Ballance (Game)

Ballance

GAME » on April 2, 2004

A physics-based puzzle platformer where you roll a marble ball through an obstacle course suspended in mid-air, with the ball able to be transformed into materials of different weights.

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Overview

Ballance is a 3D physics-puzzle platformer developed by Cyparade (Company) and published by Atari for the PC in Europe on April 2, 2004, with a North American release on October 25, 2006.

In Ballance, players roll a wooden marble ball through various courses that are suspended in mid-air, using the game's physics to solve various puzzles by pushing objects around and maintaining a proper momentum. The ball's material can also be transformed, including a much heavier stone ball and a much lighter paper ball. The base game included 12 levels, with a 13th level released for free as DLC.

As the game did not receive any digital re-releases at the time, it later became known through abandonware, particularly in the late 2010's among users of the Chinese video-sharing site Bilibili. It received multiple unofficial clones at that time, including Ballance: The Return, Puzzle Ball, RoboBall, Winexy (Game), Being Ball, and Ballex (Game), before receiving an official digital re-release by Ziggurat on January 5, 2024.

Gameplay

Players control a wooden ball and have to maneuver through an obstacle course within a set time. Along the way there are 2 kinds of pick ups to find: One provides an extra ball (life), and one gives extra time. The player's score at the end of the level is based on the time you have left when you finish. The ball can also transform into a rock or crumbled-up newspaper. The rock is heavier, which allows it to easily push boxes out of the way, or tip over bridges. However, because of its weight, it becomes more difficult to get up inclines, and crossing bridges made of planks will break them, dropping the ball into the void. Some sections also require the ball to move along two parallel rails, which the rock is too heavy to do. The paper ball has a rougher shape than the wood and rock balls, so it is tougher to control. It is also extremely light, so pushing bridges or boxes is virtually impossible. The main advantage to the paper ball is that it can float up to higher levels when it passes over a fan.

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