Rollers of the Realm: Reunion | PC Demo Review
Be a pinball wizard! Er, … I mean, mage! Phantom Compass rolls out Rollers Of The Realm: Reunion, the follow up to their arcade pinball/RPG hit Rollers Of The Realm. While there are definitely more fanatical pinball enthusiasts out there, I have always enjoyed a casual game, or seven, when at the arcade. My history with virtual tables goes all the way back to 1995 with Sierra’s 3-D Ultra Pinball. Couple that with my love for RPGs, and I’m ready for a ride on the rail. As I was not coherent for the age of the original game (I was soul-deep in a life eating addiction called WoW), I had to do some research before pulling the plunger back on this one. When I caught wind of this idea and the mechanics it would employ, I was fascinated. Pinball with a story? With characters? And enemies you must defeat, that deal damage to you? The concept was genius, but could Phantom Compass really mold the pinball play and RPG elements together with harmony? How would this be possible? How could this be possible? I was not prepared…
Familiar Faces
You begin your journey in Rollers of the Realm: Reunion playing the role of a young thief. If you’ve experienced the first game in this franchise, you will recognize her. While the art style is different, she is the same girl from the original story, returning with her trusty dog sidekick. Within minutes, you’ll also run into another familiar face. The knight enters the scene, and the two team up to begin a journey that soon takes an unexpected tilt.
While knowing the characters from the original game could have led to some moments of recognition, Rollers of the Realm does a decent job of not leaving you feeling out of the loop as the characters greet each other again. Soon you are joined by the mage and the healer, and you’re off to solve the riddle of the dark prophecy.
While simple, the story experienced in this short demo felt cozy and innocent. A dire need for an unsung hero, with the fate of the kingdom hanging in the balance. With dashes here and there of comedic flare, I found myself entertained by the almost childish narrative.
Roll For Attack
Rollers of the Realm: Reunion is, just as the name implies, a pinball RPG. I should note that during my play, I was not able to use keyboard controls. There is an option for it and even a tab in the option menu, and on the game’s Steam page it displays that it offers only partial controller support. Yet, for some reason, it simply would not let me use my keyboard to play the game. This wasn’t a problem, though, as controller play was probably the preferable way to go, anyway.
As you progress in Rollers of the Realm: Reunion, each table you play on represents a scenario in the story. Enemies will appear on the table, and you must defeat them or obtain a certain goal while maintaining your health, which is represented by your flippers. As enemies damage you, your flippers actually shrink, and things get more and more challenging. This is a rather genius way to incorporate hit points and damage taken into a pinball game, and man, did it make each table I played exciting.
Now to your characters and party management. For each table, you are permitted to have up to three characters in your party. Each character in your party is represented by a ball, and each one has its own unique size, characteristics, and abilities. For example, the thief is small and agile, and therefore can get to areas that the knight, who is larger, cannot. The mage is also small, and while her physical attacks are weak and often blocked by your enemies, her magic ability zaps multiple enemies on the table for a good chunk of health.
Bringing me to the next important aspect: mana and abilities. On top of their basic physical attacks, which are simply running into the enemies on the table, each character has their own unique abilities. Once you have enough mana built up, you can use the special ability of the player you currently have on the table. The thief summons her dog for a multiball play, the mage shocks enemies with a magic attack, the knight summons a protective armor on your flippers, and the healer, well, heals them. Mana is gained by simply hitting the bumpers on the table. Switching between the characters on your team is as easy as hitting up or down on the D-pad, and whatever mana you have built up remains. Numerous situations had me building up my mana with the knight, and then switching to one of the other two characters I had on my team for that table to utilize their abilities.
The pinball gameplay in Rollers of the Realm: Reunion is absolutely fantastic. Every piece of the gameplay felt stunning and strikingly entertaining. Most importantly, it was delicately smooth, which is critical for any virtual pinball experience.
Simple Chivalry
The artistic presentation of Rollers of the Realm: Reunion is simple yet satisfying. Characters are illustrated in a softer cartoon artwork than in the original game, and I found it quite pleasing. The world you roll through is simple as well, as are the table environments. Nothing here is going to make your graphics card scream, but it was all done well.
The music setting was also quite plain, but tasteful. Sound effects as you bounce off of bumpers and smash into enemies across the tables are done quite superbly and really put the cherry on top of a satisfying joy.
Final Verdict
Rollers of the Realm: Reunion is an exceptionally great experience. While the story can feel a bit young for mature players, the pinball aspect with combat amalgamated is even more fun than I anticipated. The character (and therefore ball) growth really puts this game over the top. Developing the characters as I saw fit, to fit my play style, in a pinball game was new to me, and I enjoyed it immensely. Pinball fans should definitely put this on their list of games to check out, and if you’re also a fan of RPGs, put it at the very top. Grab your controller, pull back the plunger, and be a pinball mage!!
This review is based on a demo of Rollers of the Realm: Reunion on Steam. The full game will be released later this year.