a good roguelike will have elements that influence the RNG to allow for builds to be created. This does not have that, the balls simply go where ever they want, you can hope for the best but chances are they're going to miss what you place anyways.

I want to be clear, there is a good a base here. But there are a handful of glaring issues that lead me to choosing not to recommend it.

I've completed all unlocks and the 'hardest' mode - Ballionaire++. The game is rather limited. I love the variance of the boards. But as some other comments mention, there are only really a handful of functioning strategies. The balance between different strats is non-existent. There is one strategy in particular that almost cheeses the game in comparison and multiple synergies that go nowhere, no matter how hard you set it up.

Unlocks arguably come too fast, In my 15 hours, I have enough unlocks to probably unlock twice the necessary unlocks. Once you've completed those unlocks and beat the limited number of modes, there's not much left to do. Due to the multiple underperforming synergies, replayability is just... the same strategy over and over unless you play on an easier difficulty.

This game needs a balancing pass and something to help encourage replayability. This is a good game, it just needs a little more work.

Ballionaire is an addictive and interesting roguelike pachinko simulator that, similar to Balatro or Luck be a Landlord, takes a well known and loved game, and gives it a randomized roguelike twist. Instead of building a deck, you place symbols on a board that are bonked by marbles as they travel through the pegs. Placement on a 2D board allows you to control the probability of different symbols comboing in to each other in fascinating ways that a deck's blind randomness can make difficult sometimes.

This game has a solid amount of depth for the price tag, but I found myself running out of unlockable symbols *very* quickly. Compared to a game like Slay the Spire's 10 ascension difficulties or Luck Be a Landlord's 20 floors, the 4 available difficulties feel a little light. This is slightly compensated by the randomized penalties applied by the difficulty, but with both available difficulties and unlockable symbols being a little shallow, progression feels a little one note. Lucky for this game, the gameplay is so fun and addictive, you'll go rounds long after you've conquered the final difficulty.

The game does have a rough and difficult onboarding while you learn how to combo symbols in to each other, but the game's Lab allows you to freely play with board placements and discover interactions without the gameplay mechanics, providing players an easy way of discovering, inventing, and perfecting metas without worrying about the randomness of it all. It does take learning this game with a little intent, but that intent is rewarded with incredibly satisfying success.

Also, the game's multiple maps aren't just different arrangements of pegs- each board offers an interesting twist on the existing formulas. Each map interacts with symbol combos differently, and must be adapted to slightly differently. While portals are incredibly effective redistributing balls on the slot machine map, trying to run the same portal strategies on the ferris wheel inspired map is a recipe for disaster, just as one example.

All this with a charming art style, fun music, and fantastic game feel makes this a great pickup for that 20 minute "quick game" hole in your life.

The Good: Beautiful visuals, audio, and really fun play experience. Rewards mastery, and the controlled randomness feels more fun to interact with than traditional deck building.
The Bad: Harsh learning curve and somewhat shallow progression mars an otherwise very fun game to play
Verdict: Strong recommend in its current state, and a great time for anyone, but I hope future patches increase depth and add new unlocks.