Go Mecha Ball is by far the coolest Steam Next Fest demo I’ve played so far, and I can’t recommend it enough. A top-down, twin-stick shooter where you can turn into a giant mecha wrecking ball that bounces around the tight playspaces while shooting at enemies, Go Mecha Ball is a fast-paced roguelike that genuinely had me upset when I got to the end of the demo. It’s a little bit Super Monkey Ball and has the bright bouncy play of something like Rocket League, it’s great.
Roguelike games are everywhere these days, so it takes something really special to immediately catch my attention, but this is exactly what Go Mecha Ball did. The core of the game is simple: you use weapons, twin-stick shooter style, to take out all the enemies in a level, but the catch is that you can turn into a giant mecha ball (hence the name) at any time that can boost around the playspace.
You’ll be bouncing off the walls, into enemies, across boost pads, and in the air while swapping between mech and ball mode so much that you won’t be able to think straight, and it’s amazing. Ball mode also has a boost, which can be used on enemies to deal damage, interrupt attacks, and get ammo back. This little detail is nothing short of genius, as it forces you to be constantly switching between ball and mech mode, which is when the game is at its most fun.
Go Mecha Ball also has such a bright and arresting visual and musical style that I constantly thought I was in some sort of vaporwave breakcore fever dream, and that’s 100% a compliment.
The roguelike elements come in as you get a currency that lets you unlock both abilities and new weapons at the start of each run, which is the perfect way to both prolong the relatively short demo and give the levels even more spice.
There are just two levels and a boss in the Go Mecha Ball demo as part of Steam Next Fest though, so I’m really interested to see what sort of variety, and roguelike spin, comes with the full game. The replayability is already there within the demo itself, so I’ve got everything crossed that the full game really leans into giving the core combat and movement mechanics even more time to shine.
You can find Go Mecha Ball over on Steam as a part of Next Fest right now, meaning you’ve only got until Monday, October 16 to download and play the game. Seriously though, get on it, Go Mecha Ball is superb. There’s no release date yet, but I hope the team at Whale Peak Games takes all the time it needs, even though I want it right now.
While you wait for Go Mecha Ball’s full release we’ve put together a breakdown of all the biggest upcoming games on PC you’ll want to keep an eye on, alongside the best indie games you can play right now.
