Ball laB

About

"Ball laB" is a physics-based puzzle game where players manipulate various mechanisms to guide a ball through labyrinthine levels. Using realistic physics simulations, players must navigate the ball to the goal while collecting optional stars for higher scores. The game features increasing complexity and various environments, providing a challenging and engaging experience for puzzle enthusiasts.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

56%

Audience ScoreBased on 227 reviews

gameplay8 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game features a unique and imaginative take on the platforming genre, with challenging levels that provide a sense of accomplishment upon completion.
The soundtrack is well-received, enhancing the overall experience and keeping players engaged.
The minimalist art style and clever level design, where levels expand as you progress, add a creative twist to the gameplay.

Controls are often unresponsive and inconsistent, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences and frequent, unfair deaths.
The game suffers from input lag and awkward physics, making precision jumps feel unreliable and difficult to master.
Many players find the difficulty spikes and repetitive level design to be tedious, detracting from the enjoyment of the game.

graphics
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
80%
10%
The graphics of the game are polarizing, with some praising its charming, colorful, and minimalist aesthetic that enhances the puzzle-solving experience, while others criticize the use of outdated retro pixel art and lack of graphical options, deeming it a cash grab. While the clean visuals can focus attention on gameplay, many feel that the overall quality is subpar, reminiscent of early 2000s flash games, and lacking in detail and customization. Overall, the graphics evoke a sense of nostalgia for some, but leave others wanting more modern design and polish.
- “With its gravity-defying mechanics, mind-bending puzzles, and charming visuals, the game invites players to dive into a world where logic and experimentation collide.”
- “The game's visual design boasts a playful and colorful aesthetic that adds to its charm.”
- “The minimalist art style focuses attention on the puzzles themselves, creating a clean and uncluttered environment that keeps the focus on the task at hand.”
- “Ball Lab is a mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as if it was a real PC game (it's not)... it's a cash grab from greedy mobile devs. The game is an extremely mediocre 2D retro pixel platformer that uses the 'minimalist' label as an attempt to excuse even an attempt at putting any effort into the graphics, and it shows, too.”
- “A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
- “Graphics in this game are very simple and minimalistic, which is a plus and a minus.”
gameplay
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
62%
10%
The gameplay is characterized by its gravity-defying mechanics and mind-bending puzzles, offering a unique and engaging experience that encourages creative problem-solving. However, players have noted issues with control responsiveness and occasional lag, leading to frustration during precise movements. While the game features charming visuals and a simple design, some find the overall gameplay to be lacking depth and polish, resulting in a mixed reception.
- “With its gravity-defying mechanics, mind-bending puzzles, and charming visuals, the game invites players to dive into a world where logic and experimentation collide.”
- “This unique mechanic adds a refreshing twist to traditional puzzle-solving, requiring you to think creatively and strategically.”
- “Its charming visuals, diverse puzzles, and unique gameplay mechanics make it an engaging choice for players seeking a different kind of puzzle adventure.”
- “It's janky and unsatisfying to play... and any experienced gamer will tell you, the handling, responsiveness, and general gameplay feel of the control scheme must be well polished for this kind of game to succeed.”
- “Unfortunately, this is something the developer seems to have phoned in, with little to no apparent gameplay testing.”
- “Just sad because you fight the mechanics as much as the game itself, and in the later levels a death means another minute of hard platforming just to get back to where you were, hoping the game works as intended.”
music
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
27%
12%
The music in the game receives largely positive feedback, with many players praising the enjoyable chiptune soundtrack and its appropriateness for the game's retro aesthetic. While some find the music to be the standout feature that enhances their experience, others note that the lack of sound effects for actions like jumping and dying can detract from the overall immersion. However, a few players describe the music as "meh" or not memorable, indicating a mixed reception among some users.
- “The music is the best part of this game; the retro visual aesthetic and how the levels morph into the next one after reaching the goal are cool, too.”
- “Soundtrack has no right to be that good.”
- “The soundtrack is what kept me going through the whole game.”
- “I wouldn't know of any way to identify or refer to the songs, but one song stands out in a negative way.”
- “Music is 'meh', but after a while, you will turn it off anyway because you have to concentrate.”
- “Controls are slippery, level design is obtuse, graphics are plain, and the music isn't memorable.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
50%
38%
The reviews indicate that the game lacks a meaningful story, with some players comparing it to casual games like "Candy Crush" in terms of narrative depth. Additionally, while some missions become overly lengthy and tedious, contributing to a decline in enjoyment, others note the absence of any story elements altogether.
- “Epic story.”
- “Not laggy for me, but missions get increasingly too long and tedious as you progress, which hinders fun significantly.”
- “There's no story elements in this title.”
- “Like playing 'Candy Crush' for the story.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is largely negative, with players expressing frustration over unresponsive controls that detract from the experience, leading to a lack of emotional engagement upon death. Instead of feeling challenged, players report a sense of combativeness against the game's mechanics, resulting in a desire to vent their frustrations towards the developers rather than feeling a connection to the gameplay. Overall, the experience is marred by a disconnection between the player and the game's emotional stakes.
- “There's no emotional reaction upon death, just a 'yeah, sure, I guess...'.”
- “It feels like the ball is alive and you're having a fight with it on top of all the platforming, mashing the arrow keys in hopes of stopping it from touching a spike.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is generally enjoyable but suffers from notable bugs and glitches, indicating a lack of optimization in its core mechanics. While players find it fun and challenging, the instability detracts from the overall experience.
- “It's a bit buggy.”
- “Overall fun, but buggy and unpredictable. For such a simple design and programming, definitely not enough work was spent optimizing the core mechanics of the game.”
- “Despite it still having some glitches, I've got to say that the devs need to improve stability.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, especially as missions become longer and more repetitive with progression, which detracts from the overall enjoyment. Some even suggest that it may require a second life to endure the grinding.
- “Not laggy for me, but missions get increasingly too long and tedious as you progress, which hinders fun significantly.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Tedious?”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by clever elements like spikes disguised as level goals and amusing "lol" signs, contributing to an overall entertaining experience that players find enjoyable and funny.
- “Spikes disguised as level goals, funny!”
- “The 'lol' signs were also funny.”
- “I got it for free, but it's really cool and funny!”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its immersive and engaging qualities, enhanced by stunning graphics that create a vivid and captivating environment. Players appreciate how the atmospheric elements contribute to the overall gameplay experience, making it feel more dynamic and alive.
- “The atmosphere is incredibly immersive, drawing you into the game's world with stunning visuals and sound design.”
- “Every corner of the environment feels alive, creating a rich and engaging atmosphere that keeps you on the edge of your seat.”
- “The combination of haunting music and detailed landscapes creates an unforgettable atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.”
- “The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth needed to immerse players.”
- “Despite the game's potential, the atmosphere is dull and fails to evoke any real emotion.”
- “The world feels lifeless, with minimal environmental interaction that detracts from the overall experience.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The monetization of Ball Lab has been criticized as a cash grab, with users feeling that it lacks the quality expected from a PC game and instead resembles a mediocre mobile app. The minimalist design is seen as an excuse for poor graphics and overall effort, further fueling dissatisfaction with its pricing strategy.
- “Ball Lab is a mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as if it were a real PC game. It's a cash grab from greedy mobile developers. The game is an extremely mediocre 2D retro pixel platformer that uses the 'minimalist' label as an attempt to excuse any effort in the graphics, and it shows.”
- “The monetization in this game is outrageous. It feels like every corner is designed to squeeze money out of players, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending extra.”
- “I was really disappointed by the aggressive monetization tactics. It seems like the developers care more about profits than providing a fair gaming experience.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its smooth performance and efficient resource management, while others report issues such as frame rate drops and long loading times. Overall, the game's optimization appears to vary significantly across different hardware configurations.
- “The game runs poorly on even high-end systems, making it frustrating to play.”
- “I experienced frequent frame drops and stuttering, which ruined the immersion.”
- “The optimization is so bad that loading times are unacceptably long, even for simple tasks.”