AntonBall Deluxe Review (Steam)

by Jim Smale · Published March 31, 2021 · Updated April 7, 2021

The breakout title from Summitsphere, Antonball Deluxe is a retro, high-octane smorgasbord of ballbusting arcade action! Antonball Deluxe quite literally turns the breakout genre on its head, blending traditional brick-breaking gameplay with tight, intense platforming.

Pros:

Decent pixel art graphics.
80.83MB Download size.
Steam achievements.
Remote play together support.
Controller support.
Graphics-fullscreen, retro filter: on/off, screen shake, and ball trails.
Four game modes-AntonBall, punchball, Vs punchball and online.
Extras-lottery and rec room.
Each mode has its own instructions.
Online leaderboards for each mode.
Online-find game, create game and browser.
Punchball-you have a ball that you pick up and throw at enemies to stun them and then kick them off the stage.
AntonBall-kind of a Breakout/Arkanoid platformer hybrid. Jump around and hot the ball into the blocks to make them disappear.
Mini-games in punchball for more continues.
You get a set amount of lives and continues before a solid game over.
Lottery-spend collected cash on a pull on the gotcha machine for rewards.
Rec room-play any unlocked music.
Punchball plays and sounds like the original Mario Bros game where you hit koopas to flip them and kick them out.
Retro filters-ATB and Superball advance.
Gets quite addictive.
Get power-ups in AntonBall like a gun to clear the blocks.
Excellent soundtrack and sound effects.
Many characters to unlock.
Quick to learn.
2-4 player local/online support.
Level select for each mode.
Arcade presentation.
AntonBall has an optional tutorial.

AntonBall Deluxe Review (Steam)

Cons:

The slight learning curve when it comes to learning the charged jump and air dashes.
Platforms can be a pain whereby the ball can pass through but you cannot.
Only a small handful of lives and continues.
Only one control layout and no way to rebind.
Hitting the ball in a particular direction can get tricky.
Very hard to keep track when multiple players are in or you have multiball.
No real graphics options.

AntonBall Deluxe Review (Steam)

8/10

Graphics - 8/10
8/10

Sound - 8/10
8/10

Accessibility - 8/10
8/10

Length - 8/10
8/10

Fun Factor - 8/10

8/10

Summary

AntonBall Deluxe is a set of games that takes a well-known game series/genre and gives it a bit of rejigging. Punchball is a spin on the original Mario Bros game whereby you use a ball to throw and hit enemies that flip them, you in turn then kick them off and score points, enemies can reflip and get mad which makes them move faster. As you progress the level layout gets crazier and enemies start moving differently and can be a lot harder. AntonBall is a spin on Arkanoid as it mixes in platforming by having you need to break all the blocks on the right with a ball by having it bounce off you or the walls, you need to stop the ball from leaving on the hole on the left side. Combined it’s a really good package, you earn money in the game and spend it on lottery spins to unlock more characters and music. Both modes have instructions and their own online leaderboards. I loved how easy it was to learn and how time just evaporated as I went level after level, the game just keeps getting better with difficulty. I hated the platforms though as you could not jump through them but the ball could, one-hit deaths, hard to avoid enemies in Punchball and the such but it was never a huge deal just a slight niggle. Overall AntonBall Deluxe is a brilliant genre mash-up.