Review: Puffle Party 2015

Following a pretty great January party and a pretty boring February event, the March 2015 party on Club Penguin seemed like it could go either way on the quality scale.  However, when it was revealed that the party was yet another puffle related event, it seemed certain that that scale would tip in the direction of low quality.  After all, two blissful, puffle-free months weren't enough to get the bad taste of the two dozen puffles from 2014 out of anyone's mouth......why would this party prove to be anything more than frustrating?

But, guess what?  This party wasn't bad.  Yes, a party about puffles wasn't bad.  In fact, it was actually pretty great.

Perhaps the biggest strength of the 2015 Puffle Party is its loose connection to puffle themselves.  Think about it: most rooms around the island have more of a general pet flavor than a specific puffle one, the Puffle Wilds and Puffle Lodge have minimal ties to their namesakes themselves, and there were no new puffles; instead, the Sasquatch turned out to be the most important presence at the party.  By not doing any gimmicky, brand new puffle tricks, Club Penguin allowed the audience to appreciate the existence of the creatures - instead of detest it.

But, while this unique and refreshing creative focus definitely helped the party out, this event had other things going for it, too.  For instance, the rooms at this party were exciting and colorful.  Reused rooms - including the gloriously unhyped Puffle Gala - helped to make the party feel like a classic island-wide shindig.  The new Ski Lodge was filled to the brim with details and throwbacks to classic Club Penguin events, while the new Puffle Wilds, while perhaps somewhat redundant given the original Forest, proved to be tranquil and well designed areas.  While the three rooms that make up the Wilds could have been varied more and there is the desire for expansion, I am very glad that they will stay after the party packs up.  

The story at this party involved a simple setup - but that's all the party really needed.  This lack of a grand conflict allowed the story to play out on a small scale without the feeling of disappointment that the epic setups of other parties cause the viewer to feel when the resolution is so very small and anticlimactic.  Sasquatch's inclusion in the story felt organic and was a good ending, though log in screens promoting the party spoiled his appearance.  It would've been nice if we could have learned a little more about him, but seeing him officially revealed in the game was satisfying.  Additionally: the comic style ending was something we hadn't seen before and I thought it worked well.  Hopefully something of the like can be used again in the future - particularly if there's a third Marvel party.

The quest that told the story at this party is definitely a step-up from previous events, but I still feel there is work to do.  Having puffles from the Puffle Wild app move to the web instead of creating even more new species was a smart move for Club Penguin and the various cameos and reactions to the objects were done well.  However, having more of a mission feel to item collecting -  like the ability to combine items to make new products, not explicitly telling the player where the items are, and allowing the items to blend into the environment would make things even more exciting and more fun.  It's a good start, though.

And then we come to the music.  The mix of classic tunes from various parties with new tracks was well done and none of them felt out of place.  As for the items: this party had some of the simplest and most well designed collectibles in a long time.  They were simple, they weren't all completely puffle related and the four wild puffle hats and hoodies compliment each other nicely.  What's not to like?

In closing, the Puffle Party of 2015 could have been a disaster, but, because of some smart moves on Club Penguin's part, it turned out to be ---- and I really can't believe I'm saying this right now ---- one of the best parties in years.  Its vibrant nature, large scale, and satisfactory quest - along with no wait times and unnecessary hype - made this party a whole lot of fun.  Now, just beef up the quests a little bit more, Club Penguin, and I'll have nothing to complain about.

Score: 8.5/10