I must confess, I’ve never tried my hand at Peggle. The gameplay that’s mostly about watching the action unfold never really piqued my interest. However, when Peglin unexpectedly launched on the Nintendo Switch after a Nintendo Direct, I was curious. Could it be the type of idle game that finally hooks me? As I’ve grown to appreciate pinball-style games, perhaps Peglin could serve as a happy medium. Or so I hoped. Although Peglin didn’t fully convert me to the pachinko realm, its intriguing mechanics kept drawing me back to fire those balls at enemies time and again.
Now, stop me if this sounds familiar, but Peglin is a roguelike indie game where your mission is to vanquish every enemy in an area, gradually enhancing your weaponry and abilities before squaring off against a daunting boss. It doesn’t exactly revolutionize the genre, but it lays out its premise clearly from the get-go. While its visual style, reminiscent of Microsoft Paint pixel art, might not win me over, it serves its purpose. The diversity in enemy types and locations adds a refreshing twist to your journey through Peglin’s world.
The gameplay is where Peglin could either grip or lose you. At its core, you launch an orb at a peg-filled board. The more pegs you hit, the higher the damage your orb will inflict on the enemies lurking above. Your main input is choosing the direction to fire the orb. Some pegs offer additional coins, boost damage, deliver critical hits, or even enhance your attack in other ways. After each round, you can snag new orbs to add to your lineup or invest coins to amp up your existing ones. The game is brimming with exciting item combos that enhance your orbs’ abilities, all while maintaining a fair balance. For instance, I stumbled on an item granting a multiball effect—every orb would duplicate on launch, albeit restricting my firing options. This dance of advantage and constraint makes certain battles particularly tough, yet incredibly satisfying, especially boss fights. These bosses can disrupt your board with sticky lines between pegs, causing your orbs to get stuck or even spawn new foes.
On a personal note, my Peglin experience is rather mixed. On one side, I delighted in launching orbs and racking up damage, akin to a pinball game. On the flip side, the game carries a passive vibe. Post-launch, strategic input is minimal; aside from choosing which target your attack hits—a crucial decision in boss battles or when facing hordes of specific foes. The game doesn’t really engage you in a comprehensive strategy. This feeling is intensified by the absence of clear tutorials outlining mechanics and advanced actions. It wasn’t until quite late that I realized you can discard orbs from your lineup to hasten the arrival of others, potentially dishing out elemental damage to certain enemies. Despite its pick-up-and-play nature, I often found myself strategizing more than actually playing, which seemed like a hurdle.
As with any roguelike, Peglin involves a good dose of random chance, a factor that sometimes left me stuck, unable to win a winnable fight. Health replenishment between encounters is challenging, and landing a critical hit for massive damage isn’t guaranteed. When a run ends, no upgrades carry over, forcing a restart from square one. My deepest in-game progress felt more like a fortunate alignment of stars than a reflection of skill. This aspect can be divisive among players, and it often led me to shelve the game for extended periods. Yet, I found myself repeatedly drawn back to Peglin’s simple yet addictive gameplay, eager to send more orbs flying and see just how far I could push my progress.
Peglin won’t appeal to everyone. Its roguelike nature paired with the reliance on luck took a while to grow on me. Frustration arose from the underexplained mechanics and limited board control. Still, beneath it all lies a solid game core that kept me returning. When you manage a killer combo of attacks and elemental damage, taking bosses down with a few shots is immensely satisfying. Despite the somewhat high barrier to entry, once you find your rhythm, it’s hard to put down. Ultimately, Peglin is one of those great background games that players will likely revisit time and again. While I can’t predict the future, I have a hunch Peglin might just remain a staple for years to come.
