Bang-on Balls: Chronicles - Preview of a very special game

This first quarter of 2021 brought us an interesting gem. It comes straight from the studio Exit Plan, a new development house that boasts some young programmers who, after having worked in large companies, have decided to found their own and create their own video games. The initial idea was to design something fun and unique that had gods fresh concept and new, and that it was of the type pick-up and play, therefore very immediate. From all these concepts it was born Bang-on Balls: Chronicles, an extremely fun and fast-paced title that makes freedom of action and movement its strong point. The game is still in early access, available for PC on Steam, but it already shows excellent foundations both in terms of setting and in gameplay, which bodes well for when the definitive version will be released.

Balls, balls everywhere!

Let's start with order, the game is a platform 3D with elements Open-world in which we will have to command a ball that will move around the map. Yes, you read that right, the protagonists of this title are simple balls of different nationalities, with headdresses, mustaches and various accessories. There is not too much help from the developers other than some initial advice and a short tutorial. As soon as we turn on the game we will be immediately catapulted into one movie studio, but it won't take us long to figure out what we need to do. Each set depicts a very specific period and historical event and this thing, as you immediately understand, is a simple as well as cute and effective trick to divide the various levels; the studio will only serve as central hub where we will return once the various bosses have been defeated, or in case we want to change the appearance of our character.

The mechanics will be those of a classic old-fashioned 3D platformer and in fact we felt a great sense of deja vu, as if we were playing one of the old ones Ray-man to PlayStation. You can run, jump, dash, crash and destroy objects or obstacles, charge a roll, pick up and use a shield and so on; in short, all the classic actions, without any particular special power… but this will not make the game less spectacular to play and see.

Relive historical events… in a particular way

As mentioned, each level tries to revive a historical event more or less important of our past in a humorous key. The first, for example, represents a Viking nautical attack on the English coast. We will therefore have to play the heroic ball of England who, thanks to her audacity and her intrepid moves, will have to be able to repel the evil invaders and save her people and her companions. As soon as we are catapulted into the English countryside we can immediately realize that there is no "binary" to follow, but we have the whole map of the level in our hands.

These open-world elements mean that you immediately forget about the main mission to go around destroying things. And our desire for exploration is rewarded with many buildings to climb, rewards to find and enemies to take down, themed with the surrounding setting. In the case of the first level, for example, we will face a big black goat which will give us a hard time, above all because he will be able to easily destroy all the stone walls that will stand in front of him, while we should go around them completely. Finally returning to the main quest, after completing it, we will always find ourselves having to defeat the boss of the level, each with their own unique mechanics and their own arena, which we really enjoyed.

Latest features and impressions of Bang-on Balls: Chronicles

The last aspects of this title that we would like to tell you about are two: the accessories and the sector multiplayer. Neither is essential to the story or gameplay, but they both add something extra to the game. The first will be used to customize our ball, being able to add and modify various headdresses, mustache e objects hand held, some very much ... details! As for the multiplayer, however, Bang-on Balls: Chronicles allows you to play online up to 4 players at the same time, allowing you to take all the delirium and fun of the game to other levels with the help of your friends.

Bang-on Balls: Chronicles isn't just a kid's game, as you might guess from a bad first impression. It is certainly not a wall of difficulty, in fact it is probably the opposite, but that's okay because the game world manages to be fully enjoyed. L'immersiveness that manages to create this title is truly amazing, and thescouting is able to satisfy all the player's desire for adventure, despite being still an early access. A game definitely recommended, especially because the developers seem very active in improving it slowly and paying attention to the various feedbacks from their community.