Go Mecha Ball is a twin-stick pinball ‘em up developed by Whale Peak Games as a “love letter to game feel”. As a fan of such things, every once in a while, I return to this 2024 title just because it’s pure chaotic fun; like candy in video game form.
Player movement is the centre focus of Go Mecha Ball. You can hold down right click and enter ball form to bounce off of boosters, bounce pads, and ramps. Left clicking while in ball form lets you boost into enemies to do damage and knock them off the map. The game is as much of a movement shooter as Titanfall is, and so zooming around the levels feels great.
Of course you’re going to need more than just your glorified hamster ball to take down the hordes of baddies. There is a good selection of guns, featuring laser shotguns, cannonball launchers, and miniguns. Your character can also hold two active abilities that range from turrets to spin attacks. Passive upgrades are selected after each level to give you stat upgrades and minor buffs.
Between the speedy rolling around and hard-hitting guns, you are able to fly around levels in a way that’s extremely satisfying. It does take some practice to get used to the bounciness and speed of your character but achieving a flawless flow state as you bounce into enemies and launch across the map into shotgun blasts – it is some of the best feeling twin-stick action I’ve ever played.
Your opposition comes in the form of all sorts of robotic enemies that shoot missiles, grapplers, and sniper bullets at you. It can get pretty hard to dodge everything being thrown at you but that’s where another core mechanic comes in: enemy stunning. Almost all attacks can be prevented by smashing into a foe just before they shoot, causing them to become dizzied and unable to move.
Ping ponging between the hordes is more optimal than trying to dodge bullets. Later difficulties also introduce enemies that can heal each other, metallic foes that have to be rammed before shooting, and dudes that drop mines everywhere. There’s a lot to pay attention to when it comes to approaching an enemy wave, which makes it a really dynamic challenge.
Go Mecha Ball is a dopamine infused treat for the eyes and the ears. The visual and audio design are just as chaotic as the mechanics and it offers bright, colourful visuals where everything is bouncing while glitchy dynamic electronic music blasts your ear drums. It is a little overwhelming at first, but the explosive presentation is part of what makes it so fun!
Sometimes all you need is a good gameplay loop with exceptional game-feel and genuinely fun mechanics. Go Mecha Ball is yet another one of those fantastically executed tight arcade experiences that is replayable because of how fun it is rather than crazy run differences.
Go Mecha Ball is out now on PC (Win), PS5, Switch, and Xbox.
