Peglin

Genre: Arcade / Roguelike

Players: 1

.

Review:

Peglin, released in 2023 on mobile devices and ported to PC and Nintendo Switch in 2024, is a game that mixes the Arcade-style gameplay of the Pachinko-inspired game Peggle with Roguelike elements, wrapped in the style of an RPG. In this game, players take the role of a small goblin fighting through waves of enemies to take down a dragon, with all of the games battles controlled by tossing a ball at pegs on a board.

Peglin’s presentation makes use of colorful 2D pixel art visuals that look nice, even if they’re not terribly impressive, backed by a pleasant but low-key synthesized soundtrack that works well enough for the game. Everything here is decent, though I do have one minor complaint – I don’t think pixel art was the way to go for the pegboard gameplay, where the slightest difference in the angle of your trajectory and where you hit each peg can change its path drastically. It’s still fine, just not what I’d think is ideal.

The music, I admit, didn’t impress me at first, but it’s really grown on me. I think a reason why I didn’t catch on at first is that this game’s music goes for a kinda’ subtle groove that fits so well with the game’s chill vibe that it doesn’t immediately stick out, but in retrospect it makes for a large part of that vibe. For good examples, I’ll point to the relaxed and understated Menu Theme, Forest Map Theme, Castle Map Theme, Castle Map Theme, and Mines Theme, as well as the really catchy Forest Boss Theme,

As for the gameplay, let’s talk about it. Every time you fire a ball into a level’s glorified pachinko board, it racks up damage for each peg it strikes and removes those pegs from the board. Yellow pegs activate a critical damage bonus, green pegs can reset all pegs on the board so activated pegs can be hit again, and some pegs are bombs which, if hit twice, deal a set amount of damage to all enemies. Once a ball falls into a pit in the bottom, any bomb damage you activated gets dealt out, then the rest of the damage you collected gets shunted onto the closest enemy, and then all enemies get closer or, if they’re in range, attack. If you run out of balls, the enemies all get a free turn while you reset your loadout.

This straightforward setup works quite well, challenging you to balance racking up damage by removing a lot of pegs and being sure to target green pegs every now and then to reset them. However, this gameplay is provided a wealth of additional depth due to the Roguelike mechanics the game has on offer.

As you progress through the branching level layouts, you’ll gain additional balls that have their own unique properties. Some greatly increase damage when you’re doing a critical attack, but do less damage otherwise. Some add defensive “bulwarks” to your character when you eliminate enough pegs. Some will permanently multiply the damage pegs do when they’re activated, and so on. Players add these balls to their loadout like adding cards to a deck in a game like Slay the Spire, and players will be given opportunities to spend gold gathered in-game to upgrade these balls as well. There are also relics you can acquire, which add permanent passive bonuses. You know, standard Roguelike stuff.

When it comes to complaints, I do wish this game did a better job of introducing players to its gameplay rather than forcing them to figure out how it all works, what the game’s terminology means, and so on. Also, I think that some of the level layouts in this game are not really conducive to the way this game plays, with the gameplay here really demanding that you hit as many pegs as possible and some levels not really giving you a good way to do that. Finally, it’s not too hard to get a run where you can piece together balls and relics with good synergy that will let you blast through the game easily, making for a game that’s shorter than most Roguelikes – I beat the game within my first hour or so of playing it. Now, to be fair, there is a postgame here, but I was still disappointed with how quickly I was able to get to that postgame.

Despite these issues, it’s hard not to love Peglin. Given that the Nintendo Switch still has not received a port of Peggle, getting another game with similar gameplay is wonderful, and Peglin actually goes a step farther and does a great job of blending that gameplay with Roguelike elements to create something truly compelling in its own right. It does have a few problems, but overall this game is a joy to play, and fans of Peggle and Roguelikes would do well to check it out.

tl;dr – Peglin is a game that mixes gameplay clearly inspired by Peggle with Roguelike elements, in the guise of an RPG. The blending of different gameplay elements here is outstanding, though it could do with a tutorial and more balanced level design, and it could stand to be a good deal longer. However, despite these flaws, this is a delightful game that Peggle fans and Roguelike lovers will both want to get their hands on.

Grade: B+

.

This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2024 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Arcade / Party Game, Best Roguelike, Most Underrated

.

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Ben, Ilya Zverev, Andy Miller, Homer Simpin, Johannes, Francis Obst, Gabriel Coronado-Medina, Jared Wark, Kristoffer Wulff, and Seth Christenfeld. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}