Image credit: Mike Klubnika, GDeavid

There is an obvious humour to be found in the contrast between the visual presentation of Mario Party and the agita and unbridled rage it brings out in people. This is not a game about violence, yet it pulls it out from people nonetheless. So, how about something that leans into this violence, while still retaining the jovially competitive nature? Enter Machine Party, the latest from Buckshot Roulette developer Mike Klubnika, made alongside GDeavid, a party game "where failure is lethal."

Machine Party truly is masochistic Mario Party. You need at least two people to play, and it can run up to four people, with however many of you there are forced into brutal, lawless minigames where you desperately want to be the person that finishes first otherwise your death is likely imminent. There are a bevy of games to play through, all of which just teeter over the edge of silliness that would allow them to be found in the Saw franchise.

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One game sees you running around a room in hopes of not being shredded to bits by a roomba with a buzz saw attached to it. Another places a brutalist Rubik's Cube in front of you that you have to destroy square by square in order to match a particular shape. Fail to do so, and your brains are on the walls. A third sees you eating as many peas, one a time, as fast as you can. Do the worst, that's right, brains on the walls again. And we find ourselves back to being shredded in a fourth (but not final, there appear to be a good few) minigame which sees you attempting to run up an escalator that's going down, a pit of sawblades at its bottom.

Every inch of the game is as ridiculous as it is gorey, which I'm sure will delight enough of you out there. As it stands, it should be noted, there is no local co-op. A launch day Steam post clarifies that this will be coming in late August, explaining that there were no plans for it originally, but enough folks asked for it so it's happening.

Machine Party is out now on Steam.