Roundguard – Review (Xbox One)

By Holly Furman Last updated Mar 11, 2020

As a new game from Wonderbelly Games touted as a Peggle-esque game with roguelike dungeons, Roundguard seems like a great new entry into the casual game sphere. On the surface, it seems well put together as it includes a unique storyline, cast of characters, and gameplay. However, as the game progresses, a few obvious problems emerge and take the wind out of Roundguard’s sails.

To say this game is similar to Peggle is an understatement. Other than the art style, at any time it could be confused with its predecessor from a glance. A cutesy aesthetic is combined with quirky characters, strategy of bounce physics, and combos based on the amount and what type of objects come into the path of the character are all present. On a final hit in the level, a slow motion approach to the last enemy or block needed to complete the task takes over the screen – a mechanic we first saw in Peggle. That being said, there are plenty of ways this game differs from other similar games, both to its benefit and detriment.

Roundguard begins with a selection of one of three characters, each of which shaped like a bouncy ball. Each character has separate attributes including special powers, mana, and health. These characters are shot through the open field of each level to gain gold and defeat enemies by using these special powers which are improved through experience. They can receive weapon and armor upgrades, extra mana and health, or receive a sort of boost that will increase the likelihood of success in each level. The levels are set up in a dungeon-like battle system, with various ways to reach the final boss.

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The story provides a loose explanation for why the characters choose to fight in the dungeon, with a variety of interludes with other NPCs explaining how the game works and why it should be played. Unfortunately, this still leaves us confused as to how it all fits together.

The biggest frustration in this game can be summed up in that word: confused. There are bones to an interesting game in Roundguard, but the execution of these ideas is abysmal. After playing the game for multiple rounds, with a different character each time, I was still uncertain of what was going on, both with the story and with the gameplay. We couldn’t tell if this game was geared toward children or adults based on the story, art style, and difficulty.

Understandably, it is difficult to create a narrative for a game that could easily be about only the levels and slowly progressing, like a simple mobile game. But this game is supposed to be more dense than a mobile game, and doesn’t present itself well whatsoever. In addition to this, we felt like we had no real control as to where our character went, since the bounce physics felt incredibly off. If you know you need health, you aim toward the health potions, but can’t reach them because instead of bouncing off the wall like expected the character zooms across the screen into spikes on the bottom or another enemy, thus killing you. Sometimes when you have low hit points, you don’t actually die like expected either – so it’s uncertain how you gain back health then either. The move sets of each character can be incredibly useful or terribly difficult, even with instruction on how to control them.

Overall, this game is nothing new, sometimes even to a ridiculous extent. When it tries to do something innovative, it falls flat on its face practically in every respect. This is disappointing since it does have some good bones in its structure. We would advise people to spend time with better classics or other games in the same vein that are self-aware and allow for fun, or even some frustration, instead of just utter confusion.