Getting Started with Pudgy Party
Can NFT IP break into mainstream gaming? It's possible with the right mix of ingredients. And I think Pudgy Penguins might just have that blend, or something close to it, with their new mobile battle royale Pudgy Party.
The Pudgy Party playbook
Of course, the Pudgys already have proven, popular appeal as evidenced by their billions of views on GIPHY and their millions of toys sold in stores like Walmart. Pop these characters into a proven gaming genre, and there could be takeoff potential.
Pudgy Party is aimed at this sort of breakthrough. It's a riff on the Fall Guys mini-games battler format but adapted for the Pudgy Penguins universe. You fight, race, dodge, etc. in order to be the last Penguin standing across multiple rounds, earning new powers and tradable NFT cosmetics along the way.
This approach is smart. I honestly think Fall Guys is one of the best games released in the past 5 years. It's addictive and great for casually playing with friends. Emulating this style with the Pudgys IP and with tradable skins is the Pudgy Party recipe.
A Mythical build
Mythical Games, the team behind NFL Rivals and FIFA Rivals, is the developer behind the title. Under the hood, Pudgy Party's NFT assets and marketplace transactions take place on Mythical's Mythos Chain, which is built on Polkadot tech.
Admittedly, I don't know much about Polkadot or Mythos. But that wasn't a blocker for me diving in. Pudgy Party abstracts away all crypto and wallet elements so anyone can just jump in without needing any onchain experience, which is nice.
For those who do want to trade around the NFT cosmetics they earn, you'd just sign up for a Mythical account at mythical.market, and then use the "Link Mythical Account" flow in your Pudgy Party settings.
Then you could start listing and buying in the Pudgy Party marketplace. You might need to top up your wallet with some $MYTH if you want to shop, though.
Getting started
If you want to try the game for yourself, start by downloading the mobile app via the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.
You'll be asked to confirm your age and graphics quality settings, and then you'll be put through a short gameplay tutorial that will walk you through the basic mechanics of 1) how to move and manipulate your character, and 2) how to navigate the app.
After this, you can open your first cosmetic reward and play your first multiplayer battle, which will earn you your first loot chest and Pudgy Power points.
As you play more, you'll earn tickets that you can use to upgrade your cosmetics' abilities, like more powerful jumps or the power to cast fireballs, etc. This is notably distinct from Fall Guys in which there there are no customizable special abilities.
Lastly, you can consider getting a Pro Pass for $2.99, which is a battle pass offering that lets you spend the fish you collect during games on premium rewards like rare loot chests.
Zooming out
After playing a handful of rounds, I found Pudgy Party genuinely fun and something that I wouldn't mind playing casually.
I'm a console gamer and don't always enjoy mobile UX, but I had no problem instantly getting the hang of Pudgy Party's controls. And I could recommend it to non-crypto family and friends because regular people won't even recognize it's a crypto game, it's light like that.
That said, it's worth trying in its own right, but the game is also interesting as a demonstration of how NFT brands can evolve into transmedia franchises.
With 500k downloads in just two weeks, Pudgy Party is already seeing early success, and if it can sustain this traction it'll set a precedent for how other NFT IPs can branch into mainstream gaming. Keep it on your radar!