I’ve got balls, they’re multiplying and losing control. Cause the Metroid, you’re supplying… it’s a vania. Trash into out of the way, I realised I hadn’t played a decent Metroidvania in a while, so I decided to rectify that as well as a ball based twin-stick shooter. All in this week’s indie round up.
Go Mecha Ball
DEVELOPER: Whale Peak Games
PUBLISHER: Super Rare Originals
Format: Steam, Xbox
Price: £16.99
Steam Deck: Unknown (Runs straight out of the box without issue)
I’m not going to lie to you, upon first seeing Go Mecha Ball a while back, I assumed it would be a bit of a gimmicky ‘meme’ game that took the socials by storm but I just wouldn’t get (Hello FNAF). But I was intrigued enough to try it anyway.
I am so glad I did, because what we have here is a cr5acking game that reminds me a fair amount of the excellent Assault Android Cactus, but still manages to do its own thing to stand out from the crowd.
Essentially you enter an arena, take on waves of enemies by shooting them or using powerups, clearing the level and moving on. Die, upgrade, start, die, upgrade… rinse and repeat. Because yes it does have rogue elements to it. These rogue specific parts really add to the general feel of progression and it is always good to try out new gear.
The hook though is how you combine walking around each arena, with turning into a mech ball and then start rolling. Using this mechanic in a myriad of ways, from simply getting up ramps, to disarming enemies and much more. It is possible to make an arena feel more like a pinball table at times if you nail your timings, movements and attacks.
There is a great flow to everything and the constant stream of new toys and upgrades has so far kept everything feeling fresh and Go Mecha Ball is one that will be added into my semi regular rotation because of it’s simple pick up and play, but difficult to master nature.
Trinity Fusion
DEVELOPER: Angry Mob Games
PUBLISHER: Angry Mob Games
Format: Steam, Playstation, Xbox
Price: £16.75
Steam Deck: Unknown (Runs straight out of the box without issue)
I feel like I am using this week to confess my sins, because I got sent Trinity Fusion before Christmas 2023, but only really got round to it this week. A mix of life, health and Cyberpunk! But I have finally played it and it fills a hole that needed filling!
I love me a MetroidVania and a roguelike/lite, I think the two genre come together better than any other. But of late I have found myself mainly playing Dead Cells out of habit more than anything. Don’t get me wrong, it is one of my all-timer games, but I know that game inside out and needed something fresh, or even just a new lick of paint.
So this is where Trinity Fusion comes in. On the surface it is more of the same, with excellent movement and combat, mixed with plenty of weapons and abilities to experiment with. Combining that with the constant progression of a roguelite and a wonderful feeling of exploration despite the procedurally generated levels.
The hook though, that comes from the setting and the story. You see the multiverse is collapsing in on itself and you as one of three different character must battle through to save it. Look, in all seriousness, the story isn’t winning any awards in and of itself, but it does allow a brilliant reason for the ever changing layouts, biomes, etc and makes a change from the usual setting of some form of hell, purgatory, limbo type thing.
What I really love about Trinity Fusion though is that it manages to try new things, but still hold back so as not to break what makes this genre usually work so well. Transitioning from Dead Cells to this is so easy and I have managed to jump between the two games with ease.
The traversal and combat here is buttery smooth and it feels just so wonderfully satisfying to play. Whilst I’ve only put minimal hours into it so far, I can see me sinking many, many more over the course of the next few months and beyond.
