Roundup: Ball x Pit Launches On Xbox Game Pass To Impressive Reviews

Amidst all of the craziness regarding the ROG Xbox Ally today, don’t forget that Ball x Pit is launching on Xbox Game Pass, and the first reviews have arrived!

This game is a described as a “brick-breaking, ball-fusing, base-building survival roguelite”, and there’s been a lot of hype because of who it’s published by – Devolver Digital, known for the likes of Return To Monkey Island, Cult Of The Lamb, Death’s Door and so many others.

BALL x PIT is a brick-breaking, ball-fusing, base-building survival roguelite. Batter hordes of enemies with ricocheting balls and gather the riches of the pit to expand your homestead, generate resources and recruit unique heroes.

People were right to be hyped as well, because this game is getting some great reviews! Here’s a sample:

“A hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won’t cause massive damage. Ball x Pit is a brick-breaking, resource-farming, base-building, ball-bouncing bonanza that addictively combines multiple different genre archetypes to make one of the most unique and rewarding new indie games in recent memory.”

“BALL x PIT conceptually has a simple hook. And because of that, its core gameplay will inherently be repetitive at some point depending on the player. But its chunky fantasy world has personality and its soundtrack is, honestly, phenomenal. They add to the charm of a game that houses a surprising amount of depth and content for what the back of the box might allude to. Sure, it’s about ball-breaking. But to not enjoy this would be nuts.”

“It’s easy to lose yourself in the flow of the seemingly endless bouncing balls, and I was consistently eager to unlock new characters, levels, and new balls to experiment with in battle. This is one of those “don’t judge a book by its cover” sorts of games, where the real excitement only reveals itself once the controller is in your hands. It will only take a single level to make you a believer.”

“It’s designed in such a way that you’re constantly given reasons to keep playing, and runs are short enough that it’s easy to excuse “just one more”. The game is so cleverly done and so moreish to play that fans of roguelites and quick-fire arcade fun simply have to check it out.”

“One of my favourite things in roguelikes is when they create a very clear set of rules, and then gleefully invite you to break them. This is a game that takes that philosophy to the extreme, and it’s a blast discovering quite how far it’s willing to go to keep you bouncing balls off blocks for just one more run.”

“It’s lovely stuff, this game. It’s another Kenny Sun delight, his first with a team along for the ride too. It can be a bit grindy at times, particularly when unlocking new locations for runs, but the grindiness isn’t grindiness if you’re the kind of person who likes trying out different builds and different evolutions of power. It’s the best kind of intricate, daydreaming fun. Get in, I reckon.”

“True to its central idea, Ball x Pit is a great blend of Breakout-style combat and frantic, Vampire Survivors-esque progression. At its height, it’s a flow state-inducing assault on the senses that makes great work of its Evolution mechanic to craft deeply stylish builds, but it eventually grinds to a halt thanks to a bloated progression system.”

At the time of writing, Ball x Pit has a Metacritic average of 84 – a very impressive start for this brand-new indie title.

If you’re interested in checking it out, it’s available now with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, and everyone else can pick it up for £12.49 / $14.99. It’s also got a free trial on the Xbox Store!

We’ll leave you with some images of the game below.