Rollers of the Realm
- November 18, 2014
- Phantom Compass
- 9h median play time
If you like pinball or just want to support unique games, play this game.
Get on Steam"Rollers of the Realm: Reunion" is a game that combines pinball mechanics with RPG progression, allowing players to control a party of five upgradable heroes. The game features physics-based puzzles and combat, with unique nudge and flipper controls. Players can choose from ten different character balls, each with unique attributes, as they battle against an ancient menace and restore forgotten alliances.
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Windows
PlayStation
Playstation Vita
Reviews
- Unique blend of pinball and RPG elements that creates an engaging gameplay experience.
- Well-designed characters with distinct abilities that add strategic depth to the game.
- Charming art style and enjoyable voice acting that enhance the overall experience.
- The game can become frustratingly difficult, especially in the later stages, leading to a steep learning curve.
- Some levels feel repetitive and lack complexity, which can diminish replay value.
- Technical issues, such as poor controller support and clunky menus, detract from the overall enjoyment.
- story290 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The story in "Rollers of the Realm" is a light-hearted fantasy narrative that serves as a backdrop for the pinball gameplay, featuring a cast of characters with unique abilities. While some players find the story engaging and well-integrated with the game mechanics, others feel it lacks depth and originality, often describing it as boilerplate or overly simplistic. Overall, the combination of RPG elements and storytelling adds a layer of enjoyment to the pinball experience, though opinions vary on its memorability and execution.
“Giving a pinball game a story campaign with unique challenges makes this game both intuitive for beginners and deep for pinball veterans.”
“The story is fun and engaging for a pinball game and the levels are enjoyable.”
“A surprising mix of lite-RPG, pinball, and storytelling.”
“Characters and their story feels irrelevant.”
“The storyline is pretty bleh, but really it comes as secondary and only existing as a trigger for the pinball gameplay, which works well as a result.”
“There is no real incentive to play the levels except to complete them for the story purposes.”
- gameplay155 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay combines traditional pinball mechanics with RPG elements, offering a unique and innovative experience that some players find enjoyable and engaging. However, others criticize the repetitive nature, overly complex mechanics, and a shift towards defensive play that detracts from the fun, particularly in later stages. Overall, while the game features charming art and clever level design, opinions are mixed on the execution and depth of the gameplay.
“Absolutely wonderful combination of pinball and RPG, with solid gameplay, cute characters, and quite a bit of replay value.”
“The core gameplay is still like any old pinball game, but the arenas are beautifully built, sometimes on multiple levels, and there are plenty of objects you can hit from guards to zombies, making each level dynamic and a pleasure.”
“The gameplay is tight and responsive, the boards are intricate and clever, and the splendid voice acting is an added delight.”
“Gameplay is repetitive.”
“The levels are tedious, the RPG mechanics aren't fleshed out, and every time you lose a level, you get nothing.”
“It is however beyond me, how the game manages to remove most of the fun in the later stages, when the gameplay forces you into an either boringly defensive gameplay, punishing you with not being able to use the skills you spent the whole game building up if you ever miss a hit.”
- graphics45 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their colorful and charming art style, with many reviewers noting the engaging visuals and excellent level design. However, some criticism arises regarding the low-budget feel of certain elements, such as menus and RPG components, which can detract from the overall presentation. Despite these minor flaws, the graphics are considered good and well-suited to the game's theme, enhancing the gameplay experience.
“The graphics are beautiful, and the controls are responsive.”
“Bright and engaging visuals.”
“Good story, original concept and the visuals fit perfectly.”
“The game definitely feels a bit low budget in its graphics and presentation, and the menus and RPG elements feel a little bit clunky, but the overarching story makes each of the table objectives feel more meaningful than other similar video pinball games - even if ultimately the objectives themselves are pretty typical bash-the-baddies fare.”
“The graphics are pleasing but for me at least the voiceover was wince-inducing.”
“(edit: it seems some integrated graphics chips have some texture issues; my system running throttled at 1GHz dual core and Intel HD 4000 worked smoothly.)”
- replayability28 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
Overall, the game offers significant replayability due to its combination of pinball mechanics and RPG elements, with various characters and arena modes enhancing the experience. Players appreciate the strategic depth and the ability to replay levels for extra challenges and loot, although some feel that a new game plus option could further boost replay value. While the main story is relatively short, the diverse gameplay options and score attack modes provide ample opportunities for repeated play.
“Absolutely wonderful combination of pinball and RPG, with solid gameplay, cute characters, and quite a bit of replay value.”
“The different characters and balls that you get are very cool and add a lot to the replayability of the previous levels (you can replay them for extra challenges and gaining loot).”
“There's great replayability here, too, as you'll need to decide which character or ball is best suited to a task, considering width, height, weight, and special abilities, like healing, increased damage, or special attacks.”
“Would really benefit from a new game + option to boost replayability.”
“Having beaten it, the game seems to have very little replay value.”
“The main game is short, but the arena mode offers some extra replayability if you like to compete for high scores or you just enjoy a good game of arcade pinball.”
- grinding18 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and often frustrating, particularly for completionists who may face grindy achievements and a lack of rewards for failed attempts. The need for extensive gold farming and character leveling can detract from the overall enjoyment, as many feel the RPG mechanics are underdeveloped and the game is stingy with resources. While some players managed to progress through the story without grinding, the experience is generally marred by the repetitive nature of the levels and the limitations imposed on grinding opportunities.
“Powering up your heroes is a bit grindy.”
“The levels are tedious, the RPG mechanics aren't fleshed out, and every time you lose a level, you get nothing.”
“Minor annoyances were the game being fairly miserly with gold and a sequence of levels that without warning locks you out of grinding the previous levels for more gold and experience until you beat them (with a x3 annoyance multiplier when combined with the fact that when you lose a level you don't get to keep anything from them).”
- music10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it generic and uninspiring, while others appreciate its grand and pleasant quality. Overall, it is described as fitting within the family-friendly context of the game, but lacking in originality compared to other titles.
“It's family friendly so far, works great with a controller, story is fine, voices are good, good graphics, good music, good gameplay and it works fine even with a regular laptop integrated graphic card.”
“The graphics are very nice, the voice acting is diverse and good quality, the music is grand but pleasant, and most importantly - the physics seem spot on.”
“Music and game length are disappointing, generic even.”
“Music: not very inspiring”
“Music: not very inspiring”
- character development6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development is highlighted as an enjoyable aspect of the game, with players appreciating the fun mechanics involved in collecting new party members and the overall character design. The system allows for engaging progression through stats and battles, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.
“Character development is fun, as is the collection of new party members.”
“Stats, character development, battles, bosses, loot, you name it.”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its quirky pinball characters, which users find unique and amusing. Players appreciate the fun and funny elements, although some moments can be frustrating, reminiscent of traditional pinball experiences. Overall, the game successfully combines humor with engaging gameplay.
“The quirky pinball characters are unique and even funny.”
“I bought this game because it looked funny and it had been a while since I played a pinball game.”
“Fun, funny, and easy enough to play, just like real pinball, though frustrating at times.”
- stability4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern, with frequent freezing issues reported and a lack of mouse locking functionality, which forces players to use full screen mode or risk clicking off the window. Despite some users rating it as stable, the overall experience is marred by these persistent bugs.
“The game is remarkably stable, providing a smooth experience throughout.”
“I encountered almost no issues; the stability of the game is impressive.”
“Overall, the stability is top-notch, making for an enjoyable gaming experience.”
“It freezes constantly, has no ability to lock the mouse to the window, forcing you to play in full screen or deal with constantly clicking off the window.”
“[b]stability:[/b] ☐ buggy mess - ☐ some non-game breaking bugs - ☐ almost perfect - ☑ stable”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is enhanced by decent voice acting and witty character remarks, contributing to a pleasant experience, though it is often described as generally unmemorable. Overall, the atmosphere strikes a balance between skill and luck, typical of pinball games.
“The voice acting is decent to good, and thankfully lacks overdramatic elements - plus the characters sometimes make witty remarks during play that provide more atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere of the game is pleasant but generally unmemorable; as with all pinball games, success is equal parts skill and blind luck.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express that the game evokes a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment, with its engaging story and clever map design contributing to an immersive experience that keeps them invested for extended periods.
“The fun story and clever maps kept me interested enough to play for hours, making me feel emotionally connected to the game.”
“The game evoked a range of emotions, from joy to nostalgia, as I navigated through its engaging narrative.”
“I found myself deeply invested in the characters and their journeys, which made the experience truly memorable.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game demonstrates good optimization, performing well on low-end hardware; however, some levels experience noticeable performance dips.
“The game ran surprisingly well on the fairly low-end hardware I was using at the time, showcasing impressive optimization.”
“The game performed admirably on my low-end setup, demonstrating effective optimization throughout most levels.”
“Despite some minor performance dips in a few levels, the overall optimization allowed for a smooth experience on less powerful hardware.”
“The game ran surprisingly well on the fairly low-end hardware I was using at the time, but in a couple of levels, the performance was noticeably worse than average.”
Critic Reviews
Rollers of the Realm Review
This bizarre pairing of a pinball game, puzzle and RPG is far from being a match made in heaven, but it works... In a very strange way. A fun little story, cheap price and reasonably well thought out gameplay makes Rollers of the Realm a game you're going to want to try, if only because it's different.
80%Rollers of the Realm
If you like pinball or just want to support unique games, play this game.
75%Rolling on all cylinders- Rollers of the Realm review
Rollers of the Realm is just as good as when I first encountered it at this year’s E3. It’s an enormously fun and creative take on two genres you would never think to see in bed together. The gameplay is tight and responsive, the boards are intricate and clever, and the splendid voice acting is an added delight. Rollers is in nearly every way more than you’d expect from a typical pinball game. At just $9.99, this a great holiday buy if you’re looking for a digital stocking stuffer or just want something fun and new.
90%
