Peglin – Nintendo Switch Review

Overview – developed by Red Nexus Games and published by Blitworks Games, Peglin is a Peggle inspired Roguelike adventure, about a little goblin on a big adventure. As the brave Peglin, go on an adventure through three locations to stop the dragons that have been harassing their village. This version of the game is available for the Nintendo Switch as a timed console exclusive, with a link to the game at the bottom of the review.

Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank the rep from Blitworks Games who provided the copy of Peglin used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.

Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. Please be aware, I will only be covering the core aspects of the gameplay, as there as some secrets and surprises within the game that I don’t want to spoil.

Story – in the forest, a tribe of Peglins have been trying to live in peace, but things have not been easy for them. A group of dragons have been harassing the village, stealing their gold and generally being mean to them. The village has had enough, with one brave Peglin setting out on an adventure through the woods, a fortress and the dragon’s lair. Take back the gold that is yours as you go on your quest to stop the dragons from bothering your village.

Gameplay – Peglin is a Roguelike RPG adventure, where the player takes the role of the titular Peglin on a quest to reach the dragon’s lair. The player must make their way through three zones, which consist of multiple branching paths. The paths contain a variety of stages to challenge, that all converge at the boss of the zone. But this is not your average RPG, as this title uses a unique gameplay loop for the action elements, making the gameplay special.

This title uses a gameplay system that is inspired by the classic puzzler Peggle, mixed with pachinko style mechanics. The objective of each action stage is to defeat the enemies, which is done by aiming and firing orbs on the peg board. These orbs will deal damage to the enemy for each peg that they hit, building up as they head for the bottom of the screen. When the orb reaches the bottom, the brave Peglin launches their attack.

In this turn based system the Peglin has an orb deck, with each orb is counted as a turn, they can be discarded a limited number of times per stage. Each run starts with three normal pegball orbs and a dagger orb, which deal minimal damage to start. Between moves, the enemies on screen will take their action, moving closer if they use melee attacks or striking from a distance if they have ranged abilities. When all orbs are used, the deck must be reloaded.

During the reload, the Peglin is unable to attack and must skip a turn. This gives the enemies a chance to do more damage to the player, which is where ranged foes are at their most dangerous. Thankfully, there are special pegs on the board that can ease this trouble. These pegs consist of the Crit Peg, which deals big damage to enemies, the Refresh that restores all cleared pegs and the Bomb. The bomb needs to be hit twice, but will damage all enemies when successfully set off.

When all of the enemies have been defeated, the player will clear the stage and have the chance to buy new orbs, upgrade existing orbs and regain a lost portion of health. To buy orbs, players will need to use gold, which can be collected from hitting gold pegs. These will be added to the total that will be carried by the Peglin for the run. There is no upper limit to the number of orbs that can be collected, giving players a lot of options when building their deck up.

When players have made their purchases or not if they want to save their coins, they will be able to try and choose the next stage they want to go to. There will be two options for the player, but selecting the path is mostly down to chance. This is because the player will need to shoot for their path, with the possibility of clearing up left over pegs and claiming gold. There is also a fire hole that can be hit, which will lead to the player taking damage and having to shoot again.

There is some strategy here with the branching paths, as players can view a map of the zone, allowing them to plan out where they want to try and go. This is important, as there are more than just the action stages in a zone. There are also mystery floors, which can give great rewards or terrible dangers. Then there are the sub-boss floors, containing powerful enemies. Last are the treasure and shops, where orbs and powerful relics can be obtained.

Speaking of relics, these are powerful items that can drastically change the way that stages work. The effects that can occur include changes to peg behaviors, additional critical and refresh pegs and more. But some care must be taken when selecting relics, as they have the potential to give negative effects, like self-damage, reduced damage and more. The relics are often obtained by treasure chests, but they can be found in mystery rooms with some coming at a terrible cost.

At the end of each zone, the player will encounter a big boss that will challenge all of the skills and abilities they have built up. These battles are the most challenging part of each run, as the bosses can deal massive damage and will constantly summon additional enemies to attack. Each of the bosses has their own unique gimmicks, which make them stand out. After these boss fights, the player can get special items and big money rewards.

As a Roguelike, there are a lot of random elements to the game, which can lead to success or failure. This is also affected by the choices of the player, with some choices leading to a potentially easy run or a rough trail ahead. In each run, players have a single life to get to the end of a run, with death leading to having to start over from the beginning. The inclusion of this system can lead to some frustrations, but it is rather accessible and well-rounded for all players.

At the end of a run, either through completion or death the player will get a summary of their performance. All of the items collected will be added to the custom mode, where players can have a tailored experience, but be aware that unlocks will be disabled. Speaking of unlocks, there are many secrets to discover and bonuses to obtain, including new characters and even gameplay features (but I won’t spoil that surprise for you).

Now with the gameplay covered it is time to move onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.

Controls – Peglin uses a nice and simple control system, with the thumbstick for fast movement and the D-Pad for precision aiming of the Orb launcher. The orbs are launched and discarded with the face buttons, as well as the back triggers for the map and details page. These controls are comfortable when playing the game both docked and handheld. There is also optional touch controls, giving a level of accessibility for players or all capabilities.

Difficulty – as this is a Roguelike game, there is a fair amount of chance to the way that the game plays out. There are some battles against sub bosses are tough, with some of the mystery spots giving severely negative results. That being said, the challenge of the game isn’t that high and all players have a chance to get through. It is possible to get to the end of the game with ease, but some caution must be taken as careless play can lead to a run ending quickly.

Presentation – the visual look that the game uses fits perfectly, with colorful sprite work and environments that add to the cozy, cutesy charm of the overall experience. Everything from a visual perspective works well, with nothing that clashes or looks out of place making it all feel cohesive. The sound further brings the overall presentation together, with a soundtrack filled with catchy melodies that stuck with me after I was finished.

Final Thoughts – I saw this game in the Nintendo indie World presentation, with the colorful world and unique gameplay catching my attention. So when I was given the opportunity to cover the game, I jumped at the chance as Peglin is one of special little titles. When I started playing, I was expecting something simple that had some random elements to it. However, the more I played, I found there was so much more depth to the experience, without being overly complex.

This may not be the toughest Roguelike out there, but it has the challenge and gameplay to keep players engaged and coming back for more. It can also be a good introduction to both the Roguelike and turn based RPG genres, as it is easy to pick up and play, but tough to put down. That makes this a very easy recommendation for everyone, as the core of the game is fun and challenging, with a system and controls that is accessible to all.   

In the end, I give Peglin a final score of 5/5. This is a Roguelike that is fun and engaging, while being accessible to all players, with a gameplay loop that makes the game stand out from the rest. The game is challenging but not punishing, with a cutesy charm that compliments the overall experience. if you want to check this game out for yourself, a link to the game will be below.

Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)