Trivial Pursuit Live! 2 [PlayStation 4] | REVIEW

Ubisoft have brought video game adaptations of familiar game shows such as Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune to consoles in the past, but Trivial Pursuit Live! 2 is their own unique take on the formula (albeit with a Trivial Pursuit-themed twist). Yep, there’s no need for board game pieces or some dice here; instead, you’ll partake in a game show-style showdown with three other players as you compete to win the title of Trivial Pursuit champ.

It’s a really fun party game experience too, especially with a group of friends on a rowdy night in. Don’t worry though, solo gamers – the online multiplayer options ensure you can have enjoyable competitive showdowns even if you’re having a quiet night in on your own.

Check out a gallery of screenshots down below:

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The core gameplay experience of Trivial Pursuit Live! 2 revolves around earning wedges, with the first player to earn six deemed the winner. This is done over either three-round or five-round games, with each round bringing with it a different ruleset that changes up the formula slightly. Sometimes its quick-fire question answering, sometimes you’ll get to pick a category to earn bonus points, sometimes you’ll have to race other players to find a correct answer the quickest, whilst other times you might have to pick the best possible answer out of a selection of five choices – whilst each round ultimately boils down to getting the answer right, there’s enough variety to be found to ensure the process is exciting.

Players earn wedges by hitting certain point thresholds during each game, with points awarded for answering questions correctly. The final round is a lot more generous at handing out wedges though, with players rewarded with one if they manage to get all five questions of a specific topic correct; this might seem challenging, but it’s a multiple choice with just two answers on offer, so you’ve got a 50% chance of getting a question right even by guessing.

That final round adds a LOT of tension to the game. I’ve put hours upon hours into Trivial Pursuit Live! 2 now and there were plenty of occasions where one player would be trailing behind the others on the wedge count, only to pull it back with a miraculous final round. Sure, they might have had less points than their opponents, but they’re worth nothing if you don’t have six wedges (the highest scoring player does win if multiple players hit six wedges at the same time though). It evens the odds, though players who’ve managed to rack up more wedges on the way to the final round DEFINITLEY have a bigger advantage.

“The online multiplayer ensures that you don’t need friends over to have competitive fun too, with it possible to face off against three other players in online showdowns.”

It’s really enjoyable stuff, with the unpredictability of the questions and variety offered between rounds ensuring Trivial Pursuit Live! 2 doesn’t stop being competitive. In fact, I’ve played it multiple nights with friends now and we haven’t even started to get bored yet, so it definitely provides an addictive quizzing fix for party nights. Just expect a few sour faces when someone thinks they’re going to win… only to lose it in that last round.

The questions are spread across the same categories found in the board game (Geography, Science & Nature, Entertainment, History, Sport & Leisure, and Art & Literature) so there’s plenty of variety that suits different players’ specialities, whilst it’s also possible to play in a more family-friendly mode to suit younger players. As mentioned, I’ve put a good few hours in now and haven’t seen questions repeating at all yet, so there’s plenty on offer to ensure each game feels fresh.

The only real caveat with the questions is that Trivial Pursuit Live! 2 is a global release, with no differences based on regions. This means that you can find yourself facing questions that are built around topics you might have NO idea about (mainly focusing on American-based knowledge) – it was something that caught us out a few times as a UK-based crowd. That being said, we also had a question where we had to pick out genuine English football teams, so THAT was a lot easier for us. It’s something I’ve seen in other video game adaptations of game shows and I get why it’s easier for developers to keep it this way, but it would have been nice if there was some way to eliminate questions catered for specific geographical audiences.

“Trivial Pursuit Live 2 is fun, varied, and the vibrant game show-style presentation adds some excitement to the experience as you see yourself standing high over your rivals on the podium.”

One other little flaw is the fact that you can’t create your own avatar. In fairness, there are multiple characters to play as and it’s possible to customise them in a variety of ways, but I think it’s much more charming when you’re able to take your own little personal identity into these games and laugh about them with friends. It’s nit-picking really since it doesn’t affect the gameplay at all, but it would’ve certainly complemented the party game vibe of Trivial Pursuit Live! 2.

Other than those two issues, there’s not much to complain about. Trivial Pursuit Live! 2 is fun, varied, and the vibrant game show-style presentation adds some excitement to the experience as you see yourself standing high over your rivals on the podium. The online multiplayer ensures that you don’t need friends over to have competitive fun too, with it possible to face off against three other players in online showdowns – I’ve had a few games so far and it’s been surprisingly addictive, though I’ve also seen a lot of sour players drop out when I’ve been on the cusp of victory too. We can’t all be winners, right?!

Another cool addition is the Twitch integration, which allows players to stream the game and face off against an audience on Twitch. In theory, it’s a neat idea that could offer hours of enjoyment, but it does rely on players having a Twitch following. I’m not a streamer but I tried it out for the sake of this review and… no one showed up to join in. If you’ve already got an established Twitch channel, it could be a brilliant way to interact with your audience. For everyone else? You’ll just have to hope you get lucky and folk are willing to join your stream.

Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform(s): PlayStation 4 (Reviewed), Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
Website: https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/trivial-pursuit-2