Day 36 - Nate Ball

Sports, WTF, Multiplayer · 05 Jun 2024

Sam’s Take:

Umm… why? Why is Nate Ball kind of good? I don’t know what to do with this game. On the one hand, it’s a classically Paint created game with a (presumably) one person dev squad. Another in our ever increasing list of people learning to use Unity. On the other hand… this game has 10 characters that can be played in single games or a tournament mode.

This game has ten maps to play on, one themed for each character.

This game not only has single player and verses mode, but also has a 2v2 mode against computers.

So what do I do here? By Paint game standards, especially Paint games where the creator puts their name in the title, this is the tops. The controls work, each character has a special ability that makes them feel unique, the UI changes when certain abilities are in effect (ex. Nate’s ability gives a stat boost when their team is tied or behind, so his little icecube portrait up top is animated when tied/behind). This is a good sized game with a lot of thought put into it.

I actually think it’s too good to be reviewed as a little Paint game. I think Nate Ball deserves to be treated like a real game made by a serious dev, so Nate, when I tell you that the balance in this game is absolutely fucked, know that a lesser game wouldn’t even earn that criticism. When I tell you that the Skeleton character both can’t shoot or rebound, and therefore can’t play, know that I only noticed that because I tried many characters. When I tell you that Jumping, Height and Shooting are the only stats that matter, know that I took the time to try characters with other stats and see what they did differently. When I say it’s weird that there’s no sound or music…I don’t have a counterpoint to this one, I really recommend sound.

Nate Ball doesn’t stand up there with the best games we’ve played on here, not by a long shot, but it doesn’t deserve to be on the same tier as a Pig or a Saloon “Butch Cassidy”. Nate Ball shows promise and care. I think nmgamesco is capable of great things, and if I made Nate Ball, I’d be pretty dang proud of myself.

Recommend: Sure, fuck around with it for a sec

Replay Percentage Chance: 4%

Time Played: 15 Minutes