Stikbold! A Dodgeball Adventure (PC) Review

It would be all too easy to complain about the game's heavy focus on using a controller, but the PC controls are actually really good. The player will run around the current field of play, avoiding and grabbing dodgeballs to lob at their opponents. Even if you don't have a proper controller, the controls are very easy to pick up, provided you have a mouse. The track pad on laptops is fundamentally too sluggish to move around as quickly as you need to when firing off attacks, so a mouse is definitely the best option.

Like many of its brethren in the indie game sports arena, Stikbold takes a simple concept and stretches it out to the point of almost being absurd. While the rules are simple, they exist on a very bizarre playing field. The player needs to grab the ball before their opponent does, and use it to stun them. Once the opponent is stunned, the player can turn around and deal a death blow. All fairly simple, until you realize the arena itself is also out to get you. It's genuinely fun trying to chuck a dodgeball at an opponent while dodging a bus driving around or a beehive flying at your head. It feels like a goofy couch co-op 90s title, and it's hilarious fun.

The game suffers only a few missteps, and some are bigger than others. The art style seems to mix Minecraft-style characters with cartoon play areas, and it won't be for everyone. Too often, the playing field can get chaotic, and feels like it's just as hard to locate the ball as it is to accurately hit your opponents with it. The biggest issue plaguing the game is its long load times, especially at the beginning. When first loading up, it can take several minutes to just begin. It really holds the game back, as it breaks immersion having to watch a screen load for up to 2 minutes between levels, or even when just starting.

Fortunately, what's on the other side of these atrociously long loads is a solid sports gaming experience. Not everything has to be perfect, and while Stikbold! isn't very close to the line for perfection, it's still a proud example of marching confidently in that direction. The team behind the game should definitely be proud, as this is a powerful piece of work, and for all its blurred components, it's still a charming piece of nostalgia no PC sports fan should overlook.