GameChat in Super Mario Party Jamboree Is Hilarious Chaos on Switch 2

I didn't expect GameChat would be my big highlight from Super Mario Party Jamboree on Switch 2, yet it's leaving me considerably amused.

Last week saw Nintendo launch Super Mario Party Jamboree - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV, an obscenely long name that's rivalled only by The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution. This upgraded edition comes with some flashy new features via Jamboree TV, which separates the new additions similarly to how Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury or Sonic X Shadow Generations package their new campaigns.

Jamboree TV contains four different modes. Half of these return from the base game with minor alterations, while the other two are disappointingly not available for online play. Bowser Live splits you into two teams while using the camera and microphone, while Carnival Coaster sees your group riding together to defeat enemies. There's also new Joy-Con mouse controls minigames, more rulesets, and GameChat Support for the standard party mode.

For the unfamiliar, GameChat on Switch 2 is Nintendo's answer to social gaming that supports audio and video chats, the latter requiring a USB-C camera. It's visually reminiscent of Discord, but honestly, the similarities end there. Setting this up is relatively straightforward, and the dedicated 'C' button conveniently opens up the chat room. While Discord has metamorphed into something of an essential tool for anyone who spends a consistent amount of time online, GameChat errs more into "so bad that it's good" territory.

What I mean is how it tries cutting out your surroundings like a transparent PNG, leaving only your face in the endless void Tilt-A-Golf, which can be painfully funny. GameChat doesn't always register me and my fiancée in the image, instead spotting my curtains or cutting chunks out of my head as their own faces, resulting in managled half chromakeyed out bodies. I know what you're thinking, and yes, this is probably bald oppression. Either that or you're preparing a “pull yourself together” joke. Kidding aside, I eventually set GameChat to include my full surroundings.

Even when using the official Nintendo Switch 2 camera that supports 1080p video capture, the video quality is uhhhhhhhhh not great. Despite the otherwise decent motion tracking and not being sat too far away from my TV, zooming into my face is rather blurry. Leaving me with an image that looks more like an 8-bit caricature of myself rather than an image of my own face. And yet, a two-hour session has convinced me this is the best way to play Super Mario Party Jamboree online.

One thing I always miss about playing in-person compared to online multiplayer is directly seeing the group's reactions. Whether that's stealing coins or a star via Boo, pulling off an unlikely manoeuvre to reach the star before someone else, or the barbarity that is Chance Time, those reactions are often priceless. Jamboree doesn't simply put your video feed in a box underneath the game while playing, not like the standard implementation. It goes a step further with some frankly excellent integrations that, hilariously, simultaneously undermines itself by using low-resolution camera footage.

Placing you in a spinning wheel during Chance Time is a fun but not especially necessary choice. If you've cut out the camera feed's background, this also gives you a new background with stars appearing behind you if you've gained any due. A small but fun touch. What I particularly like is how GameChat captures specific moments, such as getting your first star, replaying this later, and a TV show zooming in to capture your live reactions. In fact, in these cases, the low-quality image almost makes it endearing, like you are watching a game show from the 1950s.

However, what really seals this for me is how your face fades out and reappears multiple times when you've chosen your next victim for Boo to steal coins from. Each of my gaming group made different faces as we reappeared on screen, adding that little something extra that does a surprisingly good job of bringing you into the action.

It's a reminder of why multiplayer sessions can be good for the soul, even in a historically stressful game like Mario Party. Jamboree TV is a welcome upgrade to what I already consider the best entry so far. Even if that's not always for the right reasons, GameChat takes this a step further. Myself, Lex, and Scott will be streaming more on Twitch this Saturday at 5pm BST (9am PT), so please stop by for the inevitable chaos.

Mario Party or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Bob-omb

Jamboree’s Switch 2 edition is out today.

RewinderHenry Stockdale