Video Game Review - Antonball Deluxe

Rob reviews Antonball Deluxe on Nintendo Switch...

Antonball Deluxe is the latest in a long line of simple Switch titles that'll either capture your interest with their gimmick lead gameplay or leave you wanting more. Sadly for Antonball Deluxe, it's the latter. While it certainly looks like the 3rd wall breaking WarioWare, that's where the similarity ends. 

Antonball is a fairly simple game. You take on the role of a character whose sole responsibility is to direct a ball to break blocks while navigating a Super Smash Bro's style arena. On paper, this sounds quite fun, and to an extent it is. However, with Antonball it just doesn't seem to mix in the right way. General gameplay is a mixture of really odd decisions that don't seem to go with what the game is trying to be.

When busting bricks, your character had a few moves at their disposal. One such move is a dash attack that can be used to essentially speed up, or add more power to the ball. It's certainly useful, but it only works when hitting the ball - which is odd considering the arena is littered with various critters. There come times too where you'll have access to a gun. Again, this is fine for when moping up the last bricks, but its implementation is lacking. One major issue I had is that both the ball and character are seemingly too small. There's plenty of room to miss the ball, which results in some pretty frustrating moments. In the end, it all boils down to finding that sweet spot and just camping, rather than utilising the well-designed stages. 

The crown jewel of Antonball Deluxe is its multiplayer offering. While the premise remains the same, it feels as if the game was built for multi-players rather than single players. Matches become chaos as each player attempts to blast away their opponent. For those looking to up the ante, there's also a team mode that caters for 2-vs-2 Antonball carnage. Both modes are great fun and there's a lot of enjoyment to be had. If you're looking for a new party game then for the multiplayer alone Antonball makes for serious consideration. 

It's a real shame that the game is let down by some odd gameplay issues, as everything else that Antonball Deluxe offers is pretty fun. The visuals and sound are pretty presentable, and even with their faults - the controls are fairly responsive. If you're a single-player then Antonball Deluxe isn't one that I'd recommend. However for the sheer madness that multiplayer offers, this one game I'd seriously consider. 

Rating 6.5/10

Antonball Deluxe is out now and can be purchased via the Nintendo Switch eShop by clicking here. 

A code was kindly provided for this review.

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCultureRev