Rolling Sun

A pleasant little experience, worth a couple of bucks it asks for.

Rolled the sun through mazes - it napped and never woke up. Even the moon said, “Try a board game instead.”

So the best way I can think to describe this is its a precision platrformer where you play as Sonic the Hedgehog forever curled into a ball and your only enemies are the laws of physics and inertia. I got sick of it during level 2 but from what I played, there are checkpoints after each small group of obstacles that usually just involve platforming with no real control. It would be a fun game, but it just doesn't feel good to play. It's like playing one of those old wooden labyrinth games from way back in the day, but way harder. I tried with keyboard and controller, and neither left me with the impression that I was in "control." So any time I passed a challenge, it felt mostly due to luck rather than any real skill. If you're into precision platformers that are more on the relaxed side, I would say give it a shot, but only if you want to challenge physics as a ball. Cuz honestly, it's not very fun. It looks like it's only about 6 levels, but the levels are rather long. Oh, and it always launched at the lowest resolution setting each time I started the game, and to switch it is a tedious process as it's very slow in moving through all the resolutions up to the one I needed. T…

[h1]Rolling Sun — a CryEngine tech demo with a ball in it[/h1] [b]TL;DR: Not recommended. Pretty environments, works perfectly on Steam Deck, but there's no reason to keep playing. Two small additions would have fixed most of that.[/b] I finished level 1, started level 2, and stopped there. Not because it was hard, but because I realised nothing was pulling me forward. [h2]There's no point of interest[/h2] That's the core problem. The game gives you no reason to complete a level beyond the act of rolling itself. No goal, no stakes, no progression you can see. You collect little orbs. The game never tells you why. I eventually worked out through my own research that they seem to tie into bonus levels in the extras menu — but that is never explained at any point while playing. If a collectible has a purpose, say so. [h2]It feels like a tech demo[/h2] And I mean that fairly literally. CryEngine is front and centre throughout, constantly, and the whole thing reads as a showcase for the engine rather than a game built around an idea. Honestly? Even on those terms it isn't that impressive. Eleven years on it obviously doesn't hold up, but I'm not convinced it was world-changing a…

Feels like playing a tech demo since it's so short and polished, but the levels are fun, the stages are pretty, and it's overall a lovely overall 2ish hour experience including the bonus levels.

ball kinda sucks