Official Score
Overall - 30%
30%
While everybody loves the game of skee-ball, Extrorb does not make a compelling case to switch to the world of video games. Do yourself a favor and stick to the analog version of the game.
A staple of Chuck E. Cheese’s all over America, the world of skee-ball makes its way to the world of video games with the release of Tresiris’ Extrorb. Does this title’s physics translate well to the Unity engine, or is there just no beating the real deal?
Extrorb Review
Much like the analog version of the game, players will guide a ball of their choosing into the hole of their choice. There’s a bit of finesse that goes into the perfect shot – players need to make sure things are lined up, as there is little control once the ball is in the air.
However, in true video game form, things are a bit more wild. There are four standard courses, sure, but there are others that transport players to ice caps, forests, and even outer space. When high speed ramps and far away targets are thrown into the mix, things start to get really wild. No matter which stage one chooses, the objective remains the same: go for a high score.
So how does one fare when given the chance? The simple control scheme mapped to WASD and the arrow keys gets the job done, although analog controls would have been preferred over the digital ones present here. Physics work as they should as well, with players given a bit more control in each shot. If anything, players are given a bit more leeway – with 10 balls available at any given time, one can try multiple times and practice until they get things just right. When all else fails, one can make things explode with a press of the Space button.
Unfortunately, this concept is not taken far enough. Extrorb has a number of different balls to choose from, but players will be able to see everything that this title has to offer in less than an hour. Skee-ball was never the deepest game around, and without any sort of tickets or incentive other than points to string players along, it is far too easy to get bored with this title. No amount of ramps or wild scenarios can disguise the fact that this title has the depth of a puddle.
There is a leaderboard that can encourage players to go for the high score, but there simply isn’t much depth to its proceedings. Some of it comes down to luck too; landing the perfect shot can oftentimes come down to how something is lined up at any given time. This is made that much trickier with things being far away – it oftentimes feels like an added challenge that is next to impossible to judge.
Unfortunately, the presentation leaves something to be desired as well. It’s clear that Extrorb uses the most generic Unity assets in the toolbox; there’s no sort of personality to its levels or even menus. As a result, it comes across as overly forgettable.
While everybody loves the game of skee-ball, Extrorb does not make a compelling case to switch to the world of video games. Do yourself a favor and stick to the analog version of the game.
