Ballionaire

About

"Ballionaire is a physics-driven strategy roguelike offering 77+ hours of playtime, where you build pachinko-inspired boards, overcome tribulations set by the ELDERS, and master multiple board layouts to become a Ballionaire. Satisfy their monetary demands, create chaos with kinetic combos, and draft new triggers each round to earn money and build an unstoppable scoring engine."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,955 reviews

gameplay55 positive mentions

story2 negative mentions

The game features a unique blend of pachinko mechanics and roguelike elements, providing a fun and engaging gameplay experience.
The art style and sound design are charming, adding to the overall enjoyment of the game.
There are numerous synergies and strategies to explore, making each run feel fresh and rewarding.

The game heavily relies on RNG, which can lead to frustrating experiences where player skill feels diminished.
Once players unlock most items, the game can feel repetitive and lacks long-term replayability.
Some difficulty modifiers (tribulations) can be overly punishing, detracting from the fun and strategic elements of the game.

gameplay
134 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
57%
2%
The gameplay of Ballionaire is characterized by a unique blend of pachinko mechanics and roguelike elements, offering an engaging and addictive experience with a satisfying progression system. While many players appreciate the fun gameplay loop and creative synergies, some express concerns about balancing issues and a lack of impactful player choices, which can make the core experience feel somewhat hollow at times. Overall, the game is praised for its quirky art style and enjoyable mechanics, though it could benefit from additional variety and depth to enhance long-term replayability.
- “The gameplay feels akin to playing a colorful, chaotic casino machine, where pulling off mighty combos delivers a rush of excitement.”
- “Ballionaire is an easy game to sink hours into, thanks to its polished gameplay loop and rewarding progression.”
- “Addicting gameplay, crazy synergies, beautiful art style!”
- “You rarely feel satisfied as the gameplay feels like it is missing something.”
- “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.”
- “The gameplay was kind of shallow from what I could really tell, and I just couldn't derive much enjoyment from it at all.”
graphics
88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
34%
3%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their vibrant, colorful, and retro art style, which many players find charming and reminiscent of classic games. Reviewers appreciate the attention to detail and the unique aesthetic that enhances the overall gameplay experience, describing it as fun, cute, and visually satisfying. However, some players express mixed feelings, finding the art style either overly whimsical or not to their taste, but overall, the graphics contribute positively to the game's appeal.
- “I love the art style; you can tell the developer poured a lot of themselves into this project, and it shows.”
- “The vibrant, colorful art style perfectly complements the game’s quirky and lighthearted tone.”
- “Addicting gameplay, crazy synergies, beautiful art style!”
- “As for a personal complaint, I found the art style a bit obnoxious and truly don't understand the praise it gets.”
- “The wacky character aesthetic and characters only translate well in the trailer.”
- “The visuals, aesthetics, and sound design aren't too bad.”
music
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
55%
9%
The music in the game is generally praised for its enjoyable and relaxing qualities, contributing to a fun and whimsical atmosphere. However, many reviewers express a desire for more variety and additional tracks, as the current soundtrack can become repetitive. Overall, while the music enhances the gameplay experience, some feel it doesn't quite match the quality of the launch trailer's song.
- “The soundtrack is equally charming, with upbeat and eccentric music that adds to the overall fun and whimsical atmosphere.”
- “Music is so enjoyable, relaxing, and tons of fun.”
- “Great art, excellent atmosphere, the music is great and gameplay is addictive, but not in a way like cigarettes that will take years off of your life.”
- “Each stage needs more than one music track.”
- “The sounds/music doesn't really hit the way other games of the type do.”
- “It's okay, I wish it had more than one terrible musical track.”
replayability
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
50%
7%
The game's replayability is a mixed bag; while many players appreciate its fun mechanics and variety in difficulty levels, several reviews indicate that it lacks depth and long-term engagement once all modes are completed. Some users express hope for future expansions and community-driven content to enhance replay value, but others feel that certain game-breaking builds diminish the challenge and excitement over time. Overall, while there is potential for replayability, it currently feels limited for some players.
- “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.”
- “In addition, the game has different boards with some unique twists and different difficulty levels (think of ascension in Slay the Spire), which gives it a high replayability.”
- “I believe that replayability is the most important and this game has very fun and imaginative gameplay.”
- “The game is a very fun concept, but it lacks depth and replayability.”
- “The 'tribulations' (difficulty modifiers set at random) are honestly probably the thing that kills the replayability the most.”
- “Somehow, despite how fun it is and the genre of the game, there's not really any replayability.”
humor
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its lighthearted design, amusing graphics, and playful mechanics that evoke laughter, such as funny sound effects and quirky animations. Players appreciate the randomness inherent in the gameplay, finding joy in the absurdity of their builds and the unexpected outcomes, which adds a charming layer to the overall experience. The game successfully combines humor with strategy, making it a fun and engaging way to unwind.
- “I just like the vibes, man. The funny dancing stick-figure that says 'wow!' every time I pick a new upgrade motivates me.”
- “It's funny to see a board you've built work really well and spawn dozens of extra balls.”
- “Gosh, if I'd only known earlier... perfect mix of humor, strategy, and luck.”
emotional
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report a mix of emotions while engaging with the game, experiencing both frustration and satisfaction. The initial learning curve can feel daunting, but successfully executing strategies and witnessing rewarding chain reactions leads to a sense of clarity and joy. The game's whimsical music and sound effects enhance the overall emotional experience, contributing to moments of laughter and excitement.
- “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.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game excels in providing a satisfying experience for players who enjoy growth, strategy, and optimization. However, it suffers from significant performance issues, particularly stuttering and crashes, when builds become overly optimized or complex.
- “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.”
- “Game seems to stutter hard whenever a build gets too optimized or overblown.”
- “The game seems to stutter hard whenever a build gets too optimized or overblown.”
- “Once a build gets optimized, everything just explodes every time I drop a ball.”
- “The game experiences significant stuttering when a build becomes overly optimized.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its great art and charming, upbeat soundtrack, which together create a fun and whimsical experience. Reviewers note that the engaging gameplay complements this vibrant atmosphere, making it enjoyable without being overwhelming.
- “Great art, excellent atmosphere, the music is great and gameplay is addictive, but not in a way like cigarettes that will take years off of your life.”
- “The soundtrack is equally charming, with upbeat and eccentric music that adds to the overall fun and whimsical atmosphere.”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Users appreciate the game's enjoyment but express a desire for a more structured narrative, such as a chronological mission system or a dedicated campaign mode to enhance the storytelling experience.
- “Would be nice if it had a solid story mode.”
- “Still enjoyed it but wish there was a chronological mission system or some sort of campaign.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players report a stable experience with no significant glitches encountered during gameplay.
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly in later difficulties where debuffs detract from the experience. Despite the potential for diverse builds, many feel that certain mechanics are ineffective, leading to frustration rather than enjoyment.
- “There is a lot 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 that some triggers and holders just aren't good.”
- “The grinding in this game feels endless and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged. It often feels like a chore rather than an enjoyable part of the experience.”
- “While the game has interesting mechanics, the grinding aspect is frustratingly monotonous. It detracts from the overall enjoyment and makes progress feel like a slog.”