Gaming is a fantastic medium. It can cater to all sorts of desires and wishes, it can welcome us into vast open worlds full of exploration and discovery, it can thrust us into battle as we wage into war through bygone eras, it can evoke feelings of success through devoted teamwork, or even frustration and determination as you look to outscore opponents or tackle a ferocious enemy. Sometimes though, simplicity is all you need for an enjoyable and memorable experience and whilst Ratalaika Games and Eastasiasoft are not ones to shy away from quick and easy completions, this latest joint effort, along with development from Viktor Yurchuk, sees a game that is a surprisingly enjoyable and simplistic effort that we can all appreciate.
Ball laB is the surprisingly simplistic game I’m referring to and whilst there will be many who find later levels pushing more towards the realms of frustration than relaxation, it’s safe to say that if you like games such as Super Meat Boy or any other precision platforming titles that have a primary focus on A-to-B traversal whilst throwing all manner of deadly traps and hazards into the mix to avoid, then Ball laB is going to be a game that you will enjoy.
The first thing to note about Ball laB is that like similar titles, the make or break feature here is the controls. Poorly assigned controls, input lag, too much sensitivity or too little sensitivity can all affect a game like this in a drastic way, and whilst it’s easy to assume enough testing goes into titles to get this right on a consistent basis, it’s rare that we actually ever get to say that a developer has nailed it.
Fortunately, Viktor Yurchuk and Ratalaika Games have done just that with Ball laB, with each touch moving just the exact amount you intend it to, or at least it seemed to for me, and each mistake allowed no more blame than your own overly keen attempt to push forward through any given level rather than any input issues on the part of the design process, and should you make such a mistake that causes an inevitable death, you will soon be hoisted rather instantaneously back to the start of the level to give it another shot.
Fortunately, this is the saving grace too with this latest adventure, as throughout the 60 available levels that come included it only takes the first 10-15 levels before you really start to meet a real challenge, and that’s coming from a veteran of platforming titles.
The way levels seem to work in Ball laB is actually rather ingenious. Early on a bit of a pattern becomes apparent and whilst this pattern isn’t repeated throughout the entire experience, it is one that I find surprisingly refreshing. With each level completed, the level that follows serves as the same as what you have just done, with an expansion to it, meaning that should you end up finally completing a level after several repetitive attempts, you’ll then need to relearn the process thanks to an additional area that completely messes up the muscle memory attempts and forces you into a barrage of new deaths.
As mentioned above, this isn’t how the game works from start to finish and there are entirely fresh sections after a while that open up a fresh ‘set of levels’ if you like, but having to go over partially trodden ground before meeting with an entirely new threat at the end is one way of making an experience both frustrating yet unusually refreshing all in one.
Of course, it could also be pointed to as a lazy effort, and there will no doubt be some out there who aren’t a fan of the approach but when a game comes bearing a £4.19 price point, 60 levels and some pretty perfect precision play, I don’t think there’s much room to be complaining.
Now of course being a game that comes with the Ratalaika branding, this is once again a quick and easy ‘completion’ for those avid achievement hunters out there, with only the first 10 levels and a few hundred deaths required to nab the 1000/1000, however, whilst it would be easy to quit at this point and jump into the next adventure on your might list of exciting titles that are available in 2021, Ball laB is definitely worth a full run through all the way to level 60. On my route to the end I may well have died more than 1000 times, thanks to a manner of spikes, pits, awkward platforms and my own inability to judge distances correctly, however, there is an undeniable sense of fun that comes from feeling the next go could be the one that performs that successful run to the end of the level, and there is a serious will that gets instilled upon you to find out what the next challenge might be.
Away from the gameplay and the other things to look at would be the visual and audio aspects on offer. First up for the visuals and it has to be said, simplicity is the keyword here. For the gameplay that simplicity is more than enough to ensure we have a solid gameplay experience, but for the visuals, this isn’t one that’s going to be pretty on the eyes. Each of the games 60 levels comes comprised of varying shades of grey making up the components of the level, with a small counter and a pixelated face at the top of the screen showcasing which level you are currently on, and how many deaths you’ve succumbed to throughout your efforts. You won’t find any vibrancy or feel good flourishes of colour, and instead, I can only point back to the basic price point before recommending you get what you pay for. Ball laB is a pocket change game with simple features and a surprisingly good gameplay hook, but don’t expect much more than that when it comes to additional features.
As for the audio, and let it just be said that for a reasonable price you can get a Spotify subscription, or you could chuck a CD on (if anyone even uses those anymore) or failing those options you could just sit in silence. These are all options I’d personally prefer rather than listening to the absolutely mind-numbing and repetitive ‘music’ that is on offer within the game.
Conclusion
The crux of the matter is simple; Ball laB is a basic game with basic qualities. It has simplistic controls, a basic idea and some pretty common gameplay concepts that make up the entirety of the core experience, but all in all, Ball laB is a simple and effective game that comes bearing a wallet-friendly price, enjoyable and engaging gameplay and enough content to keep you interested just long enough to see the end. If you can handle basic pixel visuals, can bring a little patience and are happy to part with a little pocket change, you could find yourself enjoying a fairly decent platforming experience to see the year out. It’s not going to be one of the biggest games this year, it’s unlikely to even be remembered come the start of next year, but it’s not a bad way to spend a couple of hours.
This game was reviewed based on Xbox One review code, using an Xbox Series S|X console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.
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