Rollers of the Realm

So here we're trying to blend RPG with pinball. Sounds like a fresh concept, right? Well, in theory, maybe. But in practice? Let's just say it's a bit of a swing and a miss. See, the problem is, it doesn't fully commit to either genre. It's like it's stuck in this weird limbo where it's not quite RPG enough to satisfy those cravings for epic quests and character development, and it's not quite pinball enough to give you that satisfying arcade thrill. So what do you end up with? A game that's trying to be two things at once and failing to excel at either. And let me tell you, that's not a recipe for fun gameplay. Sure, it's a novel idea, but unless they can find a way to really lean into one genre or the other, it's hard to see this game gaining much traction. So yeah, if you're looking for a true RPG or a true pinball experience, you might want to look elsewhere.

[h1]Он волшебник пинбола. Там будет поворот. Волшебник пинбола Запястьем шар ведет. [/h1] В одном сказочном королевстве, у ворот старого города стояла молодая воровка с собакой в раздумьях, как бы по-тихому проникнуть в город и обчистить карманы местной знати. Попасть во внутрь она сможет, правда, с приключениями, которые заведут её очень далеко. Простая разборка с городскими бандитами выльется в стандартное сказочное спасение мира. Мы встретим друзей и сопартийцев, будем драться не на жизнь, а насмерть с разными противниками, преодолеем леса и горы, побываем в сокровищницах и тюрьмах. Самое интересное, что всё это мы будем делать, играя в пинбол. Да, это настоящий ролевой пинбол с сюжетом, персонажами, прокачкой и экипировкой. Каждый стол – это небольшое приключение. Вот мы в городе обчищаем карманы ротозеев, вот пытаемся выбраться из тюрьмы, а вот удираем от преследования через лес. По столу расставлены ящики, заборы, фонтаны, кусты и другие препятствия. Ещё там есть различные персонажи, обычные человечки с ручками и ножками, в отличии от нас, шариков. Персонажи, как правило, настроены против нас и активно отбиваются мечами, прикрываются щитами и обстреливают из луков. В игре есть боссы, особо прочные ребята, да ещё и с подкреплением. На каждом столе надо выполнить определённые условия и далеко не всегда это банальные победить всех и добраться до выхода. Периодически у нас разворачиваются целые баталии. А по факту, мы отбиваем флипперами шарик, чтобы он попал куда нам нужно. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3384458433 Каждый герой – пинбольный шарик, со своими характеристиками и умениями. Воровка маленькая, может пролезть в любую щель, очень больно бьёт в спину и способна вызвать свою собаку, по кличке Шарик. Рыцарь большой, тяжёлый, зато врагов раскидывает во все стороны. Рейнджер умеет стрелять, а волшебница больно бить заклинаниями. Очень важная героиня лекарка, она единственная умеет восстанавливать флипперы, которые вражеские лучники и колдуны могут очень быстро разломать. При прохождении каждого уровня мы получаем золото, которое можно потратить на покупку вещей на рынке. Они очень нужны для прокачки, они повышают силу удара, улучшают управляемость шарика и даже дают новые способности. Графика, конечно, по-ИНДИйски простая, но атмосферная. Города и леса выглядят очень даже аутентично и сказочно. Склепы тёмные, а луга солнечные. Мест для посещения много и они разнообразные. Портреты персонажей хорошо нарисованы. Музыка хорошая. Основной минус игры то, что она на английском и перевода нет. Если задания на уровень или свойства товаров ещё можно прочитать и понять, то с диалогами беда. Их между уровнями много и персонажи любят говорить вычурным языком. Во все нюансы сюжета вникнуть сложновато. А так, это действительно уникальная помесь пинбола и ролевухи, таких почти нет. Если пинбол вам хоть чуть-чуть нравиться, то попробуйте обязательно.

Rollers of the Realm, a pinball RPG, is a unique concept and was a lot of fun at first. Unfortunately, there are several flaws that ruined the experience as the campaign pushed on. The most important is that the level shticks become worse as the game progresses. You're supposed to be able to choose between various balls with varied play styles, but It felt like I had to be constantly healing the flippers with my healer ball due to enemies shooting fireballs and arrows while barely getting a chance to enjoy using the attack balls. Switching characters by holding the ball in a flipper is also less-than-convenient, particularly when the levels become more hectic, making it less likely you'll be able to whip out the character you need in a tight spot. The placement of enemies and other obstacles also felt genuinely unfair at points, and losing one ball would often quickly result in losing the others with nothing I could've done to change the outcome. A smaller critique is that all of the dialogue is tied to the level and will be replayed if you lose, want to restart, or choose to replay the mission (which the game encourages for you to earn more gold and experience). This made these occasional restarts even more frustrating and annoying. In a similar vein, there was one multi-tiered level that had a puzzle on the upper floor, and if the ball fell while on the lower level, you had to redo the entire upper puzzle, which was a waste of time. There is also too much focus on the challenge levels as opposed to the more interesting campaign which was only ~4-5 hours long (at least, if we base it on the achievement list; there are only a few campaign-specific achievements, and the rest are tied to the challenges), which are boring and quickly grow tiresome. Fortunately, most of these concerns seem to be on the easier side to remedy, and I hope the devs improve upon them in the sequel that was announced because the pinball RPG concept still has a lot of potential.

Pinball + RPG. Lots of love went into this one, it's not half-assed. Solid, story is not too short either. I quite like it, I highly recommend it if you like Pinball in general.

How is it that I had so much fun playing a game that I thought was an incredibly stupid concept? If you find any enjoyment in pinball games, real or simulated, and you have ever enjoyed an adventure game or RPGs, then take this for a spin. I dunno why, but it works. **Shrug** It's quick to pick up and put down, with the light fun of casual pinball, but with RPG elements offering additional strategy and complexity over time, instead of relying on deep, repetitive play with the simple goal of maximizing points scored--something I find a bit tedious and boring.

Game isn't fun. Tables are boring. The RPG/adventure element takes away the fun of the pinball gameplay in my opinion. I went back to Devil's Crush (Turbografx-16) for my pinball fix.

RPG. Pinball. Love the concept. Love this game. Ever since I heard there was a sequel coming, I knew I had to come back and finish this one. It's short and sweet, though I'll admit, I rage quit this game, twice, years ago on the second to last level. I finally came back to it. I forgot elements of the story, and how to use abilities, but not that level that turned me away twice before. Well, third try's the charm. Who knew pinball could have a story mode? Who knew it would actually be fun? If you like pinball and/or rpgs, definitely check out this unique blend. I just hope you're better at pinball than I am. Now I'm ready for the sequel! Backlog Games Beaten 2025 53/50

Ganz cooles Arcade Pinball Spiel, leider aber ohne Möglichkeiten es im Vertikal Modus auf dem Cabinet zu spielen.

Really mediocre 1/5 kind of stuff, barely plays, gets in the way of fun, the only thing that it has going for it is that it's pinball related and they screwed that up too. Bad mechanics, mediocre art style and direction and uninspired and uninteresting gameplay.

This is such a soulful and gentle game that I almost forgot to have pinball fear while playing it which made it so delightful I didn't think to leave a review. I just assumed it would succeed.