Ballionaire

About

Ballionaire is a single player casual strategy game. It was developed by newobject and was released on December 10, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

Ballionaire is a hilarious, strategy-driven roguelike where you build dynamic pachinko boards to trigger combos, earn money, and spawn balls in chaotic, physics-based gameplay. Face challenging tribulations from the ELDERS while mastering multiple boards and crafting overpowered scoring engines. With compelling mechanics, awesome visuals, and splendid music, it offers endlessly replayable fun.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

87%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,846 reviews

gameplay63 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

A fun mix of strategy and luck, providing a unique take on pachinko gameplay.
Engaging and colorful art style, with satisfying sound effects that enhance the experience.
Offers a variety of triggers and synergies, making each run feel fresh and rewarding.

Heavy reliance on RNG can lead to frustrating moments where runs feel out of the player's control.
Limited content and progression, with many players feeling they unlock everything too quickly.
Some maps and tribulations can feel unbalanced, making certain strategies overwhelmingly powerful while others are nearly useless.

gameplay
153 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
56%
3%
The gameplay of Ballionaire is characterized by its addictive and engaging mechanics, blending pachinko with roguelike elements that encourage strategic thinking and experimentation. While many players appreciate the fun and satisfying gameplay loop, some critiques highlight issues with repetitiveness and a lack of depth in mechanics, suggesting that the game could benefit from more variety and balance to maintain long-term interest. Overall, it offers a unique and enjoyable experience, particularly for fans of casual, physics-based games.
- “Ballionaire is an amazingly addictive little pachinko-like game with tons of unlockables, different challenges, and overall just fun gameplay.”
- “The gameplay loop is amazing in concept.”
- “The gameplay is super fun and the art is very cute!”
- “However, despite these attempts at variety, the fundamental gameplay loop can start to feel repetitive after many hours, especially once players discover powerful combinations that make earning tribute relatively straightforward.”
- “The mechanics aren't particularly inspired or refined, leaving very little to bite on after you've gotten the dopamine rush from making a combo explode two or three times.”
- “Individual choices feel unimpactful, leaving the player repeatedly pressing what is essentially one 'generate random number' button and hoping the game spits out a high number back, ultimately making the core gameplay loop feel hollow.”
graphics
95 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
41%
3%
The graphics of "Ballionaire" are widely praised for their vibrant, cartoonish aesthetic, featuring bold colors and expressive animations that enhance the game's whimsical tone. While some players find the visuals charming and engaging, others feel they can be overwhelming or simplistic. Overall, the art style is considered a strong point, contributing to a fun and cohesive audiovisual experience that complements the gameplay.
- “Visually, ballionaire leans into a bright, cartoonish aesthetic with bold colors and expressive animations that keep the screen lively and engaging.”
- “The vibrant, colorful art style perfectly complements the game’s quirky and lighthearted tone.”
- “I think the graphics are cute, and the faces on everything make me feel happy and cozy, like playing a game or reading a book at grandma's house.”
- “On top of that, the visuals and colors are too much a lot of the time and hurt to look at.”
- “Secondly, the aesthetics look like they're designed to appeal to my 5-year-old daughter; again, just a taste thing, but off-putting to me.”
- “As for a personal complaint, I found the art style a bit obnoxious and truly don't understand the praise it gets.”
replayability
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
61%
6%
Overall, the game offers a solid level of replayability, with many players enjoying the variety of builds and strategies available. However, some reviewers noted that replayability diminishes after a certain point, particularly once players unlock everything or find dominant strategies. While the addition of mod support and potential for future content could enhance replayability, current limitations and a lack of depth in some areas have left some players wanting more.
- “Great replayability with tons of different builds to try out.”
- “I adore this game - the gameplay is addictive (just one more run!), the flow is relaxing, and the replayability level is high.”
- “Game is fun, and easily has a generous amount of replay value - and that will only go up if people start actually doing what the devs encourage: making new triggers, boons, and other stuff in the workshop; as with any moddable game, this has absolutely ridiculous potential if the fanbase rises to meet it.”
- “Which is unfortunate since replayability sorta drops once you hit that point.”
- “The game has a replayability of around 4 hours after that period of time you've unlocked everything and it becomes pointless.”
- “Can't really recommend it if you want something with a lot of replayability and rewarding gameplay.”
music
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
51%
6%
The music in the game is generally described as fun and charming, enhancing the overall whimsical atmosphere with its upbeat and eccentric style. However, many players note that the soundtrack can become repetitive over time, leading to a desire for more variety in tracks. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the game's enjoyment, some players feel it could benefit from additional diversity to maintain engagement.
- “The soundtrack is equally charming, with upbeat and eccentric music that adds to the overall fun and whimsical atmosphere.”
- “The balls bounce with satisfying physics, and every hit, explosion, and coin drop is accompanied by playful sound effects and energetic music that enhance the sense of joyful chaos.”
- “Music is so enjoyable, relaxing, and tons of fun.”
- “Also, the music gets grating after a while.”
- “Cute and fun art style with brain-tickling sound effect design, but highly repetitive soundtrack which gets a bit old.”
- “The sounds/music doesn't really hit the way other games of the type do.”
humor
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating its lighthearted design, funny art style, and amusing sound effects. While many find the initial gameplay entertaining and filled with charm, some note that the humor can wear thin over time, leading to a repetitive experience. Overall, the game is described as a fun, casual time-killer that offers a mix of strategy and humor, though it may not hold players' attention for long.
- “Funny little game.”
- “Art style is hilarious.”
- “It's funny to see a board you've built work really well and spawn dozens of extra balls.”
story
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
43%
43%
The game's story is largely absent, with minimal narrative elements that serve primarily as a framework for gameplay rather than providing a compelling experience. Players express a desire for a more structured story mode or campaign to enhance the overall depth and engagement of the game.
- “Additionally, the narrative elements are minimal, serving mostly as a framework for the tribute system, so those looking for a story-driven experience might find the campaign lacking in depth.”
- “It could use another 'story' mode or more difficulties/challenges to make the game feel more complete.”
- “Still enjoyed it but wish there was a chronological mission system or some sort of campaign.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
80%
Overall, stability reviews are mixed; while some users report smooth performance on platforms like the Steam Deck, others experience freezing issues and bugs in certain game modes. Additionally, concerns were raised about the game's playability amidst ongoing mod support development. However, a few players noted that they did not encounter significant glitches during their gameplay.
- “Runs great on the Steam Deck.”
- “Gets to the splash screen and then freezes.”
- “Pyramid is fine, but the other game modes can be kind of buggy and don't really have many triggers/boons specifically made for them.”
- “Working on mod support while you have a highly buggy, not super playable game is frustrating.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
The game's optimization allows for extensive experimentation and strategic growth, making it a strong choice for fans of the genre. However, players report significant stuttering issues when builds become overly optimized, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite these performance concerns, the potential for a classic game is evident once these issues are addressed.
- “It allows for endless experimentation, from chaining complex sequences of triggers to constructing boards optimized for maximum coin output.”
- “If you enjoy games that scratch the itch for growth, strategy, and optimization, this is a fantastic choice.”
- “Only problem is, once a build gets optimized, everything just explodes every time I drop a ball.”
- “Once this game adds more content and stops stuttering, it will be a classic.”
- “The only problem is, once a build gets optimized, everything just explodes every time I drop a ball.”
- “The game seems to stutter hard whenever a build gets too optimized or overblown.”
emotional
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game emotionally engaging, as the combination of satisfying sound effects and music enhances the experience of executing successful strategies and watching chain reactions unfold. While some may feel challenged or frustrated initially, the eventual mastery of the game brings a sense of clarity and joy, leading to moments of laughter and emotional satisfaction. Overall, the game effectively balances fun and challenge, creating a rewarding emotional journey.
- “They may laugh or giggle a lot and experience a sense of mental and emotional clarity.”
- “Planning your triggers and combos works fantastically alongside the emotional satisfaction of getting that lucky bounce.”
- “Despite not unlocking everything (you don't want to), not even touching the next maps because they just don't work with how the game plays, and only using like three working strategies, you end up feeling like you've gotten all the game has to offer.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while some achievements are seen as tedious, many are considered manageable and rewarding. The game offers enjoyable mods and updates, but later difficulties introduce frustrating debuffs that detract from the overall fun, highlighting imbalances in build effectiveness.
- “Lots of potential in this game, but it fell short for me. The debuffs you get in later difficulties are not fun and mostly just tedious. I tried a bunch of different builds, and it's very apparent some triggers/holders just aren't good.”
- “Some of the achievements are a bit tedious, like having a chain of 5 remote controls, but overall I'd say most are understandable and easy enough.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization model is praised for being feature complete without any microtransactions, providing players with a full experience without additional costs.
- “The game is feature complete with no microtransactions, which is a refreshing change in today's gaming landscape.”
- “I appreciate that the game offers a full experience without the need for any additional purchases.”
- “It's great to see a game that respects players by providing all content upfront without any hidden costs.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by its lighthearted and whimsical tone, enhanced by Rodney Greenblatt-inspired art, quirky characters, and playful game boards. The charming soundtrack features upbeat and eccentric music that complements the fun experience, making the gameplay addictive in a positive way.
- “The soundtrack is equally charming, with upbeat and eccentric music that adds to the overall fun and whimsical atmosphere.”
- “Great art, excellent atmosphere, the music is great and gameplay is addictive, but not in a way that will take years off of your life.”
- “The Rodney Greenblatt-esque art, goofy characters, and gimmicky game boards keep the atmosphere very lighthearted and casual even as the difficulty ramps up.”