I don’t play video games as much any more, but besides the occasional campaign I will run through, I’ll also indulge in multiplayer if the kids are around. You don’t need a storyline for a party video game, since the “story” is the interaction you have with the people (meatspace or virtual) you’re playing with. The Just Dance series is like that. No storyline present, except for the maybe the stories depicted through the dances themselves.
Though it’s not quite required, Super Mario Party for Nintendo switch inserts three different conflicts in the 2-minute introductory cinematic. Not a terribly easy task, and the conflicts are staggered, raising the stakes incrementally, instead of all at once. The first conflict is the obvious one: the friendly argument between the “good guys” as to who the biggest hero is. That conflict is doubled when the bad guys show up, presenting the second conflict. Now who’s the best out of all of them? The third conflict is a little more subtle. Kemek shows up and says he will be a partial judge, in addition to Toad and Toadette? Will he favor the bad guys over the good guys?
Simplistic writing, for sure, but it creates tension effectively.