The past few months have been full of expansive RPGs, a trend that’s only going to continue through October with Metaphor: ReFantazio and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. It can be hard to find time for other games between those dozens-of-hours experiences, but one ludicrously fun recent Nintendo Switch port is worth setting aside a few hours when you have the time.
Go Mecha Ball launched earlier this year on PC and Xbox, but it just made its way to PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch at the end of September. The roguelike action game puts players in control of a surprisingly cute little mech to do battle with other ’bots in arena combat. Its defining feature is the ability to curl your mech in on itself, turning it from a walking robot to a speedy wrecking ball, as its name implies. With a combination of a large suite of weapons and a quick dash in ball form, you’ll fight your way through four different environments capped with gigantic bosses, earning upgrades and new tools along the way.
Your first match in Go Mecha Ball is likely to be a bit bewildering. You’re chucked into an arena awash in neon lights as a horde of robotic enemies spawn in to destroy you. Go Mecha Ball is a twin-stick shooter, letting you shoot in any direction with a fast-firing weapon, but you shouldn’t actually spend too much time in that form. When you morph into ball form, you move much quicker, with a boost attack that lets you interrupt your foes’ actions. The key to thriving in Go Mecha Ball is learning when to swap between the two forms, whether you need to dodge enemy fire, bash your opponents to keep them stunned, or deal damage with your own weapons.
Along with its quick attacks, your mech is also impressively agile. Arenas are filled with ramps and bounce pads to help you quickly launch from one side to the other and get the drop on enemies. Special abilities you pick up along the way often affect your movement, too, like a jump attack that launches you into the air before slamming back down on unwary competitors.
As frantically fun as its normal stages are, Go Mecha Ball really shines in its boss fights. In these battles against screen-filling mechs, you’ll need to use every weapon you have and master the game’s movement to survive. These varied encounters pit you against bosses that spawn spidery drones, cover the ground with damaging acid, and spin through the air like flying blenders. They’re worth playing Go Mecha Ball for all on their own.
I first played Go Mecha Ball around its launch in January and had a blast. My only real critique is that its roguelike structure would seem better suited for an infinitely replayable game like Dead Cells or Hades, while the rest of the game doesn’t feel fit to stick with forever. It takes quite a while to build up much variety in your weapons and special attacks, and even then, there’s likely not enough variety in the gameplay to keep you coming back for run after run.
Those issues remain in the Nintendo Switch and PS5 versions of the game, but as long as you know what you’re getting into ahead of time, it remains absolutely worth playing. Approach Go Mecha Ball as a short but sweet action game rather than the next roguelike to get lost in and you’ll have a much better time. As the new ports come sandwiched between some of the year’s biggest sprawling RPGs, the game’s shorter length actually feels like a blessing, letting you get your kicks with one of the most exhilarating games of the year on the way to your next time-consuming adventure.
