Ball x Pit is one of those games that descends upon us, a complete package from top to bottom. I had avoided most of the previous Ball x Pit coverage that went around the web; my brain was tired of hearing “rogue-like” and “similar to Vampire Survivors”. Between then and now, I’ve not only found myself feasting on the slew of rogue-likes on Steam, but even fell deep into the Vampire Survivors clone hole with Megabonk.
Ball x Pi, which releases straight into October’s Xbox Game Pass lineup, is yet another game from the same cloth that I’ve been enamoured by. I’m thoroughly impressed with how it manages to seamlessly blend multiple styles of game into one cohesive, obsession-building package.
It kicks off with an entire kingdom being wiped out, leaving the titular pit in its place. Now different adventurers seek the treasures below. A simple setup and one that doesn’t particularly rear its head much, if ever, as the game immediately shuffled me along into the core loop it had in store.
Ball x Pit Review
I hate doing this in reviews, having to pull from clear-cut examples as shorthand, but it wears its influences on its sleeve. Yes, it’s part Vampire Survivors and rogue-like, in that it’s run-based with death restarting you from zero, but allowing you to earn and unlock different items.
It’s also part Breakout, the brick-smashing game with the little paddle at the bottom. Firing balls will hurt the ever-increasing horde of enemies, and the Vampire Survivor bit kicks in, that they to drop gems that level you up and unlock further upgrades. It starts out simple enough, with different styles of balls and passive items that give you additional bonuses.
It does pull one feature out of the Vampire Survivors playbook, but with a small wrinkle. A little twist on the concept. Items will drop at random during each run, and will allow you to fuse, evolve, or level up your current items. This fusion mechanic lets you merge two abilities into one for some added punch, but also frees up a slot in the very limited inventory.
Ball x Pit has a ton of different variations to unlock. However, it quickly cements the idea of figuring out a particular build, even despite the randomness. For instance, I’ve become quite fond of the lasers and will gravitate towards those, regardless of where I’m at. I guess it’s impossible to stop this type of thought, even with the sheer creativity on display. Ball x Pit would have to do more than build a twist on an already worn genre, and I don’t think publisher Devolver Digital has the budget to change the fundamental way humans think.
There are multiple stages, and you’ll be seeing each one quite intimately over the course of the game. Each character that you unlock needs to get ticked off by beating the boss. These bosses aren’t the most complex in the world, but they did result in some real nail-biting moments as each of us needed to land just one more hit.
It’s here that one build I really like, where I use a magnet to attract gems and use the passive that creates “baby balls” when I pick them up. During boss fights, gems just stop dropping, and my dedication to the passives left me without much of a way through it other than my usual attacks. Ball x Pit will quickly teach you not to put all the eggs in a basket, but again, humans. We’re not the smartest at times.
Ball x Pit Gameplay
Beating a boss will net you a gear that can be used to upgrade the lift that takes you into the pit. It’s here where I realised that the game isn’t as brutal as others, which doesn’t mean it’s a cake walk. The game will hand your ass to you, but it’s never cruel about it. Everything moves at a pace that feels manageable, even on the highest speeds.
When you die, you’re given a choice to retry or go back to the home base. Here, Ball x Pit turns into a light city builder, which feels like its own game. Resources gathered from the pit will be put to use here, as you go from fields and forests to full buildings, some of which will unlock characters for you.
I appreciate this change massively from the usual Vampire Survivor clone fare. In those games, it’s almost entirely reliant on completing challenges or, in the case of Megabonk, beating them during your run. Here, building up your little town and getting a character feels far more rewarding, as harvesting or building up resources is quite brilliant. Some buildings tied to characters need a boss to unlock, but it’s not a frequent thing.
Instead of just a standard “click what you grew”, you launch your collected villagers like Breakout, and they bounce off each tile you’ve placed. Buildings need to be hit multiple times to complete, while things like fields will reward wheat.
The slight genius behind it is that you have to be careful when placing tiles. As the villagers move like a ball in Breakout, including bouncing off stuff, careful consideration for where everything should be is vital to success.
Ball x Pit Really Wants You to Play it
But it never gets in the way, which is the most crucial part of its success. Ball x Pit doesn’t want you to spend all your time on the town building when the game itself is so much fun. It’s one of the rare games that manages to build up controlled chaos so perfectly. Even in the most hectic of situations, Ball x Pit is never unreadable or completely mind-boggling. It might look it on the surface, but I never felt like I lost control of a situation, just made the wrong choices along the way.
However, it’s not a game where one mistake is the end-all-be-all. This is still, at its core, a Breakout tribute. Using careful aiming, taking out a few of the back rows is still doable. Thankfully, there’s no method of “game over” by losing balls. If you hit H, like I did, it turns the game into an autofiring one, so playing it like others in the Vampire Survivors circle is my preferred way. It doesn’t take away from much, other than walk speed, but it made managing the almost never-ending stream of enemies that much easier.
Final Thoughts
Ball x Pit is fantastic, all the way down to the fake CRT filter it subtly uses over its chunky graphics. It’s a masterful game, feeling as if it had a vision and executed on it perfectly. It also manages to ensure to not break a fundamental rule of the rogue-like genre, in that no run feels wasted.
Not once during the game’s most manic failures or disaster runs did I feel as if my time was being wasted in any capacity. I didn’t get many resources or gold, but I hit retry and was back in the game in about 30 seconds. That next run saw me beat the level’s boss. I felt invincible. Ball x Pit is so good.
5/5
| Ball x Pit | |
| Pros | Cons |
| Incredible variety of ideas for each character | Some characters feel a bit underwhelming to use |
| Looks great with its chunky aesthetics | |
| Plays like a dream, even in a crowded genre | |
| The split between the main game and the town building is fantastically managed | |
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X | S, Switch 2 (later in 2025)
Developer: Kenny Sun
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Release date: October 15, 2025
