Another day, another indie game that gets ported to the Nintendo Switch. This time, it’s Baseball Riot, an Angry Birds-like game developed by 10tons Ltd. that is a sequel to Tennis in the Face. What does Baseball Riot do differently when compared to its predecessor? Well, almost nothing.
In Baseball Riot you play as Gabe Carpaccio, a baseball player that witnesses his team getting ruined by their sponsor, the corrupt energy-drink producing Explodz Inc. Gabe decides this cannot continue and sets out to destroy Explodz Inc. Unfortunately, a lot of Explodz addicted fans, referees, and baseball players don’t want that to happen. So, what does Gabe do to get past them? Hit them in the face with a load of baseballs.
The goal in Baseball Riot is to hit all the humans on the stage and collect all three stars in as few turns as possible (which is easier said than done in the later stages of the game). You accomplish this by lining up the trajectory of your shots so that they bounce off walls, barriers, and enemies. The fewer balls you have to shoot, the better. The gameplay itself isn’t bad, but it lacks long-term value. While every now and then you’ll receive new objects and hazards to deal with, it’s simply not enough to keep the game from getting repetitive fairly quickly. I already had gotten bored with the game after completing the first part of the map.
It also doesn’t help that the game feels like a mobile application trapped on a console, especially when you discover the game is free on mobile devices. Sure, the Switch version only costs five bucks, but it still begs the question why someone should pay for the game if it can be played for free on devices that everyone has nowadays. The biggest problem, though, is that the game is obviously nothing more than a reskin of Tennis in the Face. The only noticeable difference is the baseball theme, instead of the tennis one.
The visuals of Baseball Riot are pretty good. The characters in the game have a creative flair that makes you want to like them more, whether it’s your character swinging for the fences or the fans who insist on calling him some sort of bum, only to snap out of their rage by his hit and realize he’s not the bad guy. It also makes good use of a vibrant color palette, making the game pleasant to look at.
Conclusion
After playing Baseball Riot on my Switch, I can only wonder who this was made for. It’s not a bad game, per se, but you can play it for free on any smartphone device, so why should someone buy this version? It also doesn’t offer anything new when compared to Tennis in the Face. In short, there’s basically no reason to buy Baseball Riot for the Nintendo Switch.
Tested on Nintendo Switch
