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.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Wii
Wii U
Reviews
- Charming winter theme with lovely pixel graphics and engaging gameplay mechanics.
- The game features a large, multi-layered table with intricate tunnels, alternate routes, and secrets, providing a satisfying pinball experience.
- It's a fun and relaxing game that offers a nostalgic feel, reminiscent of classic pinball games, and is highly recommended for its low price.
- The game suffers from technical issues, including freezing and camera problems during multiball, which can disrupt gameplay.
- There is only one table available, which can lead to repetitive gameplay and a lack of variety.
- The controls and menus are not well explained, making it difficult for players to navigate and fully enjoy the game.
- graphics20 mentions
- 70 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are consistently praised for their charming pixel art style and adorable aesthetics, contributing to a cozy and enjoyable experience. Reviewers highlight the clever design elements, such as interactive features like the snowman mechanic, which enhance the visual appeal without overshadowing the gameplay. Overall, the graphics are described as cute and well-executed, complementing the game's unique concept and low system requirements.
“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.”
“I love games that don't need to rely on 'blow me away' graphics and can just lean in on gameplay.”
- gameplay18 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 17 % 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 the game offers a rich experience with intricate paths and targets, some players expressed frustration over a lack of clear tutorials, particularly regarding score mechanics. Overall, the game is noted for its depth and charm, making it enjoyable regardless of its simplistic graphics.
“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.”
“The concept of having our score melting (all the way back to zero) during gameplay, without even understanding why (i.e. a tutorial would have been nice), makes playing this game feel just like a big loss of time.”
“There's only one 'table', but it's quite expansive (camera scrolls up and down), 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.”
- music18 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in the game is praised for its nostalgic and cozy qualities, featuring a blend of wintery jazz and cheerful piano-chiptune tracks that enhance the retro aesthetic. Reviewers appreciate the soundtrack's ability to create a friendly atmosphere, making the gameplay feel inviting and enjoyable. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's charm, with promises of more content to come.
“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.”
“Breezy but with depth, plus a piano-chiptune soundtrack as brisk and clear as the winter air - but far friendlier.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, primarily due to frequent bugs and freezing issues that disrupt gameplay. These technical problems detract from the overall enjoyment, turning what could be a fun experience into a frustrating one.
“So amidst the downtime and bugs where you either need to guess your shot and, in the worst-case scenario, have to 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.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers highlight that the game offers exceptional replayability, ensuring a high entertainment value that keeps players engaged for multiple playthroughs.
“Replayability is at its max, and the entertainment factor is all there in this game.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have stability issues, including game-breaking freezes and minor camera glitches, which can disrupt the overall experience.
“I experienced two technical glitches - one time the game froze (game breaking), and one time the camera glitched slightly.”
