Let’s discover together in this review Go Mecha Ball, a rogue-like with pinball elements, machine guns and… cats!
Imagine a game that combines pinball, cats and machine guns; there, you just thought about Go Mecha Ballthe rogue-like developed by Whale Peak Games and currently available on Steam and Xbox (included in the Game Pass subscription). The gameplay is the real focus of this titlewhich is surrounded by an almost non-existent story, an artistic style that manages to combine adorable animals such as cats with robots with machine guns and rocket launchers and both visual and sound liveliness.
Actually, the beauty of Go Mecha Ball lies precisely in the ability to combine shooting, pinball and rogue-like in a masterful way and to sell itself exactly for what it is: a fun and unpretentious game. So let’s stop talking and let’s see in detail what we think of Go Mecha Ball in our review.
It turns into a rocket missile… | Go Mecha Ball review
The pretense for the plot of this video game is quite simple. We are in a universe populated entirely by cats who do nothing but have fun. Suddenly, an evil entity removes the fun and then we take on the role of Cat Rascal, the cat protagonist at the beginning of the game, who wants to do nothing but “bring the fun back” to his home planet. As? By destroying all the robots that appear in front of you in the arenas that make up the level of this title. In all there is a total of four levels, each ending with a fearsome and powerful boss.
This is all we will know about the plot until the end of the game. Something that is not entirely obvious at the first run; in fact, a game over is enough to start over again, making Go Mecha Ball a rogue-like in all respects. Believe me when I tell you that this title is not simple at all; especially as the levels progress, the difficulty increases dramatically until reaching the last one which I only managed to finish by strengthening myself well.
… with circuits of a thousand upgrades | Go Mecha Ball Review
In fact, the game allows you to power up every time you are defeated in the various arenas. During the match, we will get two types of currency: the first yellow card allows you to buy up to three random objects or unlock the other three characters, but is lost when a new game starts; the second blue, however, gives us the possibility of obtaining permanent upgrades (such as, for example, the increase in gun damage or the crash that our Mecha will make on enemies), weapons or new abilities (such as that of performing an EMP attack on opponents). Furthermore, these they will also appear between one level and another, thus making the game easier; obviously, unfortunately, it’s all dictated by chance.
One thing, perhaps, that made us turn up our noses a bit is precisely this. In Go Mecha Ball everything is dictated by chance. The various arenas of the level are chosen randomly, or more or less, and the various power-ups will always appear randomly. I won’t deny that sometimes it was really exhausting trying to finish a match because I couldn’t power up properly.
A pinball version mecha | Go Mecha Ball Review
Go Mecha Ball, therefore, manages to perfectly combine both the characteristics of a rogue-like game and those of a shooter anddefinitely, too what a freak I am. While it’s fun and also satisfying to hit various enemies with machine guns or rocket launchers, I also had fun throwing myself at enemies in the form of a crazy ball. This ability can also be enhanced as we have seen previously and will almost certainly become the preferred means with which to fight even the most difficult enemies. Not only do we cause great damage to enemies in the form of pinball, but we can also block attacks that could get us into serious trouble.
The movement is very fluid and dynamic. It doesn’t tire you and in a short time you will be able to master pinball without problems while also avoiding opponent attacks. Small flaw: enemies will also have similar attacks where they will move around the arena trying to bounce off you and it could cause a bit of frustration. Especially when you strengthen the ricochet attack so much and the enemies (even those that appear during the boss fights) will hinder you in every possible way.
Mecha united!
In short, Go Mecha Ball is one of those video games that doesn’t have many pretensions, but manages to achieve the set objectives. A title capable of entertaining you, both thanks to the constant bouncing and shooting, but also capable of causing a bit of frustration (especially during the slightly confusing boss fights). Don’t expect a triple-A, but a game packaged in every way to be able to lightly entertain the various gamers. Two final words should be said for the sound and video sector. If for the latter, Go Mecha Ball seems to be very inspired, thanks to its bright and psychedelic colors; the same cannot be said for audio. The music, in fact, does not allow a moment’s respite with overly pumped electronic sounds that push you to lower the audio volume.
Go Mecha Ball is currently available on PC, Steam, Xbox Series and is included in the Xbox Game Pass subscription. Have you tried it or has this review piqued your curiosity? Let us know in the comments below. For further reviews, news and insights related to the gaming world and beyond, stay tuned to techgameworld.com. Instead, if you are looking for game keys at a discounted price, we refer you to the offers catalog on Instant Gaming.
Points in favor
- The union of rogue-like, shooter and pinball elements… combined with cats!
- Fluid and dynamic, especially in the ball version
- Very artistically inspired
Points against
- Difficulty level not very accessible to everyone
- At times annoying sound
- Some dynamics can be frustrating