Update: Feb 4th, 2018: Servers are basically broken now, I guess. Local matches still work fine, but the decline I noticed last year apparently continued, as even with very low ping, the online servers are an unresponsive, unplayable wreck. The game crashes regularly now, and PsyNet players have gone from a majority to a near-absolute, meaning online grouping is that much less social and able to offer strong teamwork (due to PsyNet players being unable to read or write in chat). Likewise, all interesting levels have been stripped out in favor of a standardized design- in short, removing much of what made the game interesting in the first place. Several modes suffer a notable loss of appeal due to this reduction in play options [Most notably, Rocket Labs]. Several new bugs.

Update: Jan 12th, 2017: Server quality continues to degrade, with servers occasionally crashing, and existing bugs remaining unaddressed and made more frequent by worsening server conditions. Community grows more and more toxic, with trolls in every other match. The devs still have not added a basic block system, much less visibily enforced their community standards. I'll reiterate: This game currently just isn't recommendable on its public gameplay.

tl;dr version: Very good basic game, but still lacking a lot of polish and features. Feels a bit EA, still, in that regard.
Recommendable for private play, where it plays out as fun as any multiplayer arena game- but absolutely not recommendable for public play, where frequent server issues, an overwhelmingly toxic and exploitative community, numerous unresolved bugs and design flaws, and lousy matchmaking all make for a game that is more often than not very disagreeable to play.

~ ~ ~

Great game, offering a blend of childhood marbles like physics fun, racing hijinks, soccer gameplay, and even arena brawling. It's a game that's inherently easy to pick up, play, and enjoy, and really, plays just the way you'd expect it to from the videos and screenshots, no disappointments in that regard. So really, if it looks at all interesting to you, you should pick it up!

..wait, or not.

For a good while now, there've been some significant issues in the game that the developers have failed to address in any way, and it mars an otherwise solid game.

* Horribly toxic community, seemingly no oversight by the devs in that regard. You can mute the players for that single match, but it doesn't carry over to any other match, or prevent regrouping with them. It also doesn't address other abusive gameplay elements- idling (for drops) is a key example, being so common that you're bound to bump into it after just a couple of runs (and during the holiday events, expect this to be nearly every run)
There are a lot of amazingly capable and fun and positive players in this game, and if the developers approached things with any degree of oversight, this might actually be one of the better communities in an online game. Unfortunately, as with any MMO where toxic individuals understand that there are no punishments for acting out, what should be a minor occurance has wildfired.

Doesn't help that the report function no longer allows you to report users once they leave a match, so you'll sometimes get people deliberately sabotaging their team, spewing a bunch of curses, and then ragequitting. On the other hand, when I've discussed reporting users to other players, the positive-minded players gave a clear impression of "it's useless, the devs won't do anything" while the negative-minded ones laughed and- well, said the same thing.
So that's clearly the biggest issue of it all.

* Input recognition failures, flip recognition failures, ability activation failures, contact recognition glitches- most of these issues can be explained by server issues that've persisted (and in many ways, only grown worse) since the Rumble release some time back. But they're common, and they're going to bite you in the ass at least a couple of times each match, most matches. Some matches are completely unplayable because of these issues.

* Joining in-progress matches doesn't prevent you from rejoining a match you left (due to toxic players), and despite a recent patch, still spawns you in at very disadvantageous circumstances, often leading you to run right into the ball upon spawn, sending it as-often-as-not into your own goal.

* Rumble mode is unpolished, with several minor quirks. Most notably, the inability to properly target with targeted abilities and their often switching targets as you activate them, can cause you to inadverently help your opponents, rather than hinder them.

* General modes don't use any sort of ranking system to make sure you get decent matches, or even matches to your skill level, so it's always a complete crapshoot to lobby up. On the other hand, ranked modes are based on the (in my opinion) very subpar 3v3 mode (if that was all the game had, I wouldn't actually recommend it- due to the size of most of the arenas, and the sometimes glitchy physics, it's too easy in standard 3v3 to get a lucky shot into a goal).

Mind you, this isn't really a flaw with 3v3 itself, but with the maps used for 3v3 (which are typically better designed for 4v4). Hoops, the basketball mode, also suffers from being better suited for 3v3 play (and a slightly larger map) than for 2v2. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of things, Hockey (3v3) lacks the physics glitches of normal 3v3, due to its hockey-puck shaped ball, and works fabulously in 3v3. Rumble (the mode with activatable abilities) is crazy enough to get by in 3v3 as well, and Chaos (4v4) is the ideal team play mode, working far better with most maps than 3v3 does.

So, the option is to play standard ranked (which you can't easily leave without closing client the way- which in a way is understandable, but also makes bad public groupings all the more painful. Definitely do ranked with a team of players you're comfortable with, rather than public grouping it.), or to play unranked matches with no meaningful matchmaking system at all, but far better mechanics and balancing.

At least from my perspective and preferences, the game is lacking a lot of polish.




The game is at a glance fantastic, no doubt. And when you get good pairings and a functional server, it's a calculated sports game, with all the appeal of a racing game throwin in, with fabulous teamwork potential. Other than the above issues, and still lacking a bit of variety in modes and maps, the game is thoroughly solid.
So I'll gladly swap this to a positive review in an instant- as soon as the devs at least give firm indication that they care about the general gameplay of the game as much as they do their premium leagues.

That's not me being petty with my review, but a simple fact to the rating system Steam uses: While I can definitely say I occasionally enjoy this game [when I'm playing with friends or manage a very lucky grouping], I can't at all say I recommend it in its current state. There's just too much frustration in it, and those moments of enjoyment are often a challenge to obtain.

If you intend to avoid the public gameplay altogether, and just play on teams fully crewed by friends, you're likely to find this game enjoyable. Inherently I'd even put this among the topmost games in both sports and arena brawlers, comparable to any of the best ones out there (except, of course, for the lack of polish in some areas, and with it having less scale than most sports games, and having less variety of content than most arena brawlers).

If you're intending this for play with friends, either in closed groups or in a ranked team, then I can certainly recommend giving this game a go. If you're in for the public gameplay aspect, then I really can't- the toxic community and bad servers, compounded with other minor stresses, make this game one of the more problematic online games out there.

[i]Update: Feb 4th, 2018[/i]: Servers are basically broken now, I guess. Local matches still work fine, but the decline I noticed last year apparently continued, as even with very low ping, the online servers are an unresponsive, unplayable wreck. The game crashes regularly now, and PsyNet players have gone from a majority to a near-absolute, meaning online grouping is that much less social and able to offer strong teamwork (due to PsyNet players being unable to read or write in chat). Likewise, all interesting levels have been stripped out in favor of a standardized design- in short, removing much of what made the game interesting in the first place. Several modes suffer a notable loss of appeal due to this reduction in play options [Most notably, Rocket Labs]. Several new bugs. [i]Update: Jan 12th, 2017[/i]: Server quality continues to degrade, with servers occasionally crashing, and existing bugs remaining unaddressed and made more frequent by worsening server conditions. Community grows more and more toxic, with trolls in every other match. The devs still have not added a basic block system, much less visibily enforced their community standards. I'll reiterate: This game currently just isn't recommendable on its public gameplay. [i]tl;dr version:[/i] Very good basic game, but still lacking a lot of polish and features. Feels a bit EA, still, in that regard. Recommendable for private play, where it plays out as fun as any multiplayer arena game- but absolutely not recommendable for public play, where frequent server issues, an overwhelmingly toxic and exploitative community, numerous unresolved bugs and design flaws, and lousy matchmaking all make for a game that is more often than not very disagreeable to play. ~ ~ ~ Great game, offering a blend of childhood marbles like physics fun, racing hijinks, soccer gameplay, and even arena brawling. It's a game that's inherently easy to pick up, play, and enjoy, and really, plays just the way you'd expect it to from the videos and screenshots, no disappointments in that regard. So really, if it looks at all interesting to you, you should pick it up! ..wait, or not. For a good while now, there've been some significant issues in the game that the developers have failed to address in any way, and it mars an otherwise solid game. * Horribly toxic community, seemingly no oversight by the devs in that regard. You can mute the players for that single match, but it doesn't carry over to any other match, or prevent regrouping with them. It also doesn't address other abusive gameplay elements- idling (for drops) is a key example, being so common that you're bound to bump into it after just a couple of runs (and during the holiday events, expect this to be nearly every run) There are a lot of amazingly capable and fun and positive players in this game, and if the developers approached things with any degree of oversight, this might actually be one of the better communities in an online game. Unfortunately, as with any MMO where toxic individuals understand that there are no punishments for acting out, what should be a minor occurance has wildfired. Doesn't help that the report function no longer allows you to report users once they leave a match, so you'll sometimes get people deliberately sabotaging their team, spewing a bunch of curses, and then ragequitting. On the other hand, when I've discussed reporting users to other players, the positive-minded players gave a clear impression of "it's useless, the devs won't do anything" while the negative-minded ones laughed and- well, said the same thing. So that's clearly the biggest issue of it all. * Input recognition failures, flip recognition failures, ability activation failures, contact recognition glitches- most of these issues can be explained by server issues that've persisted (and in many ways, only grown worse) since the Rumble release some time back. But they're common, and they're going to bite you in the ass at least a couple of times each match, most matches. Some matches are completely unplayable because of these issues. * Joining in-progress matches doesn't prevent you from rejoining a match you left (due to toxic players), and despite a recent patch, still spawns you in at very disadvantageous circumstances, often leading you to run right into the ball upon spawn, sending it as-often-as-not into your own goal. * Rumble mode is unpolished, with several minor quirks. Most notably, the inability to properly target with targeted abilities and their often switching targets as you activate them, can cause you to inadverently help your opponents, rather than hinder them. * General modes don't use any sort of ranking system to make sure you get decent matches, or even matches to your skill level, so it's always a complete crapshoot to lobby up. On the other hand, ranked modes are based on the (in my opinion) very subpar 3v3 mode (if that was all the game had, I wouldn't actually recommend it- due to the size of most of the arenas, and the sometimes glitchy physics, it's too easy in standard 3v3 to get a lucky shot into a goal). Mind you, this isn't really a flaw with 3v3 itself, but with the maps used for 3v3 (which are typically better designed for 4v4). Hoops, the basketball mode, also suffers from being better suited for 3v3 play (and a slightly larger map) than for 2v2. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of things, Hockey (3v3) lacks the physics glitches of normal 3v3, due to its hockey-puck shaped ball, and works fabulously in 3v3. Rumble (the mode with activatable abilities) is crazy enough to get by in 3v3 as well, and Chaos (4v4) is the ideal team play mode, working far better with most maps than 3v3 does. So, the option is to play standard ranked (which you can't easily leave without closing client the way- which in a way is understandable, but also makes bad public groupings all the more painful. Definitely do ranked with a team of players you're comfortable with, rather than public grouping it.), or to play unranked matches with no meaningful matchmaking system at all, but far better mechanics and balancing. At least from my perspective and preferences, the game is lacking a lot of polish. [noparse][/noparse] [noparse][/noparse] The game is at a glance fantastic, no doubt. And when you get good pairings and a functional server, it's a calculated sports game, with all the appeal of a racing game throwin in, with fabulous teamwork potential. Other than the above issues, and still lacking a bit of variety in modes and maps, the game is thoroughly solid. So I'll gladly swap this to a positive review in an instant- as soon as the devs at least give firm indication that they care about the general gameplay of the game as much as they do their premium leagues. That's not me being petty with my review, but a simple fact to the rating system Steam uses: While I can definitely say I occasionally enjoy this game [when I'm playing with friends or manage a very lucky grouping], I can't at all say I [i]recommend[/i] it in its current state. There's just too much frustration in it, and those moments of enjoyment are often a challenge to obtain. If you intend to avoid the public gameplay altogether, and just play on teams fully crewed by friends, you're likely to find this game enjoyable. Inherently I'd even put this among the topmost games in both sports and arena brawlers, comparable to any of the best ones out there (except, of course, for the lack of polish in some areas, and with it having less scale than most sports games, and having less variety of content than most arena brawlers). If you're intending this for play with friends, either in closed groups or in a ranked team, then I can certainly recommend giving this game a go. If you're in for the public gameplay aspect, then I really can't- the toxic community and bad servers, compounded with other minor stresses, make this game one of the more problematic online games out there.