In the world of indie gaming, innovation often emerges from blending unlikely genres, and Peglin is no exception. Combining pachinko mechanics with rogue-lite elements, Peglin offers a refreshing and addictive gameplay experience. With its charming visuals, strategic depth, and endless replayability, this game has captured the attention of casual gamers and hardcore enthusiasts alike. This detailed review will explore every facet of Peglin, highlighting its features, mechanics, strengths, and areas for improvement.
What is Peglin?
Developed by Red Nexus Games, Peglin is a rogue-lite game where players take on the role of a mischievous goblin exploring a world filled with danger and treasure. The game’s unique hook lies in its combat system, which is inspired by pachinko, a popular Japanese game involving balls dropped into a pegged board. Each level presents a mix of challenges, including enemies to defeat, treasure to collect, and strategic decisions to make.
Core Gameplay Mechanics
The Pachinko Board
At the heart of Peglin is its pachinko-inspired combat system. Players launch orbs from the top of a pegged board, and as the orbs bounce off pegs, they generate damage or trigger special effects. The goal is to strategically aim and time shots to maximize damage against enemies positioned at the top of the screen.
Peg Types: The board features different types of pegs, each with unique effects. Regular pegs add standard damage, while critical pegs amplify damage when hit. There are also bomb pegs that explode and deal area-of-effect damage. Refresh pegs reset all used pegs, giving players an opportunity to sustain long chains of hits.
Orb Variations: Players have access to a wide array of orbs, each with distinct properties. For example, stone orbs deal basic damage, while fire orbs ignite pegs for ongoing damage. Healing orbs restore health, while multiball orbs split into multiple projectiles for increased peg hits. The variety encourages experimentation and strategic planning, as each orb interacts differently with the board.
Rogue-lite Progression
As a rogue-lite, Peglin offers procedurally generated levels and a sense of progression between runs. Here are some key elements:
Randomized Levels: No two playthroughs are the same, thanks to randomly generated boards, enemies, and treasures. Each run feels fresh, presenting new combinations of challenges and rewards.
Persistent Upgrades: While death resets most progress, players can unlock permanent upgrades and orbs that enhance future runs. Artifacts found during gameplay provide game-changing effects, such as doubling damage on specific pegs or adding passive healing between battles.
Difficulty Scaling: As players advance, enemies become tougher, and boards grow more complex, keeping the challenge engaging. Boss battles introduce additional layers of strategy, requiring precise aiming and resource management.
Strategic Elements
Peglin isn’t just about mindlessly launching orbs. Strategy plays a significant role:
Choosing Your Path: Players navigate a map with branching paths, deciding whether to pursue combat, treasure, or elite enemies for greater rewards. Each choice can significantly impact the success of a run.
Managing Resources: Health, orbs, and upgrades must be carefully managed. Taking unnecessary damage or failing to optimize shots can lead to an early demise. Balancing risk and reward is essential.
Adapting to Randomness: Luck is a factor in Peglin, but skillful aiming and resource management can mitigate its impact. Learning how different orbs and artifacts interact with the board is key to success.
Graphics and Audio
Visual Style
Peglin features charming, cartoonish graphics that appeal to players of all ages. The goblin protagonist is endearing, and the environments are colorful and varied. Each board is thoughtfully designed, with visual cues that help players strategize their shots. Boss designs are particularly creative, ranging from giant tree monsters to fearsome armored knights.
Sound Design
The game’s sound effects are satisfying, with the clinks and bounces of orbs adding a tactile quality to the gameplay. The music is light and whimsical, complementing the game’s playful tone. However, some players may find the soundtrack repetitive over extended sessions. Customizing audio settings or adding new tracks could enhance the experience further.
Replayability and Depth
Peglin’s rogue-lite mechanics and randomized elements ensure incredibly high replayability, making each session feel like a new adventure. This section explores why Peglin has such lasting appeal and what makes its depth so engaging.
Diverse Orb Selection and Synergies
One of the key factors contributing to Peglin’s replayability is its wide range of orbs. Each orb has unique abilities, from basic stones to elemental orbs that deal fire or lightning damage. The game also allows players to upgrade orbs, enhancing their damage or unlocking additional effects. Combining orbs with complementary artifacts can lead to powerful synergies. For instance, pairing a Multiball orb with artifacts that refresh pegs creates endless opportunities for massive combos. Experimenting with different orb builds encourages players to refine their strategies and keeps gameplay exciting.
Dynamic Enemies and Challenges
Peglin’s enemies are varied and increase in complexity as the player progresses. Early encounters with simple slimes gradually give way to battles with heavily armored knights or magical foes with unique abilities. Boss battles introduce additional layers of challenge, requiring careful planning and precise execution. The unpredictability of enemy patterns ensures that even experienced players must adapt their strategies.
Branching Paths and Exploration
Each run presents players with a map featuring branching paths. Deciding which path to take—whether to focus on battles, treasure, or healing—adds a layer of strategy to the game. Special events on the map, such as hidden treasure rooms or encounters with mysterious characters, provide additional opportunities for rewards or unexpected challenges. These decisions make each playthrough unique and engaging.
Hidden Secrets and Special Events
Peglin rewards exploration with hidden secrets and special events that can dramatically alter the course of a run. Some events offer rare artifacts, while others introduce unique challenges that test a player’s adaptability. Discovering these secrets adds an element of surprise and encourages players to experiment with different paths.
Procedural Generation and Infinite Variety
The procedural generation of levels, enemies, and treasures ensures that no two runs are the same. This randomness keeps the game fresh and unpredictable, requiring players to think on their feet. While skill and strategy play significant roles, adapting to the ever-changing landscape is crucial for success. Procedural generation also allows Peglin to scale in difficulty organically, providing a satisfying challenge for players of all skill levels.
Artifacts and Meta Progression
Artifacts are game-changing items that add depth and variety to each run. From doubling damage on critical hits to granting passive healing between battles, artifacts can significantly influence a player’s strategy. The meta progression system allows players to unlock new orbs and artifacts over time, creating a sense of long-term achievement. This progression ensures that even after dozens of runs, players have new content to explore and master.
Endless Replayability for All Skill Levels
Peglin’s balance of luck, skill, and strategy ensures that it appeals to a broad audience. Casual players can enjoy the game’s whimsical visuals and simple mechanics, while hardcore gamers can dive into its complex synergies and challenging encounters. The combination of accessible gameplay and deep strategic elements creates a game that remains enjoyable for hundreds of hours.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Unique Gameplay: The pachinko-inspired mechanics set Peglin apart from other rogue-lites.
Strategic Depth: Balancing randomness with skillful planning creates an engaging experience.
Charming Aesthetics: The visuals and sound design are delightful and cohesive.
Replayability: Procedurally generated levels and a wide variety of orbs keep the game fresh.
Accessible Yet Challenging: Peglin’s simple mechanics are easy to learn, but mastering the game takes practice.
Frequent Updates: The developers actively improve the game, adding new content and balancing features based on player feedback.
Cons
Repetitive Soundtrack: While pleasant, the music can grow monotonous over long sessions.
Luck-Dependent: Some runs feel overly reliant on RNG, which can frustrate players.
Steep Difficulty Curve: New players may struggle with the unforgiving nature of rogue-lite mechanics.
Short Runs: While engaging, some players may find the average run length too brief compared to other rogue-lites.
Tips for New Players
Aim for Critical Pegs: Prioritize hitting critical pegs to maximize damage. Refreshing the board can help set up better opportunities.
Balance Risk and Reward: Taking on elite enemies can yield great rewards but may end your run prematurely. Assess your current health and resources before engaging.
Experiment with Orbs: Try different combinations to discover synergies that suit your playstyle. Don’t hesitate to upgrade orbs that align with your strategy.
Plan Your Path: Use the map to chart a course that balances combat, treasure, and healing opportunities. Avoid taking unnecessary risks when low on health.
Learn Enemy Patterns: Understanding how enemies behave can help you prioritize targets and plan your shots effectively.
Future Potential
Peglin’s developers have shown a commitment to improving and expanding the game through updates. Potential future additions include:
New Orbs and Peg Types: Expanding the arsenal of tools available to players. Introducing orbs with unique mechanics, such as teleportation or gravity effects, could add depth.
Additional Bosses: Introducing more challenging encounters to test advanced strategies. Multi-phase bosses could further diversify gameplay.
Expanded Lore: Adding depth to the game’s story and world. Including dialogue or cutscenes could enhance immersion.
Multiplayer Modes: Competitive or cooperative gameplay could enhance the experience. Imagine racing against other players or teaming up to defeat powerful bosses.
Seasonal Events: Limited-time events with exclusive rewards could keep the community engaged.
Conclusion
Peglin is a delightful blend of pachinko mechanics and rogue-lite gameplay that offers a unique and addictive experience. Its charming visuals, strategic depth, and high replayability make it a standout title in the indie gaming scene. While it has areas for improvement, particularly in its soundtrack and content variety, Peglin’s core gameplay is strong enough to keep players coming back for more. Whether you’re a fan of rogue-lites, puzzle games, or just looking for something fresh and fun, Peglin is well worth your time.
Y'know, as it stands I've put 216 hours into this game, and am going to put more in. It's got delightful art, a wonderful aesthetic, and deceptively simple gameplay that is quite hard to master. I think I'll be chipping away at this game for a long time yet. Also, it's the perfect podcast-and-lunch game. I love it, and it deserves way more attention than it's gotten.
If I had to choose the least fun game Ive ever played, it would be Peglin, and there is no doubt in my mind. I have played Desert Bus. At least when playing Desert Bus, you know youre going to have a miserable time. Theres no false hope. Peglin has every ingredient to make an awesome roguelike pachinko game, and every time I come back to it I have high hopes that this time will be different... and yet every part of it saps any possible fun out of the whole experience.Ill keep this review short (well, Ill try) and just highlight the absolute deal-breakers, fundamental issues with the games design:- Rigid map design that makes the pegboards look pretty, leads to "obvious best shot" paths. Since crit peg placement is random and usually isnt where you need it, you can probably tell exactly how much damage your shot will do before you fire it, because you know its going to roll down X Y and Z path.- After youve used the "obvious best shot" path, the remaining pegs in most levels (and the orb physics) means you will struggle to do any meaningful damage. Potshots at small clusters of pegs will bounce right off and then sink straight down a clean path to the bottom, and you'll do 15 damage. So you need a refresh peg. These are randomly placed and on higher Cruciball difficulties, theres only one. There are countless peg placements in levels that were only placed there to end your run if the refresh peg lands on them. Aiming there offers no chance to deal damage, and often you need to burn 3 turns digging through obstructing pegs just to hit the refresh peg, to reset the board, to make the same boring shot you opened with.- Theres a massive variety of orbs and relics, I would argue too many. Lots of them feel unfocused and getting a cohesive build going is rare. Its usually best to take a mish-mash of random orbs because "theyre all better than Pebballs" and hope you luck into one of a few game-breaking relics later. This wasnt the case in Early Access, the game just got bloated and the character additions didnt really help there.- Enemy balance is all over the place. Even in Act 1, youve got 3 bosses, the slime boss and the Leshy are absolute run-killers for specific builds, while the Mole is a pushover and is easy enough to beat even if you didnt take a single new orb. Yet for some reason, one of the elites in Act 1 is stronger than all 3 of those bosses. Seriously. My average run-in with the Minotaur costs me -70 health, while the bosses are maybe -40 if you got unlucky? Rolling Minotaur twice in Act 1, which can happen, is an instant restart.(That Minotaur is also a perfect example of levels that look like: "heres a good shot, underneath the good shot is a bunch of garbage pegs, pray the refresh peg doesnt land at the bottom or your run is over because this boss hits like a truck")I want to love this game, I truly do. I love other games like it, love RNG based roguelikes, love Peggle, love Roundguard. But I absolutely hate this game. Every time I think I might get to have some fun with a strategy that seems to work, the game throws an encounter at you that is impossible to win if youve leaned into certain builds. Oh, you like making every peg durable? Heres an Act 3 boss that is completely unplayable with durable pegs. You like poison damage? Heres a bunch of mirror enemies that reflect damage back at you. Sucks for you, should have specced into pure DPS or non-projectile attacks instead. You want to play attrition? Act 2 boss that insta-kills you if you fail a DPS check. Theres no coincidence that the best relics in the game in EA were the ones that changed the ball physics to just yeet around at random and hit everything multiple times. Because that way guaranteed so much more damage than any natural shot you can make in many of the levels.A huge amount of the frustration in this game could be resolved with a few changes, but they would be too drastic at this point in the games lifespan I think:- You absolutely need to be able to sacrifice a turn (or even a whole Orb belt) to refresh the board at any time. Cuts out the RNG dependency on good refresh placements, turns a bad roll into a loss of 1 turn rather than 5 turns of pain and suffering.- Pegboards need some serious rethinking, to lead to both more interesting shots and less "dead turns" that you know wont achieve anything. Orb physics is included here, it should be easier to fire into a space and rack up acceptable damage even after the "obvious good shot" is gone. Maybe the fewer pegs there are remaining on the board, the better the crit peg becomes? If half the pegs are gone, they become X2 or something and keep getting better.
While the game can be heavily luck based with how pegs bounce on the board it is very fun with a plethora of different strategies being implemented at all times to have new fun runs
You ever played Peggle before? Cause if you have, you'll love this game.Gameplay is simple and easy to understand: shoot the ball, hit the pegs, defeat the enemies, upgrade your arsenal, rinse and repeat. This is the perfect game to play if your looking for a solid time waster. It is also very satisfying to see your build come together perfectly as you watch that damage number rack up as your orb bounces around the screen. As far as i'm aware, there aren't any game-breaking bugs and glitches either.One issue i do have, however, is that the game does contain some very frustrating level design, especially in the final area of a run. This mainly goes for the miniboss fights though so you could just see it as a test of your abilities of your feeling optimistic.Whether your a serious roguelike/roguelite player or just someone looking to use up some free time, this is a great game and I would definitely would recommend this to everyone.
Peglin is a fun casual deck/ball building rogue lite that I keep coming back to over the years. Especially when I need a little break between work.
I find it extremely fun, and easy to learn.
I have seen people complain about how the difficulty scaling is unbalanced, and that it is too difficult later on, but I have managed to beat cruciball lvl 20 after a few tries. The difficulty forces you to get creative and try different builds
The game still has a strong element of luck, and I won't deny I have "scum saved" a few times in the game, but it hasn't taken away the fun I have had playing it.
I have found it an etremely enjoyable game, hence the over 180 hours in the game.
Easy to pick up and play a few runs.
The real Peggle 2hell it's a version of Peggle that isn't gruesome to actually play. In fact you can keep playing it, it's addictive.I love this Peggle roguelike <3
An unpolished disappointment. The concept of a rogue-lite peggle game is obviously very widely appealing, however the game feels like several good ideas all terribly executed. The game is, by the nature of roguelikes, very luck based. This isn't inherently bad but the issue emerges in the actual peggle gameplay sections. The movement of the "pegballs" is erratic to the point of pure luck. Aiming has so little influence over the movement of the shot that it's arguably useless as a mechanic. The game contains three areas which all have predefined paths, but randomised events. The navigation is done THROUGH a peggle section which is a good decision, but is victim to the aforementioned unpredictable ball movement, which whilst conceptually aligns with the concepts and themes of the genre, feels unfair and un-fun to play with, rather than a reasonable element of randomisation. The lack of randomisation for the core layout of each area and doing the same three areas in the same three orders results in your upwards of 80 MINIMUM runs required for completion feeling VERY samey within a very short time.The game going for a pixel art aesthetic is a unique and risky approach for a game so fundamentally built around circles and perhaps it's my fault for playing on a Steamdeck but the entire game has pixel stretching which hurts both the aesthetics and the aforementioned aiming. On top of this graphics regarding overworld travel seem unfinished, very very empty pre-defined maps with little detailing beyond a core layout.The game uses a stepped difficulty system, where each tier is unlocked after completion of the previous, up to a total of 20 tiers. I at the time of writing have reached "Cruciball 7" and am completely tired of the game. The game has already exhausted most if not all of its unique quirks and has devolved into a repetitive grind, as not only is there the difficulty system but there is ALSO a Bestiary section that contains all the enemies and must be completed by obtaining rather infrequent item drops from said enemy, but with enemies being locked behind areas and all areas being restricted to a set order, it makes finishing much later Bestiary entries a similarly irritating grind. Whilst it's not applicable to all players, the completionist grind ALSO contains completing the highest tier of difficulty with all four unlockable characters AND all items/balls.The game has a good concept but bogs itself down with unnecessary grinding and RNG mechanics that need tweaking. The features that imply an incentive for 100% completion that devolve into an unrelenting grind hurt the game more than any amount of unbalanced mechanics could. I would recommend holding off until more is done to mitigate these issues if your interest in this game stems from your interest in the original Peggle like mine did. If you're more interested in the game as a roguelike first, I'd be weary and do your own research before purchasing.
Peglin is an adorable game that has a lot of different things to try. Each run is completely unique and there are always more challenges to do! It is one of my favourite games to play when I want a calm and casual day.
Peglin has great pixel arts design and interesting enemies, levels, orbs, relics, etc. However, I wish the impact of luck wasn't so powerful throughout the game. The map, relics, orbs and even navigation through the map can affect the gameplay widely based on the random number generator. The game design is relatively addictive, but everytime I go back to it and the RNG hurts me again l remember why I put it aside last time.
I love the game, but hate one of the changes they did in a recent update. Orbs getting smaller as they split might be more balanced, but its not very fun. I would really love the ability to stop orbs from getting smaller as they split in settings.Great game overall though.
I played this game for much too long. Most of the reviews point out the steep difficulty or requirement for a massive amount of luck to win a run in later stage games. That's correct for at least everything above level 15. You have to have massive damage and a consistent source of healing for these levels. I must have tried at least 200 runs to beat cruciball 20.Yet the concept was innovative and the mechanics fair. I had fun. Would recommend it for casual players for the first 15 levels.
Game is fun but some of these peg boards are either poorly designed or completely luck based. Losing an hour long run to a board where 1/4 of the pegs kills the enjoyment this game could have.
Listen, I adore this game - it feels so, so wrong to be giving it a negative review. But, I need you to understand what it's like to actually own this game after having put some hours in and learning to appreciate it.It's like this. You look through your library and find "Oh, Peglin, I used to love this game, why did I stop playing it?" So you drop back in and you blaze through boss after boss - and quickly you remember how all the relics stack with different balls for MASSIVE DAMAGE.So you get creative, you try and have a little fun. You try to make builds that scale with the amount of damage you've taken. Or utilize the reload mechanic to your advantage. It takes some luck to get the right items together, sure, but there's a few ways to get the same or similar effects so if you're clever enough you can make most things work in most runs... or at least pivot to something else similar or similarly interesting. It's great like that, encouraging you to try new things by giving you stuff that's, maybe, not what you were hoping for but "if I pick this up, it might stack with that, and this" and suddenly you have a new favorite build you're trying to create.But, then you see him, the wall of stone, one of three bosses for the second phase; the fun killer. You have two choices - either restart and hope for better luck on the next try - or push ahead hoping the stars align and maybe you'll get exactly what you need to beat him even though it will probably mean completely sacking whatever fun strategy you had been building to pivot into direct attack strength.Let me be clear, it's not that he's difficult - he's relatively easy if you build out for DPS, but the game is full of all these ways to do things other than pure DPS. It's a shame almost none of those are remotely effective against the wall. If you try turning armor into attack, well you better do it really fast because if he reaches you before you can do 4k damage - it's game over. Specked yourself to turn damage into attack and heal with pegs? That's a really fun strat, but he doesn't attack so you're limited to what self damage you can inflict. Besides, none of that is gunna be practical above, like, crusiball 7 anyway. Maybe, maybe you use the binding mechanic to hold him back for just a little more time? Hah, nope - he's immune to that too.What this means is, basically, the further you get in the games progression, the more you'll need to limit yourself to the more direct DPS options to beat the wall..Regardless, it's just one run, right? Next time you can do something fun and interesting. So, It's fine. You just got unlucky - it happens. But then you get him again, and again. And you realize - theres only like 3 bosses in the second stage so you have a 1/3 chance of getting this boss every time. The boss that requires pure DPS to beat. Who's only attack is an instant kill so you can't turn his attacks into damage. Using reloading mechanics only speeds up his advance so that's out. He's the fun killer. Whatever you thought you were gunna do, you're not doing it any more - you're either a DPS build now or you're starting over in the forest. Again.
And this, ultimately, is the problem. It's not that this boss exists - it's that he appears so frequently it's feels less like "oh, darn I got unlucky" and more like - "hmmm, if I want to progress further I guess I'll just have to stop trying to use these really cool and novel mechanics and just stick to obvious combos with high base/crit &/or lots of bombs".And you remember that, this, this is why you stopped playing before.And you wonder - are the dev's ever gunna do something about this? Are they ever gunna reduce his odds of appearing or add something to his fight that enables more interesting play styles than pure DPS to get past him? Maybe some day. But, today, I guess I'll just stop playing.
