Idle Thoughts

Cargo cult gaming (★☆☆☆☆)

BallxPit is basically a simplified version of Breakout or Arkanoid. But wait, how can you simplify Breakout? It’s already one of the simplest, dullest video games out there.

Hold that thought, look at all these level ups, each with a random choice of a new ball with a special effect. This ball sets enemies on fire. It probably synergizes with my build. You can also combine balls for even more efficient block-busting goodnes. Now the fire ball shoots lasers, which also set stuff on fire. Or maybe choose a new passive that tweaks the way you play the game? How cool is that?

BallxPit also looks great in a brownish lo-fi sort of way. The blocks you need to break have adorable little enemies in them. Sometimes they actually throw a little projectile or something. At set moments in the level, the field of play grows larger, which is surprisingly impressive. The bosses have a bit of a bullet hell thing going on, so at least that part requires some dexterity.

Ok, you’ll probably lose your first run, since the game is a roguelike too. Nevermind, because there’s a town building segment in BallxPit as well. Amazingly, this is also Breakout since you harvest resources and construct buildings by bouncing your little guys like ricocheting balls. Most buildings grant an upgrade of some sort, so you’ll be stronger next time. Some buildings unlock new characters, like the guy that shoots from the top of the screen… or the guy that selects level up upgrades on his own? Odd, why would you automate an important aspect of the game? Oh well, I’m sure it’s just a one time thing…

Each level contains new blueprints, tied to new buildings, that make you stronger, so you beat more levels, unlock more stuff and become more powerful to unlock more stuff…

You know what this means: you’re riding the endorphin rollercoaster.

In that regard, BallxPit is exquisitely designed.

You always get the sense of gaining something. Beating a level with a character for the first time grants a tiny permanent bonus to everyone, as do repeat playthoughs on a harder setting. Characters also level up permanently, which levels up their dwelling as well, each having a special effect. Level ups when no upgrades are left give you a choice of permanent resources instead.

It’s all very neat and satisfying. And yet…

Soon enough, I realized, well, there’s not much to do in BallxPit. There’s roughly two strategies: the usual Breakout tactic of jamming the ball at the back and letting it go to town, or aiming for the sides so that balls that pass through blocks can deal maximum damage. Other than that, it’s mostly the numbers doing the playing for you. If your damage numbers are big enough, you win. That’s it.

“Builds” don’t seem to matter that much. I know you’re supposed to combine balls that hit a lot of different blocks at once with balls that have strong status effects. Then again, I sometimes chose the worst possible combinations on purpose. I kept winning anyway.

I can’t say Vampire Survivors clicked with me (thankfully). I’m kind of wary of these types of games, not because they’re not “fun”, quite the opposite. They’re too much “fun”, in a vague frictionless way.

Getting back to BallxPit, the more you play the game, the less you actually have to do. A handful of characters shoot so fast or erratically that aiming is basically irrelevant. The different boons from the town make you exponentially more powerful, so much so that you can fill the screen with balls. Eventually, the rate of upgrades reaches a plateau, but if you’re still playing by then, you’ve got more patience than me.

As it turns out, I found the most crucial upgrades to be the ones that streamline the game. You can eventually team up two characters; they both “complete” the level so you only have to play the game half as much! You can also play increasingly faster versions of every level; it’s harder, but you get to play the game less!

It’s always a worrying, out-of-body experience, “what am I doing here” feeling when it turns out my favorite parts of a game are the ones that make me play less of it.

That being said, I kept the best for last.

The last character you unlock literally plays the game on its own. AI Autopilot. He’s surprisingly decent most of the time, which makes you realize how barely useful your input ever was. You can team him up with someone else so that means you don’t have to play with the other characters either. So yes, the more you play, the more ridiculous powers you stack, up to the point that the game literally plays itself. It basically makes Cookie Clicker look like 4X strategy by the end.

What’s particularly frustrating about this is that the design of the game is spectacularly similar to Desktop Dungeons, probably one of my top five games of all time. It has roguelike bite-sized levels, classes with different spins on the main game mechanic, levels with completion tied to different classes beating it and the slow accrual of permanent resources to build a town, which grants all sorts of bonuses to make future runs easier. However, whereas Desktop Dungeons is an intricate puzzle game with thousands of nuances to learn, BallxPit is, well, a watered down Breakout.

BallxPit is “addictive” for all the wrong reasons. It’s a perfect gameplay loop with no real game at the core. It has the shape of a game, but nothing deep down. Cargo cult gaming.