Sonic Spinball™
Sonic Spinball is a spin-off of Sonic the Hedgehog games that combines Sonic gameplay with pinball genre. Actually, the most full name of the game that I found was Sonic The Hedgehog Spinball: Robotnik’s Pinball Revenge, haha. It was developed by Sega Techincal Institute, division of Sega of America I believe, that also outsourced most of game’s programming to Polygames. It was made as something to fill space between the second and the third Sonic main games. Came out in the end of 1993 as part of the event “Sonic Mania”, which also had Sonic Chaos and Sonic CD coming out at the same time. 8 Megabit ROM.
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Pinball Action Games.
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
Yoku’s Island Express
WOW! Just “WOW”. This reviewer rarely plays big games, and frequently doesn’t have an overwhelmingly favorable opinion of platformers. But somehow the synergy of it all (especially the incredibly successful risk of heavily integrating pinball), along with an interesting puzzle aspect created some kinda Big Magic with “Yoku’s Island Express”.
There are plenty of good reviews available, so this review will attempt to focus on what this reviewer knows best – Yoku’s Island Express’s (YIE) pinball aspect. Is this really pinball? Yes…and no. (I’ve been playing pinball off and on for over fifty years, and have served as a moderator on one of Steam’s more successful pinball game’s discussion forums, just as background.)
– Real player with 18.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Pinball Metroidvania Games.
Yoku’s Island Express
A provocative and thoughtful combination of well-known gaming mechanics as we all know can make for some seriously entertaining and popular new prospects, and Yoku’s Island Express really takes the cake when it comes to a profound and creative hybrid of genres.
A brave and unique potpourri of gameplay mechanics featuring the quick reflexive action of tight-knit and well designed pinball tables spread throughout an expansive and gorgeous platforming journey with the deep exploration of a Metroidvania, this is not only a long-overdue experiment of combined mechanics but a really well executed one!
– Real player with 13.9 hrs in game
Snowball!
I’ve had this game for a number of years now and even though I take breaks from it, I always find myself coming back to it. It’s a very nice diversion and quite a challenge at that. Many different things to discover on the table.
A basic pinball game it may be, but it is mighty in the enjoyment category. The game has two modes, a classic which basically is a “day mode” and also a night mode. There are many different ways to score, running over jewels, hitting drop targets and pine trees, a pong type of area, collecting mega jewels and making it to the castle at the top of the table via a circular power up lane.
– Real player with 14.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Pinball Action Games.
I tend to have high standards. But I also have low expectations, so I can be pleasantly surprised occasionally.
I didn’t expect much of Snowball! from looking at the store page. It looked like a simplistic little flash game (yes, it is flash), but, hey, it’s pinball, so I bought it anyway.
Turns out, it’s actually excellent!
There’s only one “table”, but it’s quite expansive (camera scrolls up and down), and the mechanics are surprisingly deep.
Basically, you collect jewels, which disappear as you roll over them with a snowball. There are also targets that disappear when you hit them. There are teleporter holes, gates (one that you can control), multiple launchers, multiple flippers, multiple multiball sources (one based on locks, and a quick one for hitting snowmen). Many trees that serve as bumpers. There’s a little breakout game in one of the mini-playfields. There are tesla coil magnets you can control to make the ball orbit around them. There’s an igloo and a castle. There are big fans you can control. There’s a little triangular bumper you can raise. There are acceleration lanes. There are score multipliers and streaks. Some targets and jewels appear when you do certain things. Mini-jewels respawn (as a different color) when you collect enough of them (it takes more each time). Megajewels respawn too if you manage to collect them all (not easy!) You can nudge (but it costs points). And probably something I’m forgetting.
– Real player with 2.6 hrs in game
Collisions
Actually, this is my second attempt to write a review of Collisions. Not that it’s so difficult, but I needed some time to think.
How unfortunate that as humans we are only able to grasp a concept through comparisons, games perhaps being a more extreme example of that limitation. But to compare based on the most superficial aspects is just ridiculous. Those who see Collisions on the Store Page, then immediately think “Limbo” clearly got no further than a quick glance. Those saying “NightSky” are perhaps a bit closer to the mark, but still quite a ways off way off. (Actually, I’ve yet to finish either of those two games. Collisions is much easier, considerably more inexpensive.)
– Real player with 7.1 hrs in game
I am extremely on the fence about whether or not to recommend this game. Ultimately it comes down to a yes because the core gameplay, the timing puzzles, are good and fun and what you’re here for. My problem lies with the rest of the game.
Having finished NightSky some time prior, I came upon the image of a ball I had to move around in a single-screen puzzlescapes. The game was Collisions, and I finished it at the time. It was a fun, worthwhile little game, though not quite as good as NightSky, but still good. Then I promptly forgot about it until I checked my games and the achievement counters, and noticed that after getting all the achievements there were at the time, an update had seen fit to include several more.
– Real player with 6.5 hrs in game
Things That Bounce and Explode
I know now that I can’t handle that many B.A.L.L.s 😔✊
I love the progression and the skill depth!
– Real player with 7.1 hrs in game
This game is awesome!! Once you start to play, it’s hard to stop playing it! Lots of power ups, upgrades, random stages, everything that guarantees a high replayabilty. As a fan of both brick breaker and shmup genres, I absolutely LOVE this game and 100% recommend it!
– Real player with 4.5 hrs in game
On A Roll 3D
I loved original Rayman on PlayStation. It had magnificent levels, absolutely awesome soundtrack and overally it gave to its player really good feeling despite having sometimes really challenging difficulty. In conclusion, it was a great success.
Reason, why I brought Rayman to here is how On A Roll 3D’s beautiful retro-style gameplay reminds me of it a lot.
- It has tiny puzzles every here and there, where you have to think most usually from one vision to few seconds to how to accomplish it, whilst not being just runthrough over the maps.
– Real player with 14.0 hrs in game
PRE-UPDATE: A classic 2D side-scroller with 3D graphics (2.5D?) with some unique twists thrown into the mix creating a fresh and fun platforming experience.
And although it does use elements seen in most platformers what’s wrong with keeping the tradition if it’s not broken?
Now I have played the original On A Roll on XBLA and so far On A Roll 3D isn’t as difficult as its predecessor, but don’t let the game’s bright, colorful art-style fool you as it may provide challenge in the later levels.
– Real player with 8.2 hrs in game