Ballance
Puzzle platformer Ballance is back in our lives and ready for us all to test our balance on the newer systems out there
If you can think back long ago to the age of video games coming on CDs, then you might be able to imagine what we have coming for Ballance. A title that originally got its start during that age with Ziggurat Interactive aiming to bring it back to us all on our PC as of today. Yes, Ballance is out there as you read these words and you can get your marble-rolling skills out there in the world again as we try to make it through this momentum-based platformer that might have been the bane of your existence back when you had to get a little plastic disk to play the game and not just download it digitally. Something you can do right now if you need that touch of nostalgia in your life.
For those that were born after the age of CDs went out the window, Ballance is a title where we need to manipulate the landscape to roll a marble about a nice little course to get to some ultimate and of the course. There are twelve of those in this version of the game and will be taking this simple concept and placing different coats of paint over each location. That means that things are going to be reskinned in Ballance but the mechanics and controls will all be the same as some might know. That and to give us something different to look at besides a basic orb and a bunch of random tracks to roll the ball along. When the idea came about the first time, this was mind-bending. Just keep that in mind before you judge it all.
Ballance — Launch Trailer
Ziggurat Interactive is proud to announce that Ballance is now available on Windows PC via Steam and GOG. Originally developed by Cyparade and published by Atari so long ago that it was sold exclusively on CDs, Ballance is a 3D momentum-based puzzle platformer that’s easy to pick up and nearly impossible to put down.
Ballance tasks players with guiding a marble through 12 courses high in the air. While simple in concept, the execution of Ballance’s controls and mechanics make it an experience where the “next level” button seems almost to click itself. Each level has a unique set of obstacles to overcome. Objects that block your path, tight passageways that require precise inputs, and air currents that propel your marble even further into the sky are just some of what’s standing in your way.
Getting the hang of steadily controlling Ballance’s ball is the key to success. Should that control not be up to snuff, the ball’s material can be customized to suit the player’s liking. If a heavier ball for clearing a path or a lighter ball for speed and traversal is needed, stone and paper materials can fit those respective bills.
When I was much younger, I loved games like Marble Madness and Ballance and am slightly interested in seeing what this version will place out there in the gaming sphere. I do not think it is going to be groundbreaking in any way but it will offer another break from the many bigger and darker titles we have in the world already. A nice little cozy game that will also upset you as you watch the little marble keep rolling off the edges as you try to balance it all along the way. I know it will for me when I finally get a chance to dig into this one. And who knows, maybe it will give way to a whole different title to come to us all down the line as well. Maybe even in that new fantastic VR space of things too…
Did you ever play Ballance back when it was only on CDs or are you too young to even remember any of that? Will this just be another title to get the older gamers to throw down on while the newer gamers move right along? Could this offer up something new to the industry again or will it stay in its own little corner of history to be brought out every now and then? Take to the comments to discuss all of this and everything else we have to offer up along the way. There is more to come for Ballance, maybe, and we will share all that we can for it. Not that we expect there to be a whole lot more to an older title that is getting a digital release again.
