Monopoly: Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains Review (PS5)

Ubisoft’s Monopoly: Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains breathes fresh life into the classic board game formula with a nostalgia-fueled digital hyperspace overhaul that ditches the standard verbatim real estate port in favor of a strict team-based format. By dividing players into 2v2 or 3v3 matches along the lines of the Force, traditional financial ruin takes a back seat to a competitive race to amass Influence Points, resulting in a much faster-paced and ability-focused experience that feels perfectly tailored for casual family game nights.

At the heart of this updated gameplay loop is a significant departure from standard Monopoly bankruptcy, as the primary driver of victory shifts to the “GO!” Event that triggers every time a player reaches or passes the starting space. With matches limited to a maximum of eight of these occurrences, games typically wrap up within a brisk 40 to 80 minutes while launching team-wide, dice-rolling minigames based on iconic Star Wars moments like Order 66 or the destruction of the Death Star. Although winning these cinematic events awards massive Influence Points, the mechanic injects a heavy dose of randomness into the mix, making matches feel overly dependent on lucky movement rolls that can occasionally bring the game to an abrupt conclusion before your opponents even have a fair chance to land on your properties.

Because the game is strictly team-focused, cash and properties are shared among teammates, entirely removing traditional trading in favor of a streamlined, first-come, first-served purchasing system equipped with a major sci-fi facelift. Classic houses and hotels have been replaced by outposts and bases designed to protect a team’s earned Influence Points, and while neutral spaces can be bought outright, un-upgraded enemy properties can be aggressively hostile-taken at double their face value.

Once these outposts or bases are built, opponents are forced to pay rent, but unlike standard Monopoly, these imposing structures can actually be attacked, destroyed, and ultimately conquered by the opposing team. Since credits are relatively abundant and regularly supplemented by themed Chance cards, running out of money is rarely a genuine threat, which smartly shifts the overall strategic focus away from simple economics and toward clever board positioning and combat.

This strategic depth is further elevated by a robust roster of 28 playable characters split equally between Heroes and Villains, with each boasting unique active or passive perks that allow them to do everything from accessing the shop remotely to stealing credits when passing an opponent. Players can effortlessly mix and match characters within their alignment to create powerful complementary synergies, such as pairing Chewbacca’s board-advancing rage with Mace Windu’s combat dice buffs to dominate the field.

Other character abilities allow for direct, aggressive interference, letting Rey initiate a combat minigame to siphon credits from a Dark Side player while Darth Vader can deploy a stormtrooper to forcefully commandeer adjacent real estate. However, because the overarching pace of the game moves so rapidly, there is very little incentive to carefully hoard these abilities for a tactically advantageous moment, leading both human and AI players to simply activate their powers the exact moment their cooldown timers expire.

Visually, the game channels its inner Star Wars with plenty of references with the cartoony 3D board environments hosted by the iconic droids C-3PO and R2-D2 that come complete with unique character animations and dynamic combat backgrounds. While the cinematic event cutscenes serve as a fun, faithful nod to the lore, they can feel a bit formulaic and notably lack the whimsical, laugh-out-loud humor typically found throughout the LEGO Star Wars franchise.

On the audio front, the title admittedly lacks John Williams’ iconic orchestral score but it successfully compensates with a rich, atmospheric audio design featuring authentic sound effects and stellar narration by Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, who works alongside several other original voice actors to do the heavy lifting in keeping the authentic Star Wars vibe alive.

As a dedicated multiplayer experience, the game undoubtedly shines brightest, offering robust customization with adjustable rules, distinct dice styles, online play, crossplay and fantastic local couch co-op for up to six players. Conversely, the strict minimum requirement of four active players on the board poses a distinct challenge for solo gamers who are forced to pair with and against AI opponents to fill out the roster.

Because the unskippable digital turns play out identically for these computer-controlled characters, solo players will unfortunately spend roughly three-quarters of their total playtime as passive spectators watching the AI roll dice. Thankfully, gathering some friends for local human multiplayer completely transforms this sluggish dynamic, allowing real-world banter and shared collaborative strategy to truly elevate the entire gameplay experience.

Final Thoughts

Ubisoft has successfully delivered a fun, feature-complete and highly engaging twist on the classic board game that sacrifices some of the deep, strategic property-trading of the original in favor of unique character abilities and dynamic teamwork that keep matches feeling fresh. It’s definitely best played with a group of friends (preferably 4) that provides a highly entertaining weekend experience for devoted Star Wars enthusiasts and casual board game lovers alike.