Balloonatics

Disclaimer: I know the developers and was a beta tester for the game prior to early access. First Impressions: * This game is awesome!!! It sort of reminds me of Mario Kart, but with the ability to play in VR as well. It is fast-paced, fun, and easy to pick up and play, but difficult to master. The Pros: * Cross-Platform Multiplayer Support: I originally tried this game for VR, and was surprised to find that it's actually pretty fun to play on PC as well. I love that you can play with your friends on both at the same time. The controls and gameplay are different between the platforms, but they have done a very good job at balancing everything so that there isn't a clear advantage either way. * Smooth VR Controls: One of the things that sets this game apart from other VR games is how smooth the controls and motion are. Every other game I have played that involves much motion has made me queezy, but somehow, even though this game is so quick-paced, it doesn't make me sick at all. * Single Player: I tried out some of the solo challenges and thought I'd blow through them really quick, but the more difficult ones are actually quite challenging to complete, let alone get a score up on the leader boards. They do get repetative though. I'm looking forward to them adding more/different single player modes. * Weapons/Items: I love the weapons and items so far, and I figured out that you can put most of them in the slingshot as well (like an empty rocket launcher). My favorite weapon in the game has to be the box of bees. I love how the buzzing sound instantly instills fear in me, and makes me run even if I'm about to down someone. I can't wait to see what weapons get added next. The Cons: * Slow to find multiplayer match: It takes awhile to find a multiplayer match. I expect this is because it was just released and will get better once a player-base is built up. They are planning to add bots soon, so this should be less of an issue once that's done. * No player progression: There isn't much for player stats, levels, unlockables, etc in the game right now. It's fun to play online with friends, or maybe to load up and show off your VR setup to people, but there isn't much incentive to keep playing solo unless you like seeing your name on top of the leaderboards for the challenges. * Minor Bugs: I noticed a couple minor bugs so far, but they haven't crashed the game or anything like that. Once when I was downed, my basket got stuck on a pillar part way down so I didn't reach the ground. Another time when I used a shield ball, the shield went flying around the map.... come to think of it, maybe it was supposed to be that way... maybe some of the shields are intentionally defective.

Graphics seem better than other early access games I've seen. I like playing with people but if you die right away you're kinda just stuck waiting for awhile until the match ends. I wish there was one main menu all the time not on the side of the basket as I often miss invites and readying up. Playing in VR is by far the best. Seeing your friends move as the characters is hilarious, so for that reason alone I would recommend it.

Alright, Where to begin. This game has tons of promise! They have made many improvements in the past few months and the game has gone from a slow paced item hoarding game to a fast paced race around the map to get weapons before your enemy's do! You will find your self panicking a lot when you hear all the different sounds like your engine dieing or a mine sitting beside you, or the damn bees!!! Ohh the bees!!! The games graphics are awesome and it runs smooth as unsalted butter :P People will love being able to play this with friends, regardless if you or your buddy's are playing in VR or not. This game is for everyone. For us old timers it brings back a lot of memories of playing balloon battles in Mario Cart Battle mode! This game is gonna become popular for sure, has a lot of potential for E-Sports game play as well. I say buy this game just for the sake of having it! you wont be sorry. One of the best parts about this game right now is that its in Early Access and so that means its gonna change a lot based on what the community wants and asks for! They are bug hunting all hours of the day to try and tie up any loose ends the game might have. Pros: * Super fun - You will find your self chasing and trying to cause your friends all sorts of issues wile they try and collect weapons and boost! * Fast Paced Game play - There is no time to sit and collect your thoughts. No time to sit and enjoy the super cool looking maps. Keep your eyes peeled and your basket moving! * Great Soundtrack - The music for the levels and when your in battle is just awesome! gets you going a little faster at some point. keeps the pressure on! (looking forward to Overtime music!) * Cool Weapons - There are about 6-8 weapon types right now that are kick ass! They are all custom made graphics with awesome sound effects! They also can all be added to the slingshot and fired at people! Weapons become AMMO!!! * Awesome Graphics and Performance - This game runs super smooth. We have done a lot of 6 player free for all battles and there has been no issues with FPS or lag so far! (This could chance the more popular the game gets) * The Characters - You wont stop laughing at some of these characters they have added to the game! They are gonna add more at some point as well with a lot of customizations too! Cons: * Not enough players - Due to it being Early access and just being release 02/13/18 * Not enough weapons - Again due to it being early access but the devs have plans to launch a lot more weapons as the development process goes on. * Not enough Maps - Only 3 maps but they are well detailed. Devs have plans for more maps also. * Advantage Non-VR - Very small advantage for Non-VR players when it comes to tossing stuff outa your basket with your hands. Non VR players have the ability to charge up a hand throw but the VR players do not! So VR players kinda gota get used to tossing stuff like 1-2 feet behind your basket and run away! (Devs know about this and have plans to fix it)

For full review : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPxLIgLWngI In Balloonatics you start out in a very intuitive tutorial which I strongly suggest going through. You will not only learn the basics of the game but the very important aspects of controlling your character, firing weapons and piloting the basket. Once you are done with the tutorial you are set within a beautiful lobby map where you can collect all the power-ups by running into the bright boxes donning question marks along with collecting turbos that allow you a limited amount of boost for those critical moments. This area is great for getting practice maneuvering your basket around and shooting targets with the built in slingshot along with testing the various weapons and ammunition types. Currently there is a single player mode and a multiplayer mode available. In single player you can choose to test your skill at shooting moving targets or run one of 3 obstacle courses attempting to get the best time. I personally found the obstacle courses quite challenging and have yet to complete one . There are currently no bots for a single player battle mode, but I’ve spoken with the devs and they said that it is being worked on right now and is at the top of their list. In multiplayer mode you can do a free for all death-match with up to 6 players or up to 3v3 team death match. The objective to the multiplayer is to pop all of your enemies balloons by use of the multitude of ammo available for the slingshot, including mines, drones and even a box a bees along with many more. You can even use collected items such as the disk gun or bazooka to make quick work of enemy balloons. In both modes you start off choosing one of several unique pilot characters each with their very own special ability. In VR these characters move with your body motion synced up with the HMD and motion controls and they do this absolutely perfect. Once the game starts you take control of your basket by grabbing the steering wheel and throttle with the motion controls and manipulating them in the same fashion you would if they were actually in front of you. To fire your sling shot you must hit a button on the side of your basket which lowers the controls as the sling shot rises up from the front of your basket and positions it right in front of you. Using the slingshot comes quite natural as you just place the ammo in the cup pull back with you hand, line up your shot and let go when you are ready to fire. There is a standard spiked ball ammo that is automatically supplied, and though this does minimal damage to the enemies balloons it is nice to know it is always their just in case you didn’t get enough special ammo right before contact with the enemy was made. Not only can you take out the enemies balloons, but you can also damage the engine on their basket making them sitting ducks until they repair the damage by beating it back to life with a wrench much the same way we use to do back in the olden days to make our TVs and other electronic devices work properly. This titles graphics are of a high quality cartoon style and are aesthetically pleasing. Everything from the level design to the balloon baskets is done in a prideful manner with each element feeling as if it belongs there. Sounds are done quite good as well. There is currently no in game voice chat, though I am sure this is something that will be added before the title launches out of early access. I personally find using discord or some other such app preferable as they are much more versatile than most in built in VoIP systems found in similar titles. Though this title is in very early beta I’ve only run across a very minor issue that is so minor that I would have never noticed it had the developer not pointed it out. This issue amounted to a graphical glitch where the avatar of an observed player would appear to be standing right outside the front of his basket while turboing forward. This didn’t seem to occur often and the person piloting is completely unaffected by this. I will not be showing it in action as I find it unlikely most will even notice it happening, it doesn’t affect game-play and the devs are already working on a fix. Other than that there weren’t any other issues that I personally experienced. Considering this title is in early access with quite a ways to go before full release, the amount of content currently available along with its professional level of polish – I feel the price is justified though a lower EA price would go a long way to building up the player base prior to release. With all that said I highly recommend Balloonatics. It is an extremely well made vehicular shooter title and tons of fun to play with friends and strangers alike. It is definitely one that I will be playing more of.

This game has a ton a important VR aspects such as hand poses, and the details of how you should be using VR, like down to the steering wheel of your cart. Has a close to nostalgic feel to the old mario cart games. Lots of different weapons and powerups for each different character, which adds to replayability. PC is just as good as VR in my opinion! Active developer to which is always appreciated in the indie titles. The maps are largely different and creative which is nice. Id maybe suggest somehow more indication of how the wind is going to affect your projectiles. Leap and bounds improvements over time which is great. Played a 3vs3 and greatly enjoyed my time!

Played through the tutorial some and some after a friend had told me to check it out. Game is interesting with mouse and keyboard, it definitely works and is playable but would be a lot cooler with VR. It’s simple and fun. I don’t have much experience with the multiplayer of this game but I can see this being brought out when family and friends are over.

A fun game to play with friends. Multiplayer is the highlight and the hectic pace makes matches really entertaining. It's an easy game to pick up quickly while still rewarding the skill of those who take the time to master the controls. The game runs very well even on lower spec machines. It's nice that there's both a VR and non-VR option. Despite being Early Access I didn't experience any critical bugs. I look forward to seeing how this game progresses as features are added.

Good stuff! Nice to have VR and non-VR mix which should keep player base higher than exclusively VR. I've played both VR (HTC Vive) and non-VR. I always prefer VR in the end and the experience is great It's a game where you can keep working at it... I'm straight awful but there is more than just button mashing involved so with a little practice, one can improve which keeps it fresh. PIck er up!

Fun, fast paced game that reminds me of Mario Kart Battles except your in a hot air balloon! The game features unique characters that all have their own special ability and goofy animations. Multiplayer is alot of fun with a group of friends or you can even play solo mode target challenges! I would like to see them add bots as it can be very difficult to find a multiplayer game atm. Also unlockables like skins etc would be very cool... Overall very smooth gameplay although it has it's share of bugs and glitches which i expect for an early-access game.

Love how creative this game is - feels like being the captain of a ship while manning the cannons and frantically looking around to be aware of your surroundings and collect all the powerups. Lots of fun in VR!