''OddBallers'' is a

dodgeball Dodgeball is a team sports, team sport in which players on two opposing teams try to throw balls and hit opponents while avoiding being hit themselves. The objective of each team is to eliminate all members of the opposing team by hitting them w ...

-themed

party game Party games are games that are played at social gatherings to facilitate interaction and provide entertainment and recreation. Categories include (explicit) icebreaker, parlour (indoor), picnic (outdoor), and large group games.Frankel, Lillia ...

developed by Game Swing and Ubisoft Mumbai and published by Ubisoft. It released on January 23, 2023 for the

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

, and

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

platforms.

Gameplay

''Oddballers'' is a

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

party video game A party video game is a genre of video game that stems from in-person party games, involving player-to-player interaction as the central gameplay element. These games are often defined by simple controls which can be easily picked up and understoo ...

themed around the game of

. The game is played from the

top-down perspective A variety of computer graphic techniques have been used to display video game content throughout the history of video games. The predominance of individual techniques have evolved over time, primarily due to hardware advances and restrictions ...

and loosely follows the premise of dodgeball, where two teams throw balls at each other, with the goal being to hit opposing players with the ball, or in defense, catch the ball being thrown at them. However, many new elements are added into the formula due to environmental effects and

mini-games A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements and is often smaller or more simplistic than th ...

objectives that occur concurrently. Thirty different arenas across three main themes - farm, city, and island - affect the gameplay. For example, in the farm themed levels, players may have added objectives of avoiding being run over by a tractor or shearing any sheep they encounter. Another minigame involves beekeeping and obtaining and transporting honey while playing dodgeball. Progressing through matches allows the player to unlock character customization options such a appearances changes and celebration

emote An emote is an entry in a text-based chat client that indicates an action taking place. Unlike emoticons, they are not text art, and instead describe the action using words or images (similar to emoji). Overview In most IRC chat clients, enteri ...

s through a free

battle pass In the video game industry, a battle pass or rewards track is a type of monetization approach that provides additional content for a game usually through a tiered system, rewarding the player with in-game items for playing the game and complet ...

setup. Both local and online multiplayer is available, with four or six player multiplayer being possible depending on game mode and game platform.

Cross-platform play In video games with online gaming functionality, also called cross-compatible play, cross-platform play, crossplay, or cross-play describes the ability of Gamer, players using different video game hardware to play with each other simultaneously. ...

is available for online matches between platforms.

Development

The game was originally self-developed by Game Swing and was released onto early access for Windows on

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

in 2020. Ubisoft would later purchase the rights for the game, and the full version was announced in a September 2022

Nintendo Direct Nintendo Direct is a series of online presentations or live shows produced by Nintendo, where information regarding the company's upcoming content or franchises is presented, such as information about games and consoles. The presentations began ...

presentation. Its development was a collaboration between developer Game Swing and Ubisoft Mumbai, with additional work by

Ubisoft Pune Ubisoft is a French video game publisher headquartered in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, Montreuil, founded in March 1986 by the Guillemot brothers. Since its establishment, Ubisoft has become one of the largest video game publishers, and it has ...

. The game was released on January 22, 2023, for the

and

through

Ubisoft Connect Ubisoft Connect (formerly Ubisoft Game Launcher and later Uplay) is a service for digital distribution, digital rights management, multiplayer and communication developed by Massive Entertainment to provide an experience similar to the achievem ...

Reception

The game has received mixed reception from critics.

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...

, and

NintendoLife Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...

all saw it as a fun but flawed game. Aspects praised include the core gameplay mechanics, amount of unlockables and customization for characters, and simple controls. The minigame that interwove

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture, from ) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in artificial beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most commonly kept species but other honey producing bees such as '' Melipona'' stingless bees are ...

into the dodgeball formula was cited as a standout minigame. A major complaint was the game's online multiplayer, in that it was very difficult to find others to play with, and the inability to play online lessened the importance of the character customization, which was a major point of the game's progression.

Notes

References

External links

*{{official, https://www.ubisoft.com/en-gb/game/oddballers 2023 video games Dodgeball video games Nintendo Switch games Party video games PlayStation 4 games Ubisoft games Video games developed in India Windows games Xbox One games Multiplayer and single-player video games