We’ve had 10 years of The Jackbox Party Pack, and the tenth entry does show signs of the series’ rickety age. The Jackbox Party Pack 10 has some solid games in its arsenal, like the time-based trivia game Timejinx and Tee K.O. 2, but there are more misses than hits.
It hurts me to say, as I’m a huge fan of the developer. FixyText felt pointless within my group and brought back memories of Word Spud, and then they were confused by Hypnotorious.
The Jackbox Party Pack 10 (PC [reviewed], PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: Jackbox Games, Inc.
Publisher: Jackbox Games, Inc.
Released: October 19, 2023
MSRP: $34.99
Timejinx is by far the best game in The Jackbox Party Pack 10
I love trivia, and Jackbox Games are masters of making the fun-fact genre of party games weird. In Timejinx, you’re tasked with identifying the exact timeframe of historical events. The further out you are, the more points you gain. That’s usually a good thing, but in this instance, you actually want to get the least out of the group to win.
While Timejinx does last a little too long for my liking, the questions are creative, and the rounds change up the formula. For example, you’ll have two different copies of a famous historical figure. You’ll need to guess which one is telling the truth (correct answer). One question asks how many novels Jane Austen has written; the first answer says four, and the other states 12. The former answer is correct.
The graphics behind Timejinx are awesome, too, as you dive deep into a time machine and see all the bits and bobs flying in the air. For example, there’s a flying robot that looks like a Tamogatchi.
However, one issue came up with Timejinx when I had a small group of people playing. You see, later on in the game, the players with fewer points receive hints on what date they should pick for the matching event. They’re way too obvious, and time after time, I pulled away the victory against my sister in Timejinx because of these massive hints. They helped gain me a 15-20 point advantage, frustrating my poor sibling. With a bigger group, however, this shouldn’t be a problem.
Tee K.O. 2 brings back the fan-favorite game
This sequel is an evolution of the Tee K.O. format. We now have shirts, jackets, and vests to utilize, in addition to multiple text fonts. We can get more creative with our designs, and if you make a mistake, you can actually undo your drawing step-by-step.
It’s still hilarious. Each player makes three different drawings, and then every group member picks their favorite design. The players also create funny catchphrases and words to attach to that image. The result is usually laughter as everyone votes on their favorite
It specifically makes me cackle as I love the absurd humor this lets you play with. Tee K.O. 2 still hits and is even better than the original, thanks to its new functionality. It also lets you choose the drawing you want to alter from a bigger selection for the second round.
The Jackbox Party Pack 10 has more misses than hits
I’m a big fan of Jackbox’s work. This studio gave me many memories of making jokes with my university friends. Unfortunately, The Jackbox Party Pack 10 may show signs of the format growing stale.
FixyTest is kind of a mess. The idea is that you’re writing an email that can’t be edited or backspaced. Then, four players on each team make up words on the fly. As my friend group played this, they were so confused and didn’t know what the point of the game was. It feels as directionless as Word Spud from the original Party Pack 10 years ago. It does show some signs of promise, however.
Other players can actually edit what you’ve written and completely turn the conversation in a different direction. The words you type can also be relatively amusing if you put them in wrong.
At the end of a round, the other team of four picks their favorite (funniest) words from the letter written. It is also read out loud by an AI voice. The one-note gameplay mechanics and humor fell flat most of the time, and it was generally boring to play. My group moved on from the game quickly.
Hypnotorious is also confounding
Another odd game in The Jackbox Party Pack 10 is Hypnotorious. This one features a psychic confusing you to become another object like bacon and eggs. You then are asked several prompts that require you to answer in character. The scenarios the game presents, however, are frankly strange with inanimate objects, animals, and other beings mentioned. You need to have a creative group to make this work.
The aim of the game is to spot which player matches with you. For example, at the diner, you find a grill alongside bacon and eggs. They are matching.
At the end of the game, there’s a twist. You’ll need to point out who is the outlier. There is one player that isn’t matched with anyone in terms of the topic. For example, in Stumpt’s first time with Hypnotorious, there were three fast animals and one slow animal. The latter is the person you need to spot. If the outlier doesn’t get caught, they practically win the game with the amount of points they gain.
Generally, this game confused my group, due to the absurdity of the prompts, and we were left wanting to go back to Timejinx and Tee K.O. 2.
However, when I played with another group the next day, Hypnotorious got interesting. One of the players was trying to skew their answers to better match the others.
There’s an element of strategy that makes the game far more interesting than I initially thought before. For example, someone got the Grinch and tried to make us believe the topic was about us being winter-themed rather than it being blue characters and green characters.
Dodo Re Mi is something new for Jackbox Games
Lastly, there’s Dodo Re Mi. It’s a new music-rhythm game from Jackbox Games that has you forming a band with friends. The quirky side of the Chicago-based studio comes in with the eccentric instruments you can play. You can have an oboe playing alongside gargling sounds and constant screaming. It’s surprising what the end result could be.
If you get the timing settings correct at the beginning of the song, you’ll have a decent music-rhythm experience. It plays a lot like Guitar Hero, but if you struggle with having five different threads on-screen at once, you can choose an easier difficulty instrumental with just one thread. For example, the Constant Screaming has only three threads to master.
Once the song is complete, you’ll watch as the birds perform your work in front of a carnivorous monster. If you succeed, you’re spared. If you fail, your group will be eaten. A cool aspect of the game is that you can download an MP3 of the song after.
My main issue is getting the timing right. The beat is sometimes inaccurate if it’s set wrong. It can be easy to do. The touch screen personally didn’t feel as tactile as a Guitar Hero button, and the timing sometimes felt slightly off. I had fun, but Dodo Re Mi isn’t something I envision playing with my friends all too much. It seems like a hassle playing the game over Discord, Twitch, or Skype, as a music game needs precise inputs.
Closing thoughts
The Jackbox Party Pack 10 is a mixed bag. Two of the games are confusing, one is a welcomed return, and Time Jinx is the absolute star in this pack for being a creative trivia title. The format’s starting to get stale, unfortunately, and the novelty of connecting to the game with your phone has worn off.
My friends and I also had regular disconnects from games, and it can be frustrating as these experiences can last 10-20 minutes at a time. My sister also had issues connecting to Jackbox.TV at first due to having a VPN on, which could be a hassle for many. Additionally, questions popped up multiple times, and I had to give the answer to my friends playing with me to keep it fair
Hopefully, the series continues with a new pep in its step next year.
[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]
