14 DAY TRIAL // 
Quite a lot of puzzle platformers have appeared on the market this year, ranging from triple-A titles, like New Super Mario Bros. U or Rayman Legends, to independent games, like the new Party of Sin from Canadian developer Crankshaft Games.
With a unique premise of letting players control the seven deadly sins as they escape from hell, go through Purgatory and Earth, in order to reach Heaven, the game certainly earns points for originality in terms of concept.
Can its other aspects reach the same level as the premise or should this side-scrolling puzzle platformer be abandoned in the depths of Hell? Let's find out.
Party of Sin doesn't have much of a story, as it seems that due to some shady deals between Heaven and Hell, the seven sins have been imprisoned, while the angels and demons fight it out for supremacy. As such, you start off controlling the sins (Envy, Greed, Sloth, Pride, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony) who must escape their prisons in Hell, and reach Heaven, while going through Purgatory and Earth.
Each world is filled with unique challenges, levels, as well as enemies, ranging from demons or angels to giant hulking bosses, including a demonic narwhal. Like in any puzzle platformer, you not only jump around but must also solve tricky situations.
These can range from pulling simple levels to using the different skills of each sin. From Pride's longer jump, to Greed's grappling hook, Envy's laser vision, Sloth's teddy bear that slows things down, Wrath's blind rush, Lust's confusion spell for enemies or conjuration one for platforms, or Gluttony's ability to eat enemies or pieces of the scenery, you'll have a hard time keeping track of your characters and their powers.
Just like in Trine 1 or 2, you can switch between the protagonists on the fly via a circular menu, but also through different hotkeys. Quite a lot of puzzles, especially after the first few levels, require expert switching and quick reflexes to solve them. This can get a bit annoying, as you'll often miss certain situations just because you can't move fast enough or forget just what hotkey summons which character.
Enemies aren't that varied, although they are quite unique, ranging from angels that fire crossbow bolts at you, to demons who fling fireballs, to those who use machine guns. Their intelligence is quite limited, but in larger numbers they will overpower you, unless you're using Pride and his big sword. Bosses are rather annoying, as all of them have different tactics and the process of learning them usually entails a lot of trial and error.
Besides playing alone and switching between the characters, you can also try to complete the game cooperatively with up to three other friends. Sadly, the co-op mode is available only locally, so you'll need extra controllers for your friends while you handle the mouse and keyboard.
While in terms of general gameplay, Party of Sin is pretty good, its graphics disappoint as they're reminiscent of visuals from games in the early 2000s. They get the job done, showcasing the different levels and characters in a decent manner, but they aren't that pretty, especially when you compare them to other stylized puzzle platformers (Trine, Braid, etc).
In the audio department, the game is pretty good although its soundtrack does tend to focus a bit too much on rock music. Sound effects are also quite repetitive and, seeing as how you'll have to do a lot of switching between characters, you'll also grow tired of their repetitive taunts. From Pride's "It's Pride Time" to Gluttony's "I'm Hungry," their voices grow a bit tiresome so you'll certainly want to keep from switching protagonists when it's not required.
Conclusion
Party of Sin is a pretty good puzzle platformer with a unique premise that will no doubt make a lot of people try it out. Sadly, its graphics and enemy design pull it down, and it's going to take some time before you can easily learn to switch between characters in order to complete some of the more challenging puzzles.
