Introduction

I am a huge fan of the Roguelike genre and have played copious amounts of different games with some of them being truly spectacular. As such, I would love to take the time today to lay out my thoughts on the Peglin which is quickly becoming one of my favourite game to play.

Peglin is a Pachinko Roguelike experience that can be completed in around 60-75 minutes. The Roguelike aspect ensures each run will feel unique as the types of Orbs and Relics will greatly vary along with the enemies, bosses, and encounters you will come across. Furthermore, the simple delight from watching your Orb bounce around sparks laughter and cries of joy as well as anguish when you attempt to Navigate to the right but magically end up going left due to the unpredictable nature of bouncing Orbs.

Video commentary

Whats is a Roguelike game?

Roguelike games are a relatively new genre in that they offer a complete game experience without additional purchases beyond possible DLCs. These games are often completed in 60-90 minutes and capture the sensation of going from zero to hero due to each subsequent level being harder than the last. As such, a major part of Roguelikes are gaining powerups/improvements after each encounter.

In addition to this (and what helps define the Roguelike genre) is only seeing a limited number of possible powerups/items in any given run. Generally speaking, these games offer a myriad of different ways to increase your power level but it is done so through drafting, often times from a screen of draw 3, choose 1. This ensures you cannot have a rigid strategy going into a run as you must adapt/pivot with what you are presented with. Furthermore, the pool of options may include 100+ different possibilities but you will only see a fraction on any given run.

This constant fluidity within your strategy ensures  a unique challenge each time and you will often discover new synergies you may have never thought of because you had to pick from a limited pool of options. Then once you add in different characters you may find yourself spending hours discovering new powerful combinations.

With that being said, once you win (or lose) a run, you start back at the beginning and can begin your journey once again.

In essence, a Roguelike game can be summerized as follows:

• Zero to hero experience in ~60-90 minutes
• Numerous different cards/relics/artifacts/ways to increase your power
• No two run will be the same due to only seeing a limited pool of potential powerups, often acquired via Drafting

Peglin Pros & Cons

Pros

• Makes me laugh/cheer/moan more than any other game
  • Navigation is an emotional rollercoaster
• Simple to understand and can pick up + play right away
• Captures a similar joy to pinball when watching the orb(s) bounce around
  • Visually pleasing to watch/listen to
  • Great satisfaction watching the Orb slink around a continuous chain of Pegs
• 4 characters with different feel/play styles
  • Lets you choose a more custom start -> multiple paths to victory
• Bomb builds are a Blast
• Some Orbs have a truly unique feel
• Some Relics “break” the game (eg. reverse Gravity)

Cons

• Less ways to customize/upgrade orbs
  • Only goes Lvl 1 -> 2 -> 3
• Can be at the mercy of RNG
  • Refresh Peg stuck in horrible spot
• High level Crucibals feel excessively punishing
• Less depth compared to other Roguelikes
  • Mostly due to fewer ways to improve yourself
  • Can also be a Pro as it is less complex

Basic gameplay loop

Your goal in Peglin is to clear all 3 Acts without dying and within each Act you will face varying monsters, random events, merchants, and possibly treasure along the way. Generally speaking, most encounters will be combats in which you will battle various enemies which you will have to kill by launching Orbs and hitting Pegs to deal damage. After launching an Orb and dealing damage, enemies  will take an action (walking towards you or attacking) and this continues until either you or all enemies reach 0 HP (Hit Points).

Upon successfully defeating all enemies you will be given the opportunity to improve yourself by either buying new Orbs, upgrading existing Orbs, and restoring some HP via Gold. After fully resovling your current encounter, you will then be forced to Navigate (choosing which direction to go after completing an encounter) to the next one. While Navigating you will have to launch yourself as an Orb and hopefully exit the Pegboard in the direction you want to go but of course things don’t always turn out as intended.

For myself, this is the biggest source of entertainment and almost feels more stressful than actual fights as I sometimes really really really want to go left but the Peglin Gods often say RIGHT instead after bouncing around.

What makes Peglin work?

I have always been a huge fan or pinball and would make a beeline to those machines if I was ever able to visit an arcade. While this probably still holds true today, I feel I am able to get my “pinball fix” through Peglin as a similar kind of magic comes out while playing.

This is because you have some control of where you launch your orb and can somewhat predict how it will bounce around initially but afterwards RNGesus takes the wheel. To a certain extent, I almost feel there is a bit of a push your luck element but at the same time, some skill is involved, especially when planning around which Orb to use and when to start working towards the Refresh Peg.

This Refresh Peg is vital to playing Peglin as hitting it will immediately put back (or refresh) all previously popped Pegs. Thus, it is important to hit on a regular basis in order to have enough Pegs to actually deal damage to the enemy.

Furthermore, the vareity of Orbs available can allow you to build synergistic strategies and Relics allow for further specialization. With that being said, I am an absolute sucker for Multiball strategies as more things bouncing around sparks immense joy.

Conclusion

Peglin is a truly delightful game that is both fun to play and even to watch. In fact, I have had many of my real life friends come over and I had them play a Peglin run and many of them went home that evening and bought their own copy. I believe this is due to the relatively simple nature of the game along with the joy that can be had watching an Orb magically bounce around.

Overall, if you enjoy Roguelike games, pinball, and something on the lighter side in terms of both theme and depth, Peglin may be the right game for you.

Happy Puzzling!

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