Snowball
- December 16, 2016
- Pixeljam
Get on Steam"Snowball" is a single-player Pinball game with stunning 16-bit styled pixel art. Experience a hand-cranked winter adventure with your behemoth snow spheres, discovering secret rules to unlock hidden score bonuses. Enjoy a laid back, holiday-inspired soundtrack as you navigate through the bobsled maze of snowbanks and more.
Reviews
- Charming winter theme with lovely pixel graphics and a cozy atmosphere.
- Engaging gameplay with multiple mechanics, secrets, and a satisfying multiball experience.
- Great value for the price, offering a fun and relaxing pinball experience.
- Technical issues such as freezing and camera glitches can disrupt gameplay.
- Limited content with only one table, leading to potential repetitiveness.
- Basic physics and controls may not meet the expectations of more experienced pinball players.
- graphics10 mentions
- 70 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are consistently praised for their charming pixel art style and cute aesthetics, contributing to an overall enjoyable experience. Players appreciate the unique visual elements, such as the playful interactions with objects, and the graphics are noted for being well-designed and fitting the game's theme. Overall, the visuals enhance the gameplay without overshadowing it, making for a cozy and engaging atmosphere.
“Lovely pixel graphics, great physics, unique idea...highly recommended!”
“An ingenious flipper game with many interesting tiny gameplay components embedded in different areas and cute graphics.”
“Great music, great graphics, it's all around a cozy good time.”
“The graphics feel outdated and lack the polish expected from modern games.”
“The character models are poorly designed and lack detail, making the game feel less immersive.”
“The environments are bland and repetitive, which detracts from the overall experience.”
- gameplay9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The gameplay is praised for its blend of accessibility and skill-testing challenges, featuring a variety of mechanics and engaging components that keep players entertained. While some users found the lack of a tutorial frustrating, the overall experience is described as enjoyable and reminiscent of classic titles, with a focus on clever design rather than flashy graphics. The single expansive table offers depth and multiple paths for players to explore, enhancing the replayability of the game.
“The gameplay is a good mix between accessible and skill-testing - there are lots of nifty smaller challenges, with targets that are more reasonable to hit than in the average table, but some satisfyingly elegant paths for the ball and some tricky shots (that are nevertheless doable, mostly).”
“An ingenious flipper game with many interesting tiny gameplay components embedded in different areas and cute graphics.”
“I love games that don't need to rely on 'blow me away' graphics and can just lean in on gameplay.”
“The concept of having our score melting (all the way back to zero) during gameplay, without even understanding why, makes playing this game feel just like a big loss of time.”
“There's only one 'table', but it's quite expansive, and the mechanics are surprisingly deep.”
“Eventually, I got the hang of the mechanics to the point where I was able to get all the achievements without too much trouble.”
- music9 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The music in the game is praised for its nostalgic and cozy qualities, featuring a blend of wintery jazz and cheerful chiptune melodies that enhance the retro aesthetic. Reviewers appreciate the soundtrack's ability to create a friendly atmosphere, making the gameplay feel engaging and enjoyable. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's charming presentation and immersive experience.
“Breezy but with depth, plus a piano-chiptune soundtrack as brisk and clear as the winter air - but far friendlier.”
“So while wintery jazz music plays, your snowball careens around an obstacle course of snowbanks, abandoned railroad cars, fir trees, igloos, giant flippers, snowmen, targets and ice crystals.”
“It also has a simple repetitive cheerful music that reminds me of 'The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show' from when I was a kid.”
“This game, particularly the music, gives me a strong feeling of nostalgia.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find that the grinding aspect of the game is negatively impacted by frequent bugs and freezing issues, turning what could be an enjoyable experience into a tedious chore.
“The constant need to grind for resources turns what could be an enjoyable experience into a monotonous chore.”
“The grinding feels endless, and it often overshadows the fun elements of the game.”
“So amidst the downtime and bugs where you either need to guess your shot or, in the worst-case scenario, close and reopen your window to fix the game freezing up, it makes what would be a fun experience into a tedious one rather quickly.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers highlight that the game offers high replayability, ensuring a consistently entertaining experience with each playthrough.
“Replayability is at its max, and the entertainment factor is all there in this game.”
“Every playthrough feels fresh and engaging, making me want to dive back in again and again.”
“The variety of choices and outcomes ensures that no two runs are ever the same.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game has reported stability issues, including a significant freeze that disrupts gameplay and minor camera glitches.
“I experienced two technical glitches - one time the game froze (game breaking), and one time the camera glitched slightly.”
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable at times.”
“I encountered several bugs that disrupted my gameplay experience, including random freezes and crashes.”
