Beastieball

About

Beastieball is a single player and multiplayer tactical role playing game. It was developed by Wishes Ultd. and was released on November 12, 2024. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Coach a sports team of Beasties in this turn-based volleyball RPG! Your Beasties' relationships power up their teamwork!

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Skip User Reviews

99%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,221 reviews

story148 positive mentions

grinding25 negative mentions

Unique concept with great execution, combining creature collection with volleyball mechanics.
Incredible art style and charming creature designs that make each beastie feel alive.
Engaging gameplay with strategic depth, allowing for various team compositions and tactics.

Some beasties have unfinished animations and placeholder art, which can be jarring.
The story can feel predictable at times, with some characters lacking depth.
Occasional performance issues and bugs, typical for early access games.

story
415 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
62%
2%
The story of "Beastieball" is widely praised for its depth, humor, and emotional resonance, offering a refreshing take on the creature-collecting genre. Players appreciate the engaging narrative that intertwines themes of sports, friendship, and environmentalism, alongside well-developed characters and charming dialogue. While some find the plot straightforward, many highlight its ability to evoke genuine feelings and create memorable experiences through character interactions and unique gameplay mechanics.
- “The story has more depth and nuance to it, which lets the setting also be a tad more mature.”
- “The story is enjoyable; all characters are interesting!”
- “The story is charming and has been doing a good job at 'what it wants' - as well as any creature collector can usually boast.”
- “The story is very barebones; maybe it just didn't click with me, but it didn't really motivate me at all.”
- “The story is mediocre; I'm sure no one expects this game to have that deep of a narrative.”
- “The story can be a little rough around the edges sometimes, not being the biggest highlight here, but the art and gameplay are wonderful.”
gameplay
389 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
54%
1%
The gameplay of "Beastieball" is widely praised for its innovative blend of turn-based strategy and volleyball mechanics, offering a refreshing take on the creature-collecting genre. Players appreciate the depth and complexity of the combat system, which encourages strategic thinking and fosters emotional bonds between creatures, enhancing the overall experience. Despite being in early access, the game is noted for its engaging mechanics, charming designs, and a captivating soundtrack, making it a standout title in its category.
- “The gameplay is elegant, the creature designs are amazing, and the game has serious legs even past the completion of the main story with various post-game content modes and PvP.”
- “The gameplay is so fresh and it's such an interesting take on a monster taming game.”
- “The gameplay is extremely fun and addictive, and has a lot more depth than you might initially think.”
- “The gameplay is a level of strategy that you rarely see in most monster collectors - aside from a basic volley and an attack that might as well be skipping your turn, your beasties only get three moves and they have to be shared between attacks, volleys, support, and defense, on top of dealing with movement and lanes and statuses and all sorts of different mechanics, meaning your team needs to be cohesive or you might end up getting trounced by an enemy group you didn't expect to see.”
- “The gameplay sucked me in, but at first I was mildly skeptical.”
- “While the battle mechanics may get confusing (especially for people who don't know volleyball), I'd give this game a shot to practically everyone.”
music
287 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
48%
1%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, particularly for its vibrant and varied soundtrack composed by Lena Raine, known for her work on Celeste. Players appreciate how the music enhances the gameplay experience, with unique battle themes for different encounters and a catchy, engaging style that complements the game's charming visuals and mechanics. Overall, the soundtrack is described as a standout feature, elevating the game's atmosphere and emotional impact.
- “The music is probably one of the best OSTs in a game, not just for how good it is but for how it manages to set the vibe every single time.”
- “The soundtrack in general is fantastic, taking inspiration from countless sources, making for a fun and varied listening experience.”
- “Lena Raine does a spectacular job both emulating the feeling of the Pokémon soundtracks through the years while also making it completely unique.”
- “Some of the music is an acquired taste in my opinion.”
- “The music is fine (not that special to warrant a separate soundtrack in my opinion).”
- “My only gripes with the game are exactly two tracks that grate my ears a tad, but the rest of the music is spot-on!”
graphics
110 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
56%
3%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming and vibrant art style, with many reviewers highlighting the cute and well-designed creature aesthetics. While the visuals are generally appealing, some areas remain unfinished, leading to minor graphical glitches and placeholder elements. Overall, the game's art direction is considered a strong point, contributing to an engaging and whimsical experience, despite being in early access.
- “The game shines with its bright art style, inventive battle mechanics, and genuinely fresh take on the genre.”
- “The art style is crafted with so much love.”
- “Even with the work in progress visuals, the game looks absolutely stunning!”
- “Unfortunately, some visuals aren't finished.”
- “I bought this game like 2 days ago, half of the creatures are unfinished in terms of animation/graphics and I still think this is the Pokémon game I wish Game Freak would make.”
- “Its early access definitely shows, I've crashed a few times out of nowhere, found some weird graphical bugs and you're guaranteed to find a beastie with unfinished art if you play for more than an hour but I still had a great time.”
humor
71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its charm and wit, with many reviewers highlighting the clever writing, funny dialogue, and endearing character interactions that enhance the overall experience. The blend of lightheartedness with heartfelt moments creates a delightful atmosphere, making players laugh while also engaging with the story and gameplay. Overall, the humor is described as a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal and enjoyment.
- “The writing is brisk, funny, and touching.”
- “It's fun mechanically, the systems (generally) don't feel like they're screwing over players, and it's just kinda funny that the combat is just volleyball.”
- “The characters are funny without stealing focus from the gameplay, never overstaying their welcome.”
emotional
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
98%
6%
The emotional aspect of "Beastieball" resonates deeply with players, who praise its heartfelt storytelling, charming character interactions, and the unique emotional bonds formed between creatures. The game balances humor and drama, creating a wholesome experience that evokes genuine feelings, from laughter to tears, as players engage in a narrative that emphasizes connection and camaraderie over traditional monster battling. Overall, it is celebrated for its ability to foster attachment and emotional investment, making it a standout in the creature-collecting genre.
- “It has a really well done story that never takes itself too seriously while still touching on real subjects such as the stress and expectations of being a professional athlete.”
- “What sets beastieball apart is how deeply it ties emotional bonds into gameplay.”
- “You get so attached that cutting a member of the squad to make room for a more strategically helpful beastie can honestly be a little heartbreaking.”
- “The ending made me cry; it was so emotional.”
- “I felt absolutely nothing during the supposed emotional moments.”
- “The game tried to evoke feelings, but it fell flat for me.”
character development
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
35%
11%
The character development in the game is praised for its vibrant and charming designs, with a strong emphasis on personality and cohesion among characters and creatures. Players appreciate the depth of relationships within the team, which enhances the gameplay experience and mirrors the character growth often seen in sports anime. Overall, the combination of expressive character designs and engaging storytelling contributes to a memorable and immersive experience.
- “Absolutely gorgeous animation and character design, with a heartfelt, passionate story that's gonna stick with me for a while.”
- “And depending on relationship roles you might see exclusive dialogue that allows you to experience character development within your beastie squad, this is peak gaming.”
- “The team relationship dynamics are also a lot of fun to watch and a bit like watching your team go through sports anime character development.”
- “Usually I'm skeptical on monster collectors as they tend to lack one thing or another a certain corporate monopoly does: monster design (especially rare in indie monster collectors ironically), character design, atmosphere, immersion, party synergy, strategy, difficulty, uniqueness, etc.”
- “The character designs aren't my favorite (leaning into cal-art style a little too much for my taste) but the beastie designs are great and the world is overall very cohesive.”
grinding
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
96%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be minimal and enjoyable, with many features designed to streamline the experience, such as auto-battles and quick leveling. The game successfully balances challenge and fun, making grinding feel less tedious compared to other RPGs. However, some players note that certain level gaps can make it frustrating to use lower-level creatures, and specific modes can still present grinding challenges.
- “Despite being a monster-catching RPG, this game is not grindy at all.”
- “If I could change one thing (and this is my only complaint), it would be making the level gap smaller. For a genre based on collecting creatures, Beastieball has a big level gap; some beasties are just not worth using because of their level. Take note of that because most, if not all, beasties have something that makes them unique, be it design or gameplay. That is one of the best parts of this game, but some of them you get at such a low level that it would be more trouble than they're worth sometimes. It makes me so sad when I stroll into an area with my level 40 team and see the silliest little guy only to find he's level 20. To get him to scale, I would have to labor harder than a medieval serf working his lord's land (I'm exaggerating, but grinding sucks). I would attribute this to the open world; if you mainline a certain path or destination, you end up ruining the levels of the beasties.”
- “Along with the chance of a beastie becoming injured when used too much, it makes grinding a hassle.”
- “It's even more tedious in expedition and tower modes where a mistake could cost you the game.”
replayability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
37%
27%
The game boasts exceptional replayability, enhanced by a built-in randomizer, rogue-like challenge modes, and various end-game options that encourage strategic experimentation. Players appreciate the unique turn-based combat and the diverse combinations of creatures, making each playthrough feel fresh and engaging. Overall, it stands out in its genre for offering a high level of replay value, even in early access.
- “This combined with the built-in randomizer gives this game intense amounts of replay value!”
- “Every beastie is so cute and absolutely loaded with personality; the gameplay itself combines a good mix of both challenge and replayability, and even with a smaller roster of beasties, there's always a new strategic combination of moves that can be used to change up how the beasties act.”
- “The rogue-like challenge mode adds meaningful replayability and forces players to think differently with every run.”
- “There are built-in randomizer and ironman modes, so that may offer some replayability if you're into that stuff.”
- “This isn't even talking about the actual content of the game, like the randomizers and nuzlockes and roguelike mode for replayability.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
28%
29%
The atmosphere of the game is praised for its charm and engaging storytelling, reminiscent of classic titles like Earthbound, with poignant moments that enhance its themes. While the world and characters are vibrant, some players note occasional feelings of emptiness due to underdeveloped locations and interactions. Overall, the combination of design, music, and immersive elements creates a captivating experience that keeps players invested.
- “The story is shockingly good as well, the world and the critters within it are oozing with charm, characters are engaging and fun, and there's some very poignant and atmospheric beats you can stumble upon entirely by accident that tie in to the game's overarching themes and messaging.”
- “The design, atmosphere, music, level of strategy, field management, various plays to be made, plus an amazing roster of beasties all blend together into a wonderful game that I know I’ll be happy to play for a long time!”
- “Every time I think I've seen everything, something new comes around the corner, be it new beasties, traits, mechanics, battle types, methods of evolution, or just cool designs and atmosphere.”
- “This, along with some character interactions and locations that very clearly do not feel fully formed, leaves things with the occasional sense of emptiness that doesn't really detract from the game a ton, but still makes the atmosphere feel a little off occasionally.”
- “Usually I'm skeptical of monster collectors as they tend to lack one thing or another that a certain corporate monopoly does: monster design (especially rare in indie monster collectors ironically), character design, atmosphere, immersion, party synergy, strategy, difficulty, uniqueness, etc.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game generally performs well with effective control optimization for both gamepad and mouse/keyboard users. However, players have reported occasional performance issues, including stuttering and crashes, particularly after extended playtime, despite the helpful auto-save feature.
- “The game has had a few performance issues, though few and far between, and the auto-save feature helps whenever the game has unexpectedly closed or encountered an issue.”
- “Control optimization is good; you can use either a gamepad or mouse and keyboard.”
- “The game has had a few performance issues, though few and far between, and the auto-save helps any time the game has unexpectedly closed or encountered an issue.”
- “As I was playing, at about the 10-hour mark, the research complete pop-up got slower and slower, stuttering in loading, before it froze entirely and crashed the game during a battle.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Overall, the game's stability is commendable for an early access title, with users noting it runs smoothly and is surprisingly bug-free. However, some minor issues such as visual glitches, unfinished art, and UI overlaps during battles have been reported, but these do not significantly detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “Surprisingly bug-free even though it's in early access.”
- “Runs great on Steam Deck and is a fun twist on the monster taming genre!”
- “Even in its current state, where there are some visual glitches and many creatures have unfinished art and animations, it's a lot of fun.”
- “Any complaints I have are minor; some small graphical glitches, strange overlapping of UI which can make it hard to read things in battle, and of course, like any wonderful game, I wish there was more.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game is viewed positively, with users emphasizing that it does not feel like a cash grab typical of Pokémon clones, suggesting a more thoughtful and fair approach to in-game purchases.
- “This game feels like a cash grab, with monetization tactics that overshadow the gameplay.”
- “The in-game purchases are way too aggressive, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending money.”
- “I can't believe how much they want for basic features; it feels like they prioritize profit over player experience.”