Ball x Pit
Review
Ball bursting addiction
by William Thompson
reviewed on PC
One more turn
There is a moment in gaming when the simple promise of "just one more run" transitions from a casual thought to an inescapable command. For me, that moment arrived while reviewing Ball x Pit. I had planned to sit down for a quick session before bed, but three hours later, I was still glued to the screen, diligently upgrading my little village and starting a new descent with the latest character I had unlocked. It was at this point that I knew I was genuinely addicted to Devolver's latest rogue-adjacent title.
Ball x Pit is perhaps best described as the ultimate mash-up: a compelling roguelike version of classic arcade Breakout, cleverly blended with persistent base building. It is the seamless combination of these three disparate parts—the immediate action of an arcade game, the constant progression of a roguelike, and the long-term goal setting of a builder—that makes Ball x Pit not just compelling, but truly compulsive and deeply addictive.
The Immediate Hook: Breakout Meets Roguelike
The initial appeal lies in the straightforward, fast-paced action. Players begin each run with a chosen character (or characters later on in the game), descending into the first of many randomized pits. Armed with a single special ball and several "baby balls," the goal is immediately clear: fire your payload at the endless torrent of enemies filling the screen, much like a frantic game of Breakout. These foes continuously descend, and while each ball hit scores damage, they invariably require multiple strikes before they are destroyed and disappear.
The beauty of this system is the immediate feedback loop. Defeated enemies are not just cleared; they drop special gems. These gems, when collected, fill up an experience gauge on the side of the screen. Once this gauge is full, players are given a pivotal choice: select another powerful special ball or a beneficial passive ability. With four dedicated slots for each type of upgrade, the player must immediately decide how to pivot their current run, ensuring that no two descents feel the same. The action never pauses for long, forcing quick tactical decisions that further cement the game's brisk pace.
Evolution
While the gem gauge provides the bread-and-butter progression, the truly transformative moments come from finding the glowing circular rainbow objects during a run. These objects offer three distinct paths to power, allowing for explosive, run-defining scaling. Evolution allows the player to join two fully-levelled up special balls into one, creating a single powerful new type of ball. The Fusion option joins two different special balls, combining their effects into a singular projectile. Like the Evolution option, this frees up a slot, but the Evolution produces a more powerful ball. The third, Fission, simply allows players to level up their current special balls or passive abilities, increasing their potency up to a maximum of level 3. This intricate system of merging, levelling, and specializing ensures that every run rapidly escalates in power. You enter the pit as a single, struggling ball-slinger, and twenty minutes later, you are a chaotic, screen-clearing powerhouse. This satisfying power fantasy is punctuated by the pit structure itself—each pit features its own array of enemy types, and players must successfully dispatch two mini-bosses before finally reaching the challenging main boss battle that seals the fate of their current run.
The Unending Blueprints
The genius of Ball x Pit is that even a failed run is still a step forward. This is where the base-building element comes in. During your frantic descents, players will constantly collect blueprints for buildings that can be constructed back at the home base. These base buildings are the engine of meta-progression. They introduce entirely new characters, each offering a unique starting ball and a distinct special ability that completely changes the feeling of the next run. Other structures grant global passive skills that benefit all future characters, or, crucial to the loop, help harvest resources on your home base, keeping the engine of growth ticking over while you are away.
This two-layered system creates the simple, elegant, and ultimately irresistible gameplay loop:
● Harvest resources on your home base to fund upgrades.
● Head into the various pits to gain more blueprints and crystals while your resources recover.
● Construct new buildings and unlock better bonuses back at the base.
Then, rinse and repeat.
With each successful run taking no longer than twenty minutes, Ball x Pit is perfectly paced. It's ideal for a quick session, making it a dream pairing for a handheld device like the SteamDeck, ready to consume your daily commute. But be warned: the loop is so tight and the rewards so constant that Ball x Pit will inevitably consume far more than just your travel time. It's an exceptionally polished game that understands the fundamental mechanics of player compulsion, delivering a roguelike experience that you simply won't want to put down.
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9.3
fun score
Pros
Addictive gameplay loop, simple controls
Cons
Lack of sleep
