The Ball

This is a game where it took me a while to decide if I liked or hated it.

If you look at the game description and it appeals to you, then it’s probably a game you will like. But be aware its more of a walking simulator instead of a puzzle game.

What drew me in most was the overall concept.

The idea of being an archeologist who accidentally stumbles upon an ancient, underground, uncontacted civilization and must return their most precious artifact to the depths of the earth appealed to me.

However the issues start almost immediately.

You have to take this giant metal ball with you deep into the fissure, using a portal-gun like device to either push or pull the ball.

The problem is this gigantic ball takes up the entire screen, so much of the time you’re stuck looking at the backside of a giant ball.

I eventually figured out to run backwards and use the pull feature to get the ball some momentum then turn 180* and walk normally and the ball will follow. That way you’re not stuck looking at the ball the whole time, but its still an annoying movement tech.

The Ball markets itself as a puzzle game but in reality its more of walking simulator with some slight puzzle elements thrown in.

Very few, if any, puzzles require critical thinking. It is more about maneuvering the ball around to activate switches.

Bizarrely the game implements enemies and combat mechanics a few levels in.

You don’t have any weapons, only the ball, so you have to figure out how to manipulate the ball in order to crush the bad guys to death or spring traps.

The manual says the enemies are mummies but they look like lizard men and gib when you run them over so who knows.

There are a handful of boss fights and they all felt wholly uninspired. The battles were more frustrating than fun and felt ham-fisted in. Again you have to figure out how to use the ball to manipulate environmental traps to damage the boss.

Eventually you reach your destination deep inside the earth and return the ball to its proper place. The ending was kind of cool but nothing special, if anything felt a bit anti-climactic.

Granted its an older game but the graphics and color palette were bad. Everything is a shade of brown, black or copper and is ugly to look at. The aesthetics fit I guess for cave spelunking but its not appealing to the eyes.

The Ball wont blow you away, but if you like the themes and exploration then its worth a play.

Buy it on sale, I bought it for $2 and got my money’s worth but if I had paid much more I would have felt like I got ripped off.

I've tought this would be a pretty bad game judging by the title but well that's the reason why you DONT judge a game by its title (mostly). The ball surprised me a lot, its a solid adventure game with puzzles that are actually quite easy to pick up on and are pretty satisfying. The story is eh...? fine i suppose?, its not too easy to understand and most of the lore pieces are in secrets wich some of are hidden darn well. The object that you will use in your adventures (the ball of course) is pretty intresting...i mean its a ball that has insane powers and well its your only tool that will keep you alive for most of the game so it is kinda strange to say the least...but very creative!. Belive it or not this title has combat (yes of course you use the huge deadly ball) there's no guns, no melee weapons and that's pretty great because you learn how to use environmental hazards agianst your enemies. What about the levels you might ask? well its...hard to explain, the maps are pretty big and open but linear wich is a problem because there are a few places in levels where it looks like you might go trough them but in reality an invisible wall blocks these paths. Altough The Ball has a few issues its a very unique experience you dont get punished by dying or simply doing something wrong and altough it has lots of action its one of these games that dont expect too much from you, wich is great!. The atmosphere and the gameplay are well executed altough the start of the game is rather bland and Unfortunately the best part of the game is at the ending levels wich is not that great, but still i think it deserves a 8.5/10.

It took me 12 years to beat this game... It just would never work on my older computers. That said, In the end of 2023 this game was a pretty fun puzzle game. Its looks great on Ultra settings. I have no Idea what I paid for it or what it costs right now, but I'd say under 10 dollars would be a fair price. 5 to 6 hours game for casual gamers.

The Ball is an interesting game. Definitely recommended to everyone who is interested in puzzle and logic and to everyone who is interested to learn about the secret underground world that The Ball presents. There is an interesting lore explained by the secret heads to find hidden around the different levels. It was a pleasant surprise, I came here expecting that the game would have been filled with an interesting plot and jump-scares. I left this game with more patience towards very well designed puzzle games and confused about the ending.

Overall it's a nice experience. 6.5/10

Nice little game. The puzzles aren't the most challenging ones, compared to other genre companions. The battles are not as challenging compared to shooters. But the overall package was enjoyable for me, so I recommend it.

It's a decent if not jank physics puzzle game.
The whole idea of having the puzzle revolve around the physics of a giant ball you manipulate to progress further is unique and is done quite well in the game.
It does however also include enemies, but in the campaign, it's more of a occasional hazard than anything frequent and more to spice up the gameplay, if you want entirely combat only, the survival mode has you covered.
Most of the time in the campaign, it's you and this giant ball, solving puzzles in various areas.
While it is puzzles around physics, it can be a bit "iffy" from time to time, it's nothing that breaks the game, but can be a bit frustrating, it's not on the levels of "surgeon simulator" levels of frustrating physics, but worth noting.
And mostly everything that you interact with is by using pressure plates, nothing but pressure plates.
The areas scale quite largely and your character moves somewhat slow, so it's recommended you bunnyjump at every given opportunity.
The puzzles themselves aren't the most difficult to achieve, considering i'm terrible with puzzle games in general, i had little to no issues in this game.
It does do a nice job of giving you a variety of mechanics in the various puzzles along the way, so they don't end up feeling too similar, that said, some are better than others.
on top of that there's also a bunch of "manipulation" of the ball, in which it can for example get an gravity altering zone of effect, be set on fire, be coated in electricity, have exploding spikes attached to it or having slapped landmines all over it, both done for puzzles and combat.
The survival mode is set on an arena visually similar to each of the levels and will have different enviromental events and buttons that either hinder or help you to survive.
There's is some platforming sections which were a bit annoying, but that's more of a nitpick.
while there is combat and enviromental hazards in the campaign, dying merely "respawns" you back at the checkpoint and the progress you've made thus far is saved, usually, it varied a bit.
While there are "bossfights" in the game, they still revolve around using the ball and the various manipulations at your disposal to take care of them, and they're were immensly easy to deal with.
If you're looking for a game where it's only "crush ancient mummies and monsters with your giant ball", it's perhaps not the game for you, there is the survival mode, but it got old pretty quickly.
The visuals SCREAM unreal 3 engine, it's not bad per say, but it has that undenieably "gritty" look that so many UE3 games have.
The aesthetics are nice, but they seem to die down later on and become much more generic in the endgame.
and since it's a puzzle game, most of the areas seem more like a game puzzle than an authentic place where people lived in.
music is fine, but stays in the background and is mostly forgetable
voice acting what little there is, is decent, it's not great, but not so bad that it's grating to your ears.
I'd recommend it if you enjoy puzzle games and just games with unique game mechanics albiet janky.

One of the most ok games I've ever played. It's a constant back-and-forth between nice setpieces, held back by invisible walls not letting you explore, or even get a good look at, those setpieces, interesting puzzle mechanics, held back by finnicky and unrewarding combat, and a story that completely went in one ear and out the other for me.
For every step forward this game takes, it takes exactly one step back. The most 5/10 game I've ever played.