Spending an afternoon in company on the couch, while we rant amicably in front of a screen, is a ritual that, from time to time, is always a pleasure. Of course, finding a video game that allows everyone to have fun, regardless of whether they are hardcore gamers or totally inept at the controls, is not always an easy task. The ritual of the party game is something very delicate: it requires balance, constant challenge and improvement of skills. Everyone should be able to "lead by example" for others, but this is easier said than done: there are those who are better at puzzles, those who have general knowledge, and those who have hand-eye coordination. Consequently, as often happens, the evening does not satisfy everyone in the same way, generating a lot of frustration in those who have not known how to adapt to the rules. However, there are cases in which, even if a result is not really achieved, the final experience remains joyful, balanced despite the imbalances. It is not often that we come across a video game of these characteristics but, occasionally, the industry gives us a title like the one developed by Gameswing y Ubisoft Bombay, not too original, not too complex, but still, somehow, very funny.
Let's take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of this one. OddBallers Review.
Fun without commitment
OddBallers is a multiplayer event video game based loosely on dodgeball. Broadly speaking because, ultimately, it is about throwing away everything that is provided during the short thematic matches that make up a game. The title has been largely inspired by the greatest hits of recent years, from the most recent Mario Party, through the various Fall Guys and company, to the golden age of Windjammers (with all the necessary revisions).
As menu It is clear that Oddballers is fully immersed in the contemporary iconographic fabric of our industry. In fact, we are greeted by a visual structure very similar to that of the battle royales that have invaded the collective imagination in recent years, with double currency, a store with timed cosmetic elements and a progress line with various rewards. In short, the first impact you have is that of being in front of any battle royale, but the music changes immediately.
Regardless of whether you play online or locally (on Nintendo Switch up to six people using only one Joy-Con each), the structure is the same: choose one of the three available maps, decide whether to play with four or six (if there are not enough of you, you can be paired with bots, for which you can also set the difficulty), select the match duration between short, medium and long (respectively, match point is reached when someone reaches four, seven or eleven points) and complete the game randomly. selected challenges (but there is also a custom game option). The rest depends on the players, who will stay in a freely explorable lobby with everything they need to prepare for the game, from the store where they can buy new clothes, to the wardrobe, through some hobbies, so they don't have to leave the room. created to modify individual parameters.
Depending on the length of the match, players must compete in different challenges related to the theme of the game. Dodgeball, both as a team and individually. Each round has its own characteristics and rules, adequately explained before each mini-game (in true Mario Party style), to allow even those who have never played the game to immediately understand the objective and controls and compete on equal terms with others. . We have the classic "all against all", where the last one standing wins, but we also revisit ways that we have learned to know in other multiplayer contexts, such as capturing the opponent's "flag" or stealing the reward from other players and trying to survive as long as possible. In any case, the constant is the same: take advantage of the objects on the stage to eliminate those that hinder your path to glory. It doesn't matter if they are balloons, coconuts or chickens: as long as they knock out your opponents. Each round awards three points to the winner and one to the runner-up (if any). Whoever reaches the pre-set score at the start of the game wins the coveted OddBallers cup.
The rebirth of the rabbids
On a graphical level, OddBallers holds its own, not so much because of the style or complexity of the models, but because of the underlying coherence that unites everything. Along with the caricatured characters (who are surely capable of sparking heated debates about their quality) we find, surprisingly, the Rabbids. After all, in a party game signed by Ubisoft, where you have to make educational ignorance your sharpest weapon, you cannot miss the most irreverent rabbits in the world of video games. In what seems to all intents and purposes a true rebirth after a rather dark period, these mascots are finally returning to sail the seas of liquid crystals, reverberating the glories of the past with small productions like this one or with larger projects, like Mario+ Rabbids. .
Apart from this small personal satisfaction, OddBallers works quite well, although it is not free of some bugs and substantial frame drops, which occur mainly during loading or scene changes, so whoever loses during the game cannot blame the fluidity (we are referring to the only version that we had the opportunity to test, that is, the one on Nintendo Switch).
Conclusions
Tested version Nintendo Switch digital delivery Steam, play, playstation store, Xbox Store, Nintendo eShop Price 19,99 € Holygamerz.com 7.5 Readers (2) 4.8 your voteOddballers is a strange product, "weird" in the truest sense of the word. It's certainly not driven by an original idea or an unusual approach (especially on Nintendo Switch, there are many titles like this). However, there is something strangely new about aiming all together at a target player, or about playing Ultimate Frisbee or a ridiculed version of football. Maybe it's because of the polymorphic style, maybe it's because of the immediacy and chaos that is created on the screen, maybe it's because of those little things that are of no use (like being able to take the trophy to the lobby at the end of the game). play and compete for it by pushing and shoving), but this little party game, a true patchwork of a video game, is capable of entertaining for several hours in the company of anyone who wants to sit on the couch and play a game.
PRO
- One game leads to another.
- Good degree of customization, both aesthetic and experiential.
AGAINST
- Not granite performance
- Some errors
