Go Mecha Ball

Genre: 2-Stick Shooter / Roguelike

Players: 1

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Review:

Go Mecha Ball is a 2-Stick Shooter and Roguelike with some 3D Platformer elements released in 2024 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. This game has players taking on waves of enemies in enclosed arenas using a mech suit that can transform into a ball, with players transforming back and forth as they fight.

While playing Go Mecha Ball, I found myself reminded a lot of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and oddly enough Sonic 3D Blast, a game many fans see as one of the (many) low points of that franchise. Go Mecha Ball seems to keep that game’s isometric overhead viewpoint through most of its action, and infuses the game with Sonic’s speed and movement in ways that better reflect the blue hedgehog’s spirit than 3D Blast ever did, and then gives him a gun (okay, so maybe more like Shadow the Hedgehog?).

All of this is to say that Go Mecha Ball is fast. Players use the ZL button to instantly transform into ball form, which turns the ZR fire button into a Sonic-style dash attack. This has multiple benefits – not only are you significantly faster and thus better-able to evade some attacks, bashing enemies is the only way to get ammo refills, and doing so can also interrupt them as they’re readying an attack. Plus, some enemies are more vulnerable to dash attacks, and bashing into them near the edge of the arena can send them careening overboard. These arenas are also filled with Sonic-style half-piped that can send your dashing ball form flying into the air, and players can even try to land on enemies to bop them this way.

However, there are drawbacks to the ball form as well – using yourself to attack enemies can place you in danger, and your movements can get so fast and out-of-control that it’s easy to accidentally fling yourself into an attack. A part of the strategy of this game is to be a good judge of how much you should be rolling around bashing enemies, and how much you should be walking and shooting at them.

Another part of this strategy is the Roguelike element of the game, and Go Mecha Ball does lean pretty heavily in the direction of “like” in the Roguelike/Roguelite spectrum – don’t expect to find permanent upgrades that last from one run to the next here, though you can at least spend credits earned in runs to unlock abilities, upgrades, and weapons that can be found in runs.

The presentation here is a part of what reminds me of Sonic so much, with the colorful 3D environments and animal characters fighting mechanical enemies. This is paired with a fast-paced synthesized soundtrack that does a great job of capturing the game’s frenetic energy.

However, at this point, I think I’ve put off long enough talking about this game’s major issue, on Nintendo Switch, at least. I have repeatedly talked about how fast-paced Go Mecha Ball is, and for a game that is fast-paced, you absolutely need a crystal-clear resolution and a silky-smooth framerate. The Nintendo Switch release of this game seems to have a decent enough resolution, but the framerate here is abysmal, starting out far too low, and frequently dropping even lower, even outright chugging at times. These framerate issues make the game harder to play, and render this the absolute worst version of the game.

It’s a shame too, because I can tell that this game is an absolute blast, with lots of great fast-paced action that breaks new ground in exploring what a 2-Stick Shooter can actually be, with a great visual flair and excellent balance between its ball-bashing gameplay and its more traditional 2-Stick Shooter gameplay. However, if at all possible, I recommend you play this game on a platform other than Nintendo Switch, because the framerate issues really hurt this game.

tl;dr – Go Mecha Ball is a 2-Stick Shooter and Roguelike with some 3D Platformer elements that has players taking on enemies using a mech suit that can transform into a ball. The action here is excellent, combining the genre with gameplay elements from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Unfortunately, some pretty nasty framerate issues on Nintendo Switch make this the worst version of the game. If at all possible, play this somewhere else.

Grade: B-

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

Runner-Up: Best Action Game, Worst Port/Remake

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