Beastieball was practically made for me, and I can’t thank the creators enough. It comes from Wishes Unltd., who previously released the incredible Chicory and Wandersong, both of which are joys to play, so I’m not shocked to find that Beastieball maintains those good vibes. This time around, it’s all about a world of creature catching, and also… volleyball.
Basically, you have to try and save land near where you grew up from being overrun and turned into a Beastieball stadium, and to do that, you have to become a Beastieball coach and go on the ultimate tournament arc, constantly pushing yourself and your Beastie’s to new heights, and probably learning some stuff along the way. It’s a very cute idea, and it all gets fought out via volleyball.
Battles are turn-based, and you can do different things depending on if you’re attacking or defending. Each Beastie gets its own special attacks and support abilities, and each one also has its own stats. Different attacks can hit in different directions too, and if you attack a lane or a row where there isn’t an opposing Beastie, then you can win the game outright. You can also throw your attacks at the Beasties to drain their stamina, and when they hit zero stamina they need a nap before they can play again.
None of the Beasties get hurt, which is nice, and the ones you find in the wild will willingly play with you because they actually want to – like when a cat runs at you from across the street meowing to say hello and get some fussing. Plus, if you can show off your skills, they’ll join you as long as you’ve got a spare jersey. It’s just so darn cute, and it’s such a nice change of pace from pitting cute creatures against each other in deathmatches to get badges… or any other very non-specific examples you can think of from the genre.
The character designs are all wonderful, you get to recharge your social battery for cool events as you defeat stronger foes, and you can customise your character as you want. Beastieball is still in Early Access, but it already feels like one of the coolest games I’ve played in ages. It’s just so wonderfully fulfilling, and it makes for a great change to a lot of other games in the genre. Also, we need more volleyball games so I can live out my Haikyuu dreams because I’m almost definitely too old to join a volleyball team.
Beastieball is out now via Steam Early Access. Please play this game and don’t miss out on it.
