Recent reviews by Wôag

Game says it takes about 15-25 hours to beat, but it depends on how much extra stuff you want to do. After beating the game there are still things to do so you can easily go over 25+. THIS GAME IS BEST PLAYED BLIND.

The game itself is solid and very fun. It's similar to other move-and-attack turn-based battle genres but also innovates its own rules and mechanics, which in turn creates new dynamics for gameplay. Overall it feels really refreshing. The best way I can describe the gameplay is Pokemon + Chess except it's not boring to play. Since Beastieball is the first game to have this format of gameplay I'm excited to see future updates.

The world is very thought out. The beasties and NPCs are charming and feel like they're part of the world. A lot of thought and planning went into the designs of each beast ranging from concept art, playstyle, sounds, theme, and interactions. I remember picking up a ball and throwing it at a beastie for the first time only to see them play with it and going WOWZA! The scenery and music adds so much to the game (I LOVE THE MUSIC!!). I also loved that music adapts during battle. The pacing of the game is very nice too, I never had any awkward moments that slowed down the progression of the game (except for a couple of puzzles).

The game is a bit hard. Losing is a bit more common than in Pokemon or other creature collector games, especially in coach or "special" battles. It's OK if you lose! You don't get heavily punished for it, but get ready to make a lot of mistakes and learn from it. On the flipside, it does make every win feel more special and hard-earned.

I only have a couple of minor QoL gripes with the game. I'm sure in the upcoming patches the developers will address it given the passionate community and their hard work over the past couple of days for post release patching. Still, I will list thoughts. LATE GAME SPOILER WARNING.
- stats!!! a beastie has a certain set of plays and trait, for ideal late-game modes and PVP, you spend a lot of time analyzing the moves and traits of your opponents before performing any action (i.e. this beast has a side attack equipped, this one has shield, this one has watchtower, set, cyclone, etc). Even in late game I sometimes forget about side attacks and lose a free point. It's even more tedious in expedition and tower modes where a mistake could cost you the game. I would love it if there were little icons/symbols of special traits on their name cards.
- money!!! it's hard to get money late game, but I'm sure future updates will address this
- revisiting!!! the map is beautiful, it's a shame there's no reason to revisit an area unless you're looking for a specific beast. Away teams exist but they only show up if you're already walking in the area! Extinct beasties help but after you've researched them all there's no reason to go back!

I hope this game gets lots of updates in the future. There is still a lot of potential avenues for expansions. If there was DLCs I would buy them. Back to grinding.