Jackbox Party Pack 12 review: two hits and three misses

Jackbox has always been a fun time for my friends and me. We'd get together after months of arranging, and we'd be playing games like Quiplash, Fibbage 3, Bidiots, and more. We enjoyed Party Pack 11 in 2025, and after I previewed Party Pack 12 at Gamescom with Hyperface, I was thinking the standard would be far higher this year. Alas, I was left feeling disappointed overall after playing every other game that Party Pack 12 offers.

Out now on PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Apple TV, iPad, and the Mac App Store for $29.99 / £29.99, Party Pack 12 also feels like an evolution, with improved graphics in every game and easier ways to join them, such as a QR code.

But two of the five games offered here baffled my friends and me, and we were left wondering if the inevitable Party Pack 13 should bring back some fan-favourites, starting with Fibbage.

An eclectic disappointment

Like previous Jackbox Party Pack games, you're brought to a menu where you can pick a variety of games. What I liked this time was the option to join a game by pointing your device at a QR code, without having to type in the URL, followed by your chosen name and assigned room code.

As in Party Pack 11, there are five brand new games - below is a review of each that I played with friends.

We Forgot a Card has you caption random cards, and you can vote on which one's your favourite. It's straightforward, and it's a good game to introduce friends new to Party Pack. Otherwise, it's nothing new and, at worst, feels like a weak copy of Quiplash. A new entry in the fan-favourite game may have been a better decision here.

MegaPals was great fun, and one of the highlights of Party Pack 12. You're given prompts to start from others, and then you all need to send in words and phrases that others may send over too. This was fun because it brought back old memories, from Sixth Form to random moments from the past 20 years. There was something great when you'd see your avatar join hands with another when matching these words, too. Overall, a big highlight of Party Pack 12.

Debate and Switch had a strange art style that reminded me of the 90s cartoon Ren and Stimpy. You pick random cards and type in a line to debate the topic - and that's it. Also, you could change one word in a debate line later on, but it felt very limiting, especially when you'd be given a topic that didn't give you much room to change. The game ultimately boiled down to picking a topic, talking about it, then voting on it. It felt boring and, at worst, lazy for the Party Pack series.

Hyperface was the game I first played at Gamescom, and nothing had changed since, which was a good sign to me. It's my favourite out of Party Pack 12, as it uses your device's camera, if you wish, to take a selfie and manipulate it to fit the brief. Considering I currently live miles away from friends, it was nice to see all of us in a virtual world with our random selfies.

Idol Factions was the biggest letdown. After trying to understand instructions that felt like they went on for five minutes, we were quickly directing movie names into genres and portals for friends to sort in their section of the board. If we got it wrong, they'd appear again, and it soon felt repetitive. The graphics looked great, but it didn't feel like a Party Pack game. The best ones are where you can engage with others and enjoy what they're pitching or saying. Here, it was working with others under pressure, and it ultimately ended up feeling like a chore.

Overall

Apart from MegaPals and Hyperface, I've been left disappointed by Party Pack 12. Debate and Switch felt like a game that was rushed, and Idol Factions had none of the comic spark that made previous Party Pack games so enjoyable and memorable to play.

It's why I believe it's time to see some existing games return for a future Party Pack. Now that there have been huge improvements made to the engine by way of graphics and being able to use other aspects of our phones, let's see this apply to a new Bidiots, where the camera could be used to manipulate what you're selling. Or a new Mad Verse City could give players the ability to record their own raps via their handset's microphone, and have them play out on the main screen. Or just a straight-up sequel to You Don't Know Jack.

It's more miss than hit this year, and it's a shame. I said in my Party Pack 12 preview that it felt like it was setting up the foundation for the future. Graphically, it has. But for the next one, let's go back to the comedy of what made previous Party Pack games so good to play with friends and family. Let's not be given games that simply require us to debate strange topics and have our heads down, sorting movie names into portals and genres.