Important takeaways
- Beastieball, a new sports RPG that combines volleyball with Pokemon-like creature collecting, is now available on Steam.
- The game is scheduled to remain in Steam Early Access until at least the end of 2025.
Beastie Ball is the name of a new game that combines volleyball with Pokémon-similar creature collection mechanics. It launched as an Early Access title in mid-November 2024, following a successful Kickstarter campaign.
The crowdfunding initiative, which ended in July 2023, saw Beastie Ball raising the equivalent of over $100,000 from nearly 2,200 backers. The game itself is the latest game from Canadian studio Wishes Unlimited, the developer behind the critically acclaimed adventure Chicory: A colorful story and the equally acclaimed platformer Walking song.
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Beastie Ball was released via Steam on Tuesday, November 12, priced at $24.99. It is currently playable on both macOS and Windows. Despite its Early Access status, Wishes Unlimited says Beastie Ball already offers a wealth of content, with average play times ranging from 15 to 25 hours, and some players already spending over 100 hours on it. The main reason the developer chose to use early access is to gather feedback from fans while continuing to add to the game's growing content pool.
Beastieball combines tactical sports RPG elements with Creature Collection
As for what exactly is on offer here, Beastie Ball is as much a sports RPG as it is a creature collection game of sorts Pokémon. Its gameplay involves exploring a picturesque overworld, solving simple environmental puzzles, and collecting and training creatures called Beasties to assemble the ultimate volleyball team. Volleyball matches are turn-based and played on a grid, acting as the game's equivalent of combat. Since each Beastie has its own strengths, weaknesses, and unique characteristics, team composition is critical to success. This importance is reinforced by the relationships Beasties form with each other over time, which unlock additional teamwork opportunities depending on whether they become Partners, Besties, Sweethearts, or Rivals.
Similar Pokémon game, Beastie Ball tasks players with traveling the world and defeating a series of bosses as part of an attempt to win an elite competition. Players have complete freedom to tackle bosses in any order. Each time they defeat one, the remaining ones get stronger, ensuring a linear difficulty curve. In addition to fighting, Beastie Ball also offers opportunities to hang out with some other Beastie trainers after defeating them. Doing so will give you more insight into the game's history and lore. The current version of the game has over 100 Beasties, optional content in the form of side missions and online PvP.
Official Beastieball PC System Requirements
|
Windows |
macOS |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Olympics |
7+ |
10.7+ |
|
Processor |
Not too bad |
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo |
|
GPU |
Integrated graphics work OK |
|
|
FRAME |
1 GB |
512MB |
|
Storage |
2GB |
512MB |
|
Sound card |
Sure |
|
|
DirectX |
Version 9.0 |
N/A |
|
Additional notes |
The game will automatically adjust its quality settings on first launch. It is optimized to run decently even on low power devices. |
|
Wishes Unlimited says Beastie Ball is scheduled to remain in early access until at least the end of 2025. In the meantime, the developer will continue to add new content and use the ongoing influx of player feedback to continue refining the game. Anyone interested in Beastie Ball game formula can try it out for themselves by downloading its Steam demo, which has been available since the launch of the sports RPG's Kickstarter campaign in June 2023.
Steam
Steam is a digital video game store and application developed by Valve that allows players to purchase, play and modify their titles through a convenient application.
- Stamp
- Valve
- Original release date
- September 12, 2003
