Space Hole 2018 lacks the polish you'd expect from a big-budget title (Sam Atlas was the only developer after all, thanks Sam), but in my opinion it more than makes up for that in its quantity of unique and interesting content. I was confused by the game at first, but a little while in I got hooked and proceeded to spend hours clearing areas and searching for new ones.
Overall, Space Hole 2018 is designed to mesmerize, with all sorts of flashy effects used to turn otherwise simple graphics into a psychedelic artist's dream. dl Salo's perfectly fitting music enhances the otherworldly quality throughout, turning the experience into something truly special. The game is broken up into several named locations, each of them consisting of areas with some similarities, but few areas even under the same name feel identical to each other. Don't even think of getting this game if you're photosensitive or even just don't like flashing lights, but if psychedelic stuff is your jam, you're gonna love this.
The main hook of Space Hole 2018 is exploration. Gameplay starts out rather simple, consisting of two modes: a flying mode where you can travel freely in 3D space, and a ball mode reminiscent of games such as Monkey Ball where you are constrained to rolling around, always facing gravity's pull. However, there are quite a few lab areas hidden around the map that unlock new abilities that can help you navigate the vast game world. This gives the game a bit of a Metroidvania flair, although you can get almost anywhere with your starting abilities and a good physics intuition. Hidden throughout many areas are "space gems", which can be used to access more routes from the game's hub areas, but these must be collected in ball mode - often getting the ball to the gems is not an easy task. You'll definitely want to check every corner of an area when looking for gems or "space holes" (exits), as many of them are hidden quite well.
I did encounter some issues with the game. Although most of the game ran fine on my computer, some areas caused significant framerate drops that interfered with camera rotation and made precise movement difficult. The "Area Complete" message is a bit finicky, as I sometimes had to re-enter an area after entering its last space hole to get it to appear, and in one case it appeared before I entered the last space hole. Some of the abilities were hard to understand and some were rarely useful. However, these issues were minor in my experience and I still enjoyed most of my playtime.
Overall, Space Hole 2018 is definitely worth playing (if you can handle the graphics) and can captivate for hours upon hours. After nine hours of playtime, there are still plenty of areas I have yet to visit and plenty of minor secrets left in areas I have already cleared. If a very indie, psychedelic, ball-rolling exploration game sounds like something you'd enjoy, pick this up and give it a try!
