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Review: Neverball

At a Glance

ESRB Rating: NR - Not Rated
My Rating: Everyone
Genre: Sports
License: Open Source
Fun-O-Meter:
Release Year: 2014
Review Published On: August 27th, 2016
Played on: Martha

Available on:

Windows
Linux
MacOS

Available from:

Neverball.org

Linux users can find this game in their distro's repository.

Areas of Concern:
  • Nothing of note


How to Save and Pause:

Any level youve reached can be selected from the level menu. Thus, your progress is effectively autosaved.

Time needed per session:

Most levels take less than two minutes to finish, which means that an entire level set will probably take you between thirty minutes and an hour to complete. Plan accordingly.

Does this game pose issues for Christian players?

No - this is a great game for Christians
Potential issues with motion sickness aside, there is nothing of concern in this game.

Screenshots

[view screenshot]
Around the maze it goes

[view screenshot]
CHEESE IN SPACE

[view screenshot]
Catching air in space



Game Overview

Neverball is a pretty unique little game. While the idea of guiding something through an obstacle course isnt that new, the way you control things in this game set it apart. Instead of directly controlling your ball, you tilt the entire level and gravity takes it from there. This isnt as easy as it sounds, as the ball bounces off walls or other objects, and it can easily fall off the playing area and into the void.

Each level has a goal space and a number of coins littered around the map. Once youve collected enough coins, the goal activates, and all thats left is for you to end the level by rolling the ball to the exit. Of course, thats just a simple explanation. Youll also have to deal with various types of obstacles, such as moving platforms, different types of floors, and in some cases youll even need to fling the ball towards another part of the level by steering it over a ramp at high speed. Additionally, each level also has a time limit, forcing you to move quickly in a game where speed is not your friend.

Personally, I dont see this game appealing to everyone, but if the description above sounds interesting to you, give it a try. After all, it is completely free.

Points of Interest

Customize your ball

The default ball isnt very interesting to look at. However, you can change its appearance by visiting the options menu. There are a whopping 19 different designs to choose between, including marbles, the planet Earth, a melon, one of the ghosts from Pac-Man, and even a soot sprite like you see in Studio Ghibli films. Why settle for the default with choices like these?

Multiple level sets

There are seven level sets included with the game, and you can find additional level packs online if these dont provide enough of a challenge. As it is, the included levels are rated from easy to insanely difficult, so theres already a good variety to try.

Each level also maintains two different leaderboards: one lists the top three quickest completion times, while the other is based on how many coins the players collected before reaching the goal.

Challenge mode

If you really want to, you can make things more difficult by trying the challenge mode. This has you attempt the same levels as the normal mode, except this time you have a limited number of balls. If youre anywhere near as good at this game as I am, youll never make it to the third level.

Unusual controls make for a steep learning curve

In my opinion, Neverballs biggest weakness is its unique controls. Its extremely easy to send the ball hurtling in random directions with just the slightest nudge, and once youve lost control its nearly impossible to get it back before something else goes wrong. A lot of players will probably find it too frustrating, and simply give up before they learn to control the game.

Concerns and Issues

May cause motion sickness

Depending on the camera youre using and the way youre trying to tilt the play field, this game can make you a little dizzy. Worse, when the ball inevitably gets out of control, the games world will likely fly around pretty fast while the camera vainly tries to keep up.