This week is going to be a busy one for news announcements, but if you’re looking for something to play during Gamescom, then I’ve found a fun little game that I recommend you check out: Ultrapool.
With a title like that, you absolutely better believe that you’re going to have to like 9-ball or table sports more generally if you’re going to enjoy this roguelite deckbuilder. And by deck, really we’re talking about a collection of balls that each have their own special abilities. Ball-builder doesn’t feel like it’s going to catch on, though.
The first thing I look for in a game like this is physics, and if that part of the game isn’t working as intended, it’s not really worth looking any further. So far, my experience with Ultrapool has been really smooth. It’s simple to line up your cue, and you get temporary lines so you can see where the cue ball and the next ball you contact is going to go. It’s simple and effective, and it allows developer Icedrop Games to have fun elsewhere.
The balls are the best bit, if you ask me. You level them up Brotato-style, so merging them with identical balls of the same level. You’ve got a space to hold the ones that aren’t ready to be played, because it’s not long before every shot counts and you can’t put underpowered balls on the table without losing.
You get to fill up a triangle with balls of your choice, and after an hour or so with the game, I’m already finding clever synergies and getting a sense for which balls I want to appear in the draft. There are loads of different options to choose from, and positioning your balls before your first shot is almost as important as general accuracy.
There are multiple tables to unlock, plus a selection of modes that also need to be unlocked. I’ve not played very much in the grand scheme of things, but there’s clearly a bunch of game here if you get into it.
The thing that stood out for me was how easy and accessible Ultrapool is, and I was having fun with it almost immediately – that speaks to good gameplay and smart design. The table physics are perfectly fine and the overall gameplay loop has real “just one more turn” feel to it. I wish I had longer to play this one, but Gamescom beckons…
Ultrapool is out now on Android, iOS, and PC (Lin, Mac, Win), and I played the game via access kindly provided by publisher offbrand games.
