BALL x PIT

This game is pretty fun.

Solid game play loop andmechanics.

A supremely satisfying loop of descending into the pit, shooting balls at the block-like enemies, leveling up, and then combining special balls for powerful effects. It's always fun to go from my base character to blasting hordes and watching colorful damage numbers appear. Collecting gold and other resources is fun too. Watch those numbers go up. Runs take about 20 minutes. After two mini-bosses and a final boss, it's time to take the gold and resources back to base, build, and improve! I love this part too, simple as it is. Buildings are economy (more gold and resources), warfare (that ball game I mentioned), and housing for new characters. Buildings can be upgraded and arrangement matters too. Thankfully, you can move and scrap buildings freely. Blueprints for new buildings are acquired in the runs, but I don't understand why or how. Whatever. They drop often enough to keep me entertained, and the level-select tells you if some remain. Once "building" is done, "harvest" can begin. Your stable of characters become workers that get launched like balls to ricochet off buildings. The quotes are because you actually place buildings and then hit them with workers during harvest to complete them, and sometimes harvesting is just building and/or getting gold these days. Some buildings for passive harvesting can be unlocked too. After I've done these things, there's always something more I want to try or some more resources to get. The next run is already suggested by the game. It offers bonus gold for certain characters, making it easy to get going once again. The progression is enjoyable and the variation is more than sufficient. There's lots left for me to unlock at this point. The base buildings are what make it a rogue-lite because they give stat bonuses to characters and such. I struggled some at first (and still die sometimes, like just before this review!). I mostly win my runs because I've done some building up above the Pit. That is to say: I like the level of challenge. This is a great game. If you think you'll like it, you probably will!