There’s no perfect time to release a video game, but if I were deciding when to release one, do you know when I’d do it? Alongside the largest blockbusters of the year, at a time when everyone is broke from buying presents, and on the same day as a huge awards show is distracting the industry’s media.
Ballionaire apparently shares my thinking. The pachinko-inspired roguelike is launching on December 10th.
“Pachinko-inspired” might conjure certain images, and recent pachinko roguelike Peglin among them. Ballionaire takes a different tact, with no traditional goblin-based combat staredown at the top of the screen. Instead, players are charged with designing the pachinko bored itself, placing different kinds of pegs in advance of their ball’s descent. Pegs include axes which cut you in half, so you continue tumbling in multiple directions, and teleporters, which shift you back to the top of the board. The aim is to collect as much cash as possible, with the gadgets helping to prolong and multiply your physicsy journey.
There’s then a roguelike wrapper around this bally good time: it’s run-based, there are many different boards to encounter, there are between-board upgrades, and so on. There’s also a sandbox mode if you just want some free balls, and best of all, mod support that allows folks to script their own pegs.
Brendy loved the demo when he played it during Next Fest in October. That demo is no longer available, but I’m looking forward to giving the full game a go – whenever I manage to find the time.