My favorite party games have the ability to one thing in common: they’re cute. Whether it’s the adorable astronauts in Among Us, the chonky Fall Guys, the physics-defying adorable characters in Party Animals, or the perfect buns of Bake ‘n Switch, if you make it cute, I'll pick it up immediately. That’s honestly why I jumped at the opportunity to review Alpaca Ball: Allstars. From Badland Publishing and Salt Castle Studios, Alpaca Ball: Allstars is an arcade soccer game that mixes the best of wacky sports classics, like NBA Jams, with one of my favorite mammals, alpacas.
In the game, players choose their alpaca, customize its look, and drill the rival goal with as numerous shots as your mighty mammal can muster. While there are plenty of controls to learn, the tutorial and first couple of levels supply enough time for you to get accustomed to them. Utilizing every button on the controller, you are able to ram into your opponents and then try to exploit crazy ball physics. Set having a fun soundtrack, and even cuter alpacas, you’re asked to not only learn how to whip your alpaca’s neck around (it elongates and hits the ball and that i promise it is not as disturbing because it sounds in text) but to also learn how to make use of the level design.
In fact, every component of each soccer field may be used to slowly move the ball. The wall, the goalposts, another player, all of it. Not to mention, depending on how and where hard you hit it dictates the way the ball gets moved around. While you will find clear physics involved with moving the ball, it's difficult to gauge movement, particularly when employing a powered-up hit or perhaps a backward hit. But this is par for that course since you can pick up different powers which will impact how you communicate with and move the ball. To be honest, I stopped caring about attempting to line up shots and much more about just ensuring the ball was going in a general direction which helped to make sure I found enjoyment and not frustration.
The powers you are able to get on the way execute a number of tasks, just like a bit of American football-inspired equipment that lets you ram the other players and knock on them. And the weirdest (read best) is a that lengthens the neck of the alpacas which multiplies its reach and power. There's even a energy that allows you to shrink all of those other players, but unlike others, that one can’t be directed and instead will affect everyone in the game, including your teammates. How you use your powers is up to you, but to be honest, the more chaotic the game is, the greater fun you’ll have.
This often happens with regards to field size. While you will find large ones that mimic a global Cup match, there are others which are less advanced and tighter fits for multiple players. While the limitation of movement in other games will be a factor that removes joy, in Alpaca Ball: Allstars the smaller the area, the greater fun I had because it made everything feel completely random. As i usually don’t like sports-like games like this one, that’s because I’m not generally proficient at them. Aiming and making use of environments in shots isn’t my strong suit. So while you will find physics in Alpaca Ball: Allstars, the fact that I can have fun just ignoring them makes mtss is a game that I not just wish to play with friends but also one that I’ll gladly play alone.
On that topic, Alpaca Ball: Allstars has both a single-player Career Mode along with a Cooperative Mode to experience with other people. Career Mode is a must to learn the game. While it offers up the tiniest of career stories as you start as an Alpaca Ball newcomer and try to be the greatest by forming your own team and compete on the planet Cup so that you can save your valuable home, this mode is about the customizations you can get and the training you receive. As for the PvP part of the game, you may also play matches against other human players in matches as high as 8 players with teams split into 4 Vs 4. That said, this is a local co-op so individuals with Nintendo Switch Lites will lose out on this opportunity. That said, the Steam version of the game on PC does offer online play.
Overall, Alpaca Ball: Allstars is absurd and fun. It’s a great deal of chaos and nonsense that is only the game many people are searching for to experience on and off stream. Come for that cute alpacas, stay for the chaos, and ensure you choose up for many wholesome animated joy.
Alpaca Ball: Allstars is available on Nintendo Switch on October 15, 2023 as well as on Steam, with a PlayStation 4 port coming soon.
