We recently ran several playtests for our bouncing-ball action roguelite, combining survey responses and live player observation.
A huge thank you to everyone who played, struggled, adapted, and shared honest feedback. These sessions gave us a clear picture of what already works, and what needs to improve.
Despite rough edges:
80% of testers said they want to keep playing.
Average playtime reached nearly 2 hours.
That’s the signal we care about most => The core gameplay is working.
Combat & Ball Gameplay
This remains the strongest part of the game.
Players consistently praised:
dynamic action
satisfying rebounds
powerful ball feeling
addictive momentum
intense short runs
Even first-time players quickly understood the unique identity of controlling a bouncing ball in combat.
Style & Theme
The baseball-inspired enemies, arena combat, and overall visual style were well received.
Character designs, animations, and recent visual improvements were especially noticed by returning testers.
The feedback was consistent across different player types, from veterans to newbies.
This was the most common issue.
Players reported:
overloaded HUD
weak visual hierarchy
confusing menus
unclear icons
currencies misunderstood
poor controller navigation in hub screens
Some players did not immediately understand what the Gym / Garage were for or how upgrades worked.
Many mechanics were learned through trial and error instead of clear explanations.
Most common confusion:
Fury
Combo
Fusion system
Dash rules
Stun rules
Door rewards
Some players also felt the difficulty spike from tutorial room to first combat room was too abrupt.
The action is exciting, but sometimes too chaotic too early.
Players mentioned:
sometimes, too much happening at once
hard to track character position
hard to read enemy attacks
unclear damage sources
early runs feel overwhelming
We also observed that players felt that hitting the ball was sometimes too punishing, which then encouraged them to play a more static, camping playstyle.
Challenge was appreciated, but certain enemies caused frustration.
Most common feedbacks :
heavy projectile pressure
enemies returning the ball too often
enemies catching the ball and stopping momentum
tight/impossible reaction windows
A key lesson:
Players dislike losing flow more than losing health. Some enemy seem to stop the player’s momentum too often.
Players liked the controls overall, but some systems need tuning.
Feedback included:
dash feels too mandatory
walking speed feels weak
recall is fun but overused
service can feel slow under pressure
upgrades can feel hard to evaluate
builds need clearer strategic identity
There is also a real discrepancy between keyboard and controller players :
> The controller players have more of a hard time aiming, but the gameplay seems smoother and more comfortable
> Whereas the mouse-keyboard players are more accurate, but the movement seems more difficult.
The first boss was memorable.
Players described the fight as:
intense
surprising
exhausting
frustrating
satisfying to beat
Some testers felt the difficulty spike may be too high for an early boss.
A clearer, better onboarding for the whole experience.
Redesigning a clearer UI
Stronger combat readability and feedback
Ennemie tuning
deeper progression choices, mostly by giving the player more agency through “sets” of items & modules
The best compliment we received wasn’t a score.
It was players getting frustrated… and immediately starting another run.
That’s the heart of a roguelite.
If you played, Thank you for helping shape the game.
More updates soon. - Louis, Rebound Team