When releasing a four-player party game on Switch, there are pros and cons. The most obvious pros? For starters, the Switch is geared, philosophically and structurally, around local multiplayer. In addition, there's a big market on Switch generally receptive to party games. The most obvious con? Well, the competition. Not only have indie studios found a niche on Switch, but Nintendo first-party studios have made an aggressive push within the genre, with titles like Super Mario Party, WarioWare: Get it Together!, Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain, and Mario Party Superstars. It's in this busy marketplace that the small, four-person team at 2BIGo launched its chaotic party game Lumberhill, previously released on PC.

For those who missed the game on PC, Lumberhill is a high-energy multiplayer party game for up to four players, both online or offline. From a 3D isometric perspective, you assume the role of a lumberjack (or jill) as he or she chops trees, converts logs to lumber, herds sheep into pens, and avoids the elements. The game's 50+ levels throw some curve balls at the player, but essentially your role is to deliver resources to designated destinations and rack up points before time expires.

Party games need to be accessible and easy-to-grasp and, luckily, Lumberhill is quite approachable. You have a run button, an action button, and a throw button — and that's about it. A typical level plays out like this: pick up an axe, chop down a tree, throw away the axe, pick up the wood, run it over to the sawmill, repeat. Because of this repetition, both in level and across all 50+ levels, the game can feel tedious at times. You'll want to try every level, to unlock all the stars and uncover all the character skins, but you might simultaneously dread the prospect of chopping more trees, herding more sheep, etc.

Luckily, developer 2BIGo added those aforementioned curve balls to keep things as fresh as possible. The game features five distinct zones, each with its own biomes, hazards, resources, mechanics, and theme. You'll chop evergreens and catch fluffy sheep in the Forest; cut down bamboo and herd pandas in Asia; avoid sharks and pirates in Hawaii; and steal eggs from pterodactyls when you travel backward in time to Dino World. The general rules and physics remain the same across all zones, but there are enough peculiarities in each area to keep you interested. 

Another major drawback of Lumberhill, in addition to a sense of tedium, relates to its controls. Now, Lumberhill is advertised as a chaotic multiplayer party game, so no one is expecting drum-tight controls; that said, there is obvious room for improvement. The bulky characters move ever so sluggishly, which, in a world where you need to deliver a very specific set of resources in a limited amount of time, can prove challenging. The imprecision of character movement combines with some awkward isometric angles to lead to more than a few untimely deaths — usually off the side of a narrow bridge or into the waiting jaws of a mosasaur. The most frustrating control-related issue, though, is when you need to pick up one thing in a crowd of different item types. In those instances, it's supremely difficult to highlight the item you need in the moment.

A smaller, less egregious issue comes from the game's difficulty curve. Although Lumberhill culminates in its most challenging level, a multi-stage marathon that takes lessons from all previous zones, the levels leading up to it don't always follow a logical learning line. In some early stages, it's quite difficult to snag even a single star; and on some late-game stages, you might find yourself with three stars and plenty of time to spare.

Lumberhill is surprisingly viable as a single player experience, but it's really meant to be enjoyed with friends. Up to four players total can participate, either in couch co-op or online. There doesn't seem to be an active online community on Switch, so you're better off recruiting friends and family members. Apart from the ability to play the entire game cooperatively, you can also opt for a separate competitive mode where opposing players, playing as rams or hogs, try to interrupt the human characters as they shoot for high scores. It's not an essential part of the game, and it pales in comparison to the main adventure, but it's nice to have.

Local and online multiplayer give Lumberhill legs, but so does its scoring system. You can earn up to three stars per stage, which will unlock additional stages and new playable characters and competitive venues. If you manage to finish a level with three stars and meet the stage-specific challenge — for example, "don't chop any wood" — you'll earn a special silver axe. So, while the main campaign is relatively short at 4+ hours, the overall game has high replay value.

While Lumberhill can boast about its replay value, it can't make a convincing case for production value; the game's graphics and music are merely serviceable. The artwork, low-polygon models, and menus give off the vibe of a mobile game, in fact. In portable mode, there's a slight degradation in resolution, but the frame rate doesn't buckle in either handheld or docked mode.

Don't let those uninspiring artistic assets turn you off completely, however. Lumberhill is absolutely not shovelware. That said, in the grand scheme of party games on Switch, neither is it an especially good game. Rather, it's right in the middle of the pack — an acceptable party game that's moderately fun in small doses and with the right group of friends. Its repetitive nature, fussy controls, and generic graphics hold it back, but its high replay value and accessibility give it some staying power.