Turbo Balls Review (PC)

I love a good gimmick just as much as the next person, and therefore the basic premise of a Fall Guys clone in a Super Monkey Ball casing is pretty much enough to snag a few hours of my time. To me, that was the initial impression that I got from Turbo Balls: an obstacle course with all of the same bells and whistles of a Fall Guys, Stumble Guys, or Party Animals DNA strand. The only thing (let’s refer to it as a USP at this stage in time) that set it apart from its kin, of course, was its inclusion of customizable spheres. But other than that, the core blueprint was mostly one and the same; it showcased several race tracks, obstacles, and an eight-player multiplayer mode that, according to the team behind it, would conjure “adrenaline and the thrill of victory.” I could roll with that.

Curious to see more of the aforementioned ball in all its vibrant colors, I recently subjected myself to a handful of rounds of orb-bending pandemonium. The question I was aiming to have answered, of course, was whether or not there was enough dopamine to trigger any feelings outside of nostalgia. Was Turbo Balls any better than its competitors, or was it merely a footnote on a much, much wider spectrum?

Oh, Balls

Turbo Balls establishes itself as little more than a nonsensical hamster wheel of multicolored racing tracks with, perhaps, a few additional banana peels, to boot. The game, which takes a tremendous amount of the core DNA from other obstacle course-like games, sees you, the high roller with a fixation on high speeds and daring altitudes, taking to several sky-high tracks in a bid to obtain a podium finish. At the heart of all of this is a universally recognized gimmick: competitive racing with hot-headed online lobbies and the likes. Needless to say, the competition is what drives this sport; it’s an unforgiving experience, and it relies on your reckless disregard of your fellow ballers to keep the snowball rolling, so to speak. And that’s fine.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the rules of the game, I’ll say that much. In fact, it’s more or less impossible to lose sight of the objective at hand; it’s essentially the case of navigating a series of narrow tracks and other obstacles, and using a combination of speed, agility, and brute force to obliterate or derail other opponents in a continuous effort to reach the finish line. And that’s really all there is to it. So, like I said — it’s an easily accessible multiplayer game, and one that’ll most likely resonate with Fall Guys users or those accustomed to physics-based joystick controls.

Scouring for Purpose

As with any gimmick or novelty, the general appeal of Turbo Balls soon begins to wear thin after several taster sessions. I say that, mainly due to the fact that, as far as replay value, or post-race content goes, for that matter, there isn’t an enormous amount to absorb outside of the bread-and-butter skins and cosmetics. Naturally, the game features a leaderboard and ranking system, which allows you to engage in global-wide battles and other bouts for bragging rights and what have you. But again, that’s about as much as you can do in Turbo Balls, which means you’ll likely find all there is to discover in a couple of hours or less. That said, as the game itself is still emerging from its teething stage, it could very well be that there’s a lot more left to come in future seasons.

I will say this: the obstacle courses that flesh out the lion’s share of Turbo Balls are both pleasantly different from others of its caliber and incredibly fun to navigate. In addition to the usual trappings of a Fall Guys-type world, Turbo Balls also comes fully equipped with a quality amount of inflatable set pieces, thematic locations, original traps and other environmental curveballs, thus providing a near-perfect playground for both online strangers and local feuds between friends alike. And it’s because of these simple yet equally entertaining things that make up Turbo Balls that I can quite easily recommend it for anyone with a natural admiration for the sandbox or competitive multiplayer genres.

Dropping the Ball

There are one or two downsides that I can’t help but feel the need to mention here. For starters, there’s the name placement; the font essentially obscures a fairly large portion of the screen, which makes several of the courses’ obstacles relatively difficult to work around. Secondly, there’s the frequent challenge of having to navigate the course itself; its tight corners marred by stuttering camera angles often prove unfairly difficult. But, perhaps I’m nitpicking here. For the most part, Turbo Balls does actually play surprisingly well, and it just about flows in the same way that you would normally expect a snowball-centric multiplayer game to flow — so that’s a plus.

As it’s still in its infancy, there’s still no telling what might crop up in the near term. Suffice it to say though that, as with anything that has the capacity to generate creative courses with limitless potential, the sky’s the limit at this point in time. Could there be a few more courses? Absolutely. Could there be more room for additional technical improvements and in-game perks or cosmetics? A hundred percent, yes. On that basis, I think it’s fair to say that the potential is very high, and the breathing room is more or less infinite. However, before it takes the opportunity to explore these new possibilities, it should take the time to finesse the formula and iron out any mechanical issues, of which there are still a few left in the tank, unfortunately.

Verdict

While it’s certainly no tall order to meet the basic requirements of a good old-fashioned obstacle course multiplayer game, it’s still worth mentioning that, with such a high quantity of replicas in hand, it is somewhat difficult to set one apart from its worthy adversaries. As the saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery — and, to be fair, that sort of applies in Turbo Balls. And while I’m not saying that the game is structurally inferior to its competitors, it is certainly no torchbearer in its chosen league. It doesn’t help a great deal either that, due to its inclusion of several tongue-in-cheek characters—the iconic banana-wearing avatar, for example—it sort of lives in the looming shadow of its forefathers. It’s Stumble Guys, but with fewer players and a lot more balls, is the point I’m trying to get across.

Of course, if you’re able to gloss over the fact that Turbo Balls is, respectfully, an underling of another franchise or two, then I have no doubt in my mind that you’ll absolutely adore just about everything that makes up this melting pot of adrenaline-soaked competitive culture. Sure, it’s teetering toward the short end of the stick, what with it only being capable of allowing eight players to thrash it out for perks and a spot on the podium, but with fantastic level designs and a sufficient amount of depth to its character customization, it just goes to show that even the smallest stages can deliver a great experience. Let’s call it an underdog; it strives to replicate a lot of the same basic features as its kin, but also has the heart and potential to elevate it to something much greater and far more unique.