"Drink More Glurp" Review: The Funniest Couch Party Game Ever

Party games are really tricky to pull off.

They have an impossibly fine line to walk: simple enough to be accessible to everyone, yet deep enough to stay engaging for more than just a few playthroughs, with enough variety of content for replayability, and a level playing field between the best and worst players.

But the cherry on top? A constant ebb and flow of tension and laughter, punctuated by climactic moments.

Drink More Glurp has all of that in spades. Its combination of simple mechanics, gameplay variety, wacky theme, and quirky aesthetics make it a serious contender—and possibly the outright champion—of party games.

I used to think Jackbox Party Packs were the ultimate party game. Now? Drink More Glurp has dethroned it as my go-to.

The Good

It all starts with Drink More Glurp's premise: an alien race, having observed humans for a while, attempts to replicate the olympic sporting phenomenon. But these aliens aren't as coordinated as humans! And the results are absolutely hilarious.

Drink More Glurp is a collection of physics-based mini-games, where each mini-game is inspired by a human sporting event (e.g. track races, long jumps, and even dodgeball).

The controls are different for each event but the idea is always the same: aliens don't have fine-tuned motor skills, so good luck trying to do what you want to do!

But that doesn't mean the game is hard to play; the controls are surprisingly intuitive, and even someone who's never played a video game before will be able to jump in.

For example, the racing event features an alien with two stretchy legs. The left stick controls the left leg and the right stick controls the right leg. That's it. Running the race involves rotating both sticks with the right timing so that the alien "runs" its way across the track.

In more difficult events, you'll need to figure out how to maneuver the legs in the right way to make the alien "jump" over hurdles, or grab onto objects so you can "throw" them down the lane.

Clean animations and themed artwork help solidify the entire package as a cohesive, polished product.

Watching players fail is the heart of this game, and it's so damn funny—but never in a mean or malicious way. It all makes perfect sense and absolutely no sense at all. I've never played a couch party game with this many laughs-per-minute.

The main Party Mode supports up to 20 players, and that's possible because Drink More Glurp uses a one-player-at-a-time format. Bob runs the race first. Then Carrie. Then Doug.

The genius of this format is that it forces everyone to watch the player fumble and tumble around, and everyone's laughing at the shenanigans occurring on screen.

And this allows Drink More Glurp to be one of the few true party video games—whereas most games are restricted to 4 or maybe 8 players, this one can accommodate a full-blown PARTY.

Related: The best party games on Nintendo Switch

Another nice touch is the ability for each player to customize their avatar with a name, a color scheme, and an accessory.

It's a small thing that doesn't impact gameplay at all... but based on the times I've played, it really draws people into the game and makes them feel like they're competing in these events. They're invested in the outcomes, and that's the secret ingredient behind party games that are exciting.

I also appreciate the inclusion of a Challenge Mode for when you're itching to play but don't have a party to play with. You can run through different challenges and try to nab the high score in as many as you can.

The Bad

Honestly, I only see one flaw in Drink More Glurp: Why is there no option to pick and choose the events I want to play??? If my friends and I just want to play the long throw over and over, why can't we?

This might be the biggest oversight in game development history; every game that's basically a collection of mini-games has a mode that lets you pick-and-choose which ones you want to play.

Was it left out because of a fear that players would burn out too quickly if they replayed the same event to death? Lame excuse. And I can't think of any other valid reason.

It's not a huge issue—certainly not big enough a reason to deduct any marks—but I sorely wish I had the option to play whatever events I want. Perhaps it'll come in a future patch. Fingers crossed!

Oh, and what's up with the name Drink More Glurp? I get that it's trying to capture the absurd, satirical, wacky nature of the game... but what a terrible name. It fails to convey any semblance of what the gameplay is like, and is a marketing hindrance.

And that makes me sad because this game deserves all the accolades. With a name like that, it can only succeed by word of mouth. I hope it happens.

The Verdict

For $10 retail, Drink More Glurp is a no-brainer purchase. It might just be the best $10 you spend all year, given how much laughter you'll share with friends and how often you'll be loading it up (at every group gathering). It's the perfect way to start a night, or end a night, or both!

This one's an absolute winner. Don't miss out.