A game’s trailers can play an enormous part in its ultimate success. First screenshots can get us instantly hooked on an artstyle, but there’s nothing quite like seeing something in motion for the first time.
The excellent Ball x Pit instantly appealed to me the moment I saw it, huge fan of roguelites, light base building, and bullet hell/breakout action that I am. I was thoroughly invested, though, after I watched the launch trailer.
The voice actor’s growing, cartoonish enthusiasm as they described the amount of balls, the formidable fusions and evolutions they can go through, was pitch-perfectly done. The narrator’s voice now plays in my head among all the crystal-grabbing, arrow-dodging, and general technicolor cavalcade that is a Ball x Pit run. Now that’s knowing your audience.
I did buy Ball x Pit, and can only hope that the decision does indeed help to fund more Ball x Pit. Balatro proudly declares itself to be “hypnotic” in its appeal, and something very similar is happening here. Interestingly, there isn’t a conventional high score to chase, nor are ludicrous numbers in the millions climbing ever higher on the outskirts of the screen.
Visually, though, there’s a huge...
