Go Mecha Ball review

Go Mecha Ball draws from a variety of influences, blending everything from twin-stick shooting, Marble Madness style rolling, and even some of Tony Hawk’s ramp sticks.

An appreciation for the chaotic is obligatory for playing Go Mecha Ball. Gothenburg-based Whale Peak Games inaugural outing attempts to outshine the frantic roguelike action of Hades, which is an audacious ambition. But save for a bit of tedium across successive runs, the team has crafted a worthy roguelike rival.

Following a skeletal plotline told with a few animated images, a succinct interactive tutorial explains the game’s fundamentals. When not holding down the left trigger, you’re a cat housed in a reinforced suit who is armed with a pair of guns.

In typical twin-stick fashion, you can spray foes with different types of firepower. But between a constrained amount of ammo and opponents who feel fortified, the shooting isn’t all that distinctive. Sure, turning the game’s adversaries into piles of scrap metal is rewarding, thanks to the responsive controls and a fluid framerate. And it feels like Mecha Ball dispenses a droplet of dopamine every time you turn an enemy into a lifeless pile of scrap. But there are dozens of better twin-stick shooters out there.

Having a Ball

The real fun begins once you depress the left trigger. Here, our kitty protagonist offers her best Samus impersonation, rolling into an armored sphere that’s fast and nimble. This transition extends several possibilities. When it comes to navigation, your rolling feline can soar off the Tony Hawk-style quarter-pipes and ramps that dot each stage. After catching a bit of air, it’s possible to drop down on adversaries, delivering a healthy amount of damage and your exoskeleton comes crashing down. Alternatively, you can dash into them, occasionally bouncing them right off the playfield.

And killing enemies by knocking them out of bounds is consistently satisfying. Each basic opponent has their own attack style that ranges from ramming you, scorching you with a rotating laser, firing projectiles and lobbing artillery, or just jumping up and trying to land on you. So anytime you can narrow their numbers just a bit, it can feel like victory is at hand. The sole limitation is that dashing is constrained by a cool-down meter. However, the ability is restored quickly, urging defensive play for a second or two.

Sweet Pandemonium

At first, playing Go Mecha Ball might frustrate. My early runs against the four-stage, roguelike campaign typically ended just after fighting the first boss. While defeated enemies occasionally provide specks of health, the gradual buildup of damage consistently proved too much for Kitty. Over time, I learned that Mecha Ball requires you to develop a battle-tested strategy. For me that meant prioritizing targets, the sporadic sprint to safer, less infested areas, and trying to remain calm when foes fill the screen.

As a roguelike, Go Mecha Ball supplies upgrades that can help against the ever-intensifying difficulty. Every three stages, you’ll be able to select one perk from a trio of offerings. These do things like improve the power of your shots, intensify the damage when you smash into opponents, or provide new offensive devices like grenades. Collecting blue tokens dropped by defeated opponents can unlock additional Upgrades, Abilities, and Weapons. And while these are undoubtedly helpful, there are no permanent augmentations, although there are additional playable characters who have their own default weapon and secondary.

Restrained by Roguelike Formula

As such, runs through Go Mecha Ball can grow repetitive. You’ll regularly find new guns during each playthrough. But expect to stick with the one that best complements your play style rather than using one that’s well-suited for a specific situation. Tackling the game’s quartet of bosses by ramming into them can be dangerous, so I opted for a gun that provided the best range. While Whale Peak brings new enemies with different kinds of behaviors for each stage, tackling the same procession of adversaries might make you wish that Mech Ball offered a scripted campaign. Still, what’s here is worth the asking price, especially if you appreciate manic action.

Go Mecha Ball was played on PC with review code from the publisher