BALL x PIT is a brick-breaking, ball-fusing, base-building survival roguelite. Batter hordes of enemies with ricocheting balls and gather the riches of the pit to expand your homestead, generate resources and recruit unique heroes.
Developed by: Kenny Sun and Friends
Played on: Steam
Length: 24 hours (35 hours for completionists)
A review key was provided by Devolver Digital.
I cannot remember the last time a game has so thoroughly consumed my attention. It could be the hypnotic nature of its gameplay, or my raging ADHD diagnosis, but BALL x PIT hit me like a giant iridescent space ball hurtling through the atmosphere of our planet, leaving behind nothing but a large crater in my schedule and the afterimages of bouncing balls whenever I close my eyes.
Fundamentally, Kenny Sun has designed a brick-breaking game. Not unlike the brick-breaking games you’re familiar with, BALL x PIT involves shooting balls at blocks and dealing bounce damage until you clear the entire field. What makes BALL x PIT different from its predecessors is everything that comes after.
The game opens on a yawning pit in the ground that used to be the great city of Ballbylon. Now a magnet for treasure hunters, the pit draws hopefuls from far and wide to plumb the depths in search of scattered riches. However, the pit also plays host to armies of barbaric creatures and environmental hazards, from barren deserts to frozen caverns. As the poet Robert Frost once put it, the only way out is through.
Despite its simple outlook, BALL x PIT presents a hefty challenge for the unprepared. An average run lasts 15 minutes, which equates to 15 minutes of non-stop assault from enemies, two mini bosses, and one final boss at the end of each run. Between the ricocheting balls, enemy projectiles, and enemy drops, the level transforms into a hypnotising bullet hell in a blink of an eye. Let your guard down and be prepared to be overwhelmed.
BALL x PIT puts a spin on the brick-breaking formula by allowing you to upgrade and fuse your balls. Each ball comes with its own abilities, which can then be fused or evolved to form powerful combinations and take up fewer slots in your inventory. It quickly becomes obvious that certain abilities synergise better than others, which leaves you with the delightful task of experimenting with hundreds of possible combinations until you figure out the most overpowered ones.
In typical roguelite fashion, you unlock more ball variants, abilities, and even characters as you complete more runs. Characters define your playstyle for that run, as each one comes with their own default ball and unique perks that completely alter your approach. There are some stalwart choices that get introduced early on, but the game doesn’t let you get comfortable.
In order to access the next region, you must first beat the level with two to four characters who haven’t yet cleared the stage. Not only that, clearing the level on Normal Mode (15 minutes) allows you to play it on Fast Mode (12 minutes) and subsequently Fast+ Mode (10 minutes). Although you don’t have to clear any of the harder difficulties to beat the game, clearing the level with new characters unlocks minor perma-buffs for future runs; on top of being able to brag that you’re just that good.
As if it wasn’t enough that BALL x PIT is a brick-breaking roguelite, the game also has a base building element in between runs. Buildings are the key to permanent upgrades in the game, unlocking everything from better character stats to the ability to revive. Strangely, the building mechanic plays out like a pinball minigame, where you bounce your characters off buildings to complete construction or harvest materials.
However, buildings require resources and time to be built, and blueprints can only be unlocked by completing levels with new characters, and certain resources like money can only be obtained by playing the game, and everything leads back to you starting another run right now. If you think about it, the entire game is just one big Ouroboros… which is a circle… which is a ball. My god, this game is genius.
But the true genius of BALL x PIT’s design is revealed in its endgame, when they start to add features that have you questioning how far they’re going to take things. From the ability to play as two characters at once, to unlocking a character that makes every run turn-based, it keeps giving you fresh ways to reimagine and replay the same levels; even twenty hours into your playthrough.
Even though BALL x PIT does have an ending, credits and all, it is a game that’s difficult to part ways with — and maybe you don’t have to. The game comes with a sizeable New Game+ that allows you reattempt all the levels at a greater difficulty, as well as unlimited stat upgrades and passive resource farming that allows you to hop in and out of the game as you please. Plus, there’s three new content updates coming in 2026. Maybe an inescapable pit isn’t so bad.
Verdict: 10/10
Fundamentally, Kenny Sun has designed a brick-breaking game. BALL x PIT is not your average brick-breaking game. This ball-fusing, base-building, bullet hell survival roguelite reimagines the genre in its most addictive form, featuring a fast-paced gameplay loop and endless combo experimentation that will give playing with your balls a whole new meaning.
