Ball X Pit
Developer Kenny Sun Publisher Devolver Digital Format PC (tested), PS5, Switch, Xbox Series Release Out now
Even with a full set of equipment shooting lasers across the battlefield, you can still be overwhelmed by the approaching enemy hordes. You’ll
take damage if a monster manages to reach the bottom of the screen
F ire and petrol. Coke and Mentos. Beans and toast. Of all the potent combinations to emerge throughout recorded history, Kenny Sun’s Ball X Pit offers one of the most devious concoctions yet: Vampire Survivors and Breakout. Every battlefield in the game scrolls vertically, with blocks of wriggling monsters at the top of the screen marching toward your character down at the bottom. You’re lobbing balls onto the field, most of them ping-pong-like ‘baby balls’ that damage any foes they bounce into before eventually returning to you to be thrown again. Some, though, are special, hand-selected bruisers that you earn by vacuuming up experience-point gems from fallen creatures. The fireball sets foes aflame, while the lightning ball zaps any unlucky comrades near the point of impact.