Ballistic Zen

Fantastic flow-style game that trains you on how to really 'enjoy yourself'. If you're unfamiliar with games like this, once you've done a few lines, you'll start playing freeform on your own and really enjoy the movement. Super low-stakes game, make checkpoints wherever you want and take it at your own pace. Tons of micro-lines exist to give you ideas for whats possible until eventually you've mastered the way of thought that drives the experience on the whole. I really appreciate how its no BS and hones in just on the gameplay, just what I want when I'm trying to chill out. It doesn't need to impress you, you will be the one who impresses yourself.

this game is really good, if you like surf maps you HAVE to play it. If you don't, it's worth a shot because it's like surf but approachable and not frustrating

This game is an absolute Vibe. You're pretty much thrown right into this city and just get to skate without pressure. Incredibly relaxing as well as challenging if you want it to be. Some Feedback: - At the start its a bit confusing to figure out the difference between blue / white lines. - The direction indicators for the lines aren't super obvious. But you get used to it relatively quick. - While I get shown area names, I never get displayed what district i'm in. There are enough clues to figure it out but its also a little confusing at the beginning. - Sometimes I get stuck in a tricky area and if i mess up my respawn point it can be really hard to get back out. Maybe being able to teleport to the start of a district or something would help with that. Aside from those nitpicks, I immediately got sucked in and this might become my go-to game while i'm listening to podcasts or whatever in the background.

Very well polished movement mechanics. Fluid and responsive controls. You can make it either relaxing or challenging. Some things are not very well explained (eg different areas/districts and different route types and the direction you should take them), but it doesn't take long to understand them by yourself, so not really a problem. I wish it was a bit longer. [i] 10/10 recommended, you won't regret buying it :) [/i]

Update: The game plays excellent on Steam Deck thanks to its trackpad! The performance could be better, but I had a stable experience capping the game to 45 FPS. [hr][/hr] Mirror's Edge meets Titanfall meets trick surf (disclaimer: no ramps). Wonderful little love letter to parkour and strafe movement games! The game only has 5 different environments to manoeuvre in, beatable in about 4 hours (of joy), although courses, "lines", can be replayed indefinitely. No leaderboards either, but the game may be upgraded along the way. The Steam price tag is a little steep for the amount of content (though it's [i]name your own price[/i] on Itch), but I highly recommend it nonetheless, for its satisfying feel and gameplay. Just like the name suggests, mastering the movement and flying across the map indeed makes you feel the Ballistic Zen.

Very relaxing fun game, if you like movement games like bhop and surf its worth checking out!

Ugh I'm so frustrated! Ballistic Zen was one of the nicest surprises I've encountered recently. I had never heard of the game or have any idea what it was about, but it was bundled recently and I decided to give it a go. I ended up giving away all other games in the bundle and just kept this one. And boy, what a delight! Ballistic Zen is a first-person platformer / parkour game. It controls basically just with the mouse - left-click to start or stop, right-click to jump. You accelerate by riding downhill or by quickly shifting between left and right. And ... that's pretty much it, a whole game built upon first-person movement, which I'm a sucker for. The goal is to ride "lines", which are courses snaking through the massive, brutalist, vertical open-world. It's literally so simple yet so, so enjoyable. The part that I hated the most is the realization that I suck at it. The first world kind of warms you up to the game. It took me a while, but eventually I was able to beat all the lines there. Then I went to the second world, and managed to beat maybe 40% of the lines. Third world, 20%, last world, none of them. I eventually made my way up the Pyramid, which is the end-game, and called it a day. Decided to pick it up again to try to clear lines I've had previously struggled with, and even though I played for a loooooooooong time, I managed to beat none of them. Which is fine because the game is still a treat and I'll be booting it up every now and then to go and have fun with it, but man, it is SO HARD to get better at it, and of course, being a niche title, there are no guides or tips and tricks for it. Absolutely worth buying full price if you enjoy first-person parkour or platforming games with lots of wallrunning and beautifully realized movement mechanics.

I saw the youtube video of the 7 year dev log overview and thought it was worth a shot. Great game to just relax playing, I will definitely continue playing!

Was a lot shorter than I thought. Done in 1.5 hours. Although I enjoyed the core gameplay concept, it needs more content to justify the price, whether in character interactions, music, or additional stages/areas. This feels like an alpha still.

A fantastic first-person platformer with an excellent movement system and lovely art direction. Short and sweet, Ballistic Zen is a tasty morsel that leaves you hungry for more.