Rollers of the Realm review for PS Vita, PS4

Platform: PS Vita
Also On: PS4, PC
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Phantom Compass
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: Leaderboards
ESRB: T

Iโ€™ve never been able to get into pinball. It hasnโ€™t mattered whether itโ€™s real-life or video games, every time Iโ€™ve ever played a table, the pattern has always been the same: it holds my interest for a couple of minutes, I get reminded that Iโ€™m not good enough to get a high score, and I give up as soon as I lose a ball. Even when the table is tied in with something Iโ€™m familiar with, like the Uncharted-themed table on Pinball Heroes, Iโ€™ve never been able to get into it.

All of which is to say: Rollers of the Realm is basically pinball for someone like me. It doesnโ€™t have flashing lights or multipliers or any of the literal bells and whistles that usually draw people into a table. Instead, it takes an altogether different approach: it tries to bring an RPG sensibility into the mix. Thereโ€™s a story, complete with voice acting. The balls all represent different characters, each of whom you can level up and buy upgrades for (using in-game gold, not IAPs). The setting isnโ€™t a traditional pinball table, but rather a medieval setting, complete with barrels and vermin and wenches and knights. Youโ€™re not trying to get a high score, but rather you have to meet each tableโ€™s specific objective, whether itโ€™s collecting a certain amount of gold, taking out all the bad guys, or simply navigating your way to the end of the level.

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In other words, itโ€™s definitely a different approach. And when it works, I have to say it does a way better job of drawing me in than any other pinball game Iโ€™ve ever seen. The story is engaging, the different balls have distinctive personalities โ€” at least to the extent balls can have personalities (hey, if it worked for Thomas Was Aloneโ€ฆ) โ€” and the setting was undeniably unique.

The thing is, thereโ€™s that phrase: โ€œwhen it worksโ€. Becase my one big complaint about Rollers of the Realm is that it doesnโ€™t always. Twice when I was playing on Vita the game completely crashed and had to be restarted, several times balls would just stick in one place and refuse to go anywhere, and I lost track of the number of little graphical hiccups that made the action skip from one point in time to another. For a game like pinball, which relies to a great degree on instinctive reactions, having graphics that have a tendency to skip โ€œa little bitโ€ is basically the worst thing that could possibly happen.

Rollers of the Realm 2

Which is really a massive shame since, without those glitches, this game wouldโ€™ve been amazing. As I said at the beginning of this review, Iโ€™ve never been able to get into pinball, but Rollers of the Realm had me hooked. Thereโ€™s just something about replacing questing after a high score with a literal medieval quest that drew me in and kept me thereโ€ฆat least until the glitches became too much to overlook. Thatโ€™s when the old, familiar pinball frustration kicked in โ€” and itโ€™s why, for all itโ€™s strengths, it makes it very, very hard to recommend buying this game.

Grade: C
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