haunting my nightmares tonight.

When it finds itself, Samba de Amigo proves that it deserves to be revived more often than it is. But it loses this streak too quickly. Samba has far more potential than a few fun dances to keep the family busy over the holidays, I just hope it doesn't take Sega a bunch of DLC packs and another 10-year hiatus to realise that.

Samba de Amigo: Party Central is a flashy, entertaining game. The different modes are fun, and the Joy-Con work well as pretend-maracas. Alas, the mediocre music selection keeps my enthusiasm at bay.

Samba de Amigo: Party Central brings back the cult classic monkey and all the fun that comes with him, but it does too much in the wrong places. By bombarding the player with no fewer than three different progress bars to level up in, any sense of growth, progress or leveling feels arbitrary and unnecessary. They feel like an attempt to hide the fact that Samba de Amigo is an arcade game about a dancing monkey that you can dress up in silly little outfits; it doesn't need to be an RPG, so why make it one? After all, Samba de Amigo is inherently fun—be it with maracas, a Wii remote, Joy-Con, or just buttons.

Getting into the groove and feeling the rhythm with your whole body is brain-tickling. It’s an absolute joy. With my arms burning, Break Free complete, I felt like I’d accomplished something. While the other game modes in Samba de Amigo: Party Central are slightly less compelling, in that many are routine and eventually devolve to repetition, on the strength of StreamiGo!, this spin-off is a strong entry in the rhythm game genre.