Games about BALLS. 

Just throwing this out there for those who don't know, all of my most recent videos both have a list of songs used and games shown with timestamps in the description, if you're curious. Enjoy!

this guy thinks theyre the ball professor

As a balls enjoyer, I greatly appreciate you talking about balls, always a vibe to see games being creative

Dude how can you make something as simple as rolling a ball become so beautifully existential? Thank you!

I am a ballsologist, and this video was very well researched

wow what the hell. everytime i watch your videos i’m baffled by how much meaning you can extrapolate from these games. this was genuinely beautiful. i love your channel soooo much

can we just take a second to appreciate how much care this guy put into our balls ❤️

As a professional ball inspector,lots of these games let me study or work from home, maybe even just enjoy looking at balls. Anyways, these ball games are fun and im glad it’s getting recognised now

The draining of balls games was definetly a dark period of gaming history

This was a beuatiful examination of meaning in ludonarratives and the changing nature of our relationship with even simple genres.

I was quite surprised to see a marble game video not mentioning Venineth. Pleasantly surprised to learn about Exo One, with similar vibes. will definitely be getting it at some point to play

As a teen, if you were in a computer class with a teacher who didn't give a *care* everyone was on that marble blast grind. Guess that was the only time I competed in a form of speedrunning

Ballance was the peak of playing with balls

Outside of the jokes regarding balls (which I find quite funny haha) the ending with how videogames have progressed was quite profound and a really great introspection on the genre. I'm also greatful for this video because otherwise I wouldn't have found out about Exo one, and the fact it's currently on game pass! Great work with the analysis.

Rock of Ages is another ball game that revolutionized the genre and made it modern. Would've loved you mentioned it.

For the last minute or so of the Exo One section I just had my mouth hanging open and tears in my eyes, good GOD you are an amazing storyteller

As a ball indulgent influencer I can say I’ve never been more invested in a video about balls in my entire life, I say you have done a good job on your research (I’ve never even touched super monkey ball)

When i was a kid my parents has a puzzle ball game on the PS2 called Mojo, little disappointed that it wasnt showcased here as i recall it being a rather difficult but interesting ball game, requiring you to change your balls color to hit matching colored blocks while under a short time limit and having to traverse complicated floating structures in a void

Minor correction on Monkey Ball, you control gravity rather than the stage or the monkey. The stage tilting is just a camera effect to make it easier to understand. It's a very interesting distinction from normal marble games and it's unfortunate more games didn't use it until Rolled Out. Great video, Exo One is pretty cool and I hadn't heard of it before

These games are very fun and love the mysterious dream-like feeling they inspire with their skylines and vast views to the void.

OMG TY TY TY IVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THE GAME BALLANCE MY ENTIRE LIFE. My uncle installed this game on the pc decades ago and i tried to play it and am not joking, got scared by the secluding and lonely atmosphere and closed the game and never touched it again. but growing up, i got this crave to figure this game out but could never find out what the name was. but now I know because of you. TYSM BRO!

You must have a wormhole directly to my brain, every video seems like it's exactly what I wanted before I even knew it lol.

"I love playing with balls" -Sun Tzu

Ever since the Halo video I have been watching you NON STOP. There's just something special about what you're doing here. Love the content, keep it up.

omg BALLANCE! ♥️ I both loved and hated this game, as it was a bit too difficult for my child self but also very compelling I remember loving the wooden ball the most, I think it was some kind of proto-ASMR experience for me

So happy to see you talking about Exo One. I just played it a few weeks ago, and found it to be a very pleasant and surprisingly thought-provoking surprise.

Thank you for showing the ever incredible progress of mankind through the round lens of a ball

Hey, you said it was gonna be about Journey, not balls! Not even mad though. Thanks for delivering, Judge. ❤

bro I get so much nostalgia seeing marble blast gold again, that was the first game that I did a complete play through of.

“So there’s a recent space ball game and its aesthetics are awesome” YES! FINALLY WE’RE ALMOST AT THE END AND I’M NOT SAD! “And the main character’s wife is dead” GODDAMNIT!

My family had marble Blast Ultra on olur Xbox 360. It was actually quite fun. My very young brother ADORED that game and called it "The Ball Game"

Here's something I got from an ai a while ago when I asked an ai to give a essay on bacon from a philosophical perspective, and then replaced bacon with the word "balls" I challenge you to read it out loud with a straight face Balls is often thought of as a simple food, something that is enjoyed for its taste and texture. However, if we consider balls from a philosophical perspective, it can actually raise some interesting questions. One possible philosophical angle to consider is the concept of pleasure and indulgence. Balls is often seen as a indulgent food, something that is enjoyed as a treat rather than a part of a regular diet. This raises the question of whether pleasure is a valid or even desirable goal in life. Do we seek pleasure for its own sake, or is there a deeper purpose to our pursuit of happiness? Another philosophical angle to consider is the idea of cultural values and norms. Balls is a food that is particularly associated with Western culture, and its popularity has spread to other parts of the world as well. This raises the question of whether our cultural values and norms shape our preferences and desires, and whether these values and norms are universal or culturally specific. Finally, balls can also be seen as a symbol of abundance and excess. In many parts of the world, balls is seen as a luxury food that is associated with wealth and privilege. This raises the question of whether our pursuit of abundance and excess is a positive or negative trait, and whether there is such a thing as having too much of a good thing.

Since you liked Exo One so much, I highly(!) recommend Thumper to you (and anyone else). It really redefines what a rhythm game can be and is such a unique and memorable experience!

It’s poetic that exo one is about balls considering it shows that men are willing to do anything, even go through a black hole, when their balls are motivating them

I love how the aliens came just for a ball lmao, I have two for free

( 0:08 ) "Let's talk about balls." *[ Insert vine boom effect here ]*

I didn’t know I needed to finally see someone recognize marble blast gold after decades of telling my friends how iconic it is lol, thank you

Oh... my gosh. Ballance. Ball-ance. BALL ance. It's been like 15 years and ballance has been my favourite ever piece of childhood nostalgia and I always just thought it was a spelling error lmaoooo

I loved Marble Blast Ultra. I actually got my time on one of its levels down to 3 seconds and change by brute force speed jumping across like 99% of the mapand aiming at spot that looks like its just the void, but actually was the end zone. Good times

The dark and depressing videos are definitely why I watch this channel

Ball rolling games go back much further than 2001! Kirby Tilt-n-Tumble and weird virtual pinball games like Odama are the shoulders that Super Monkey Ball stands on. And how did you not even mention the OG: MARBLE MADNESS?

I still, to this days, adore playing ball games, I strive on them, and while I've played a ton more of them than what you talk about in this video, and while I agree that ball games used to be about juste showing of a 3D engine, weirdly enough, the ball game I consider to be the absolute best is NightSky. Which is 2D. But that doesn't matter, because what it tries to do isn't to show off, but to put you into an ambiance of relaxation and wonder. By giving you precise and unmovable rules about how it's system works and very different environement with a very few unique setpieces in each of them, the question you keep asking yourself is "where will I go next?" knowing it's always going to be peacefull, yet interesting and beautiful. This, to me, is the epitome of what the simplicity of a ball game can do.

I’m a ball inspector, and I have to say, the way you discussed this topic was very poignant and thought provoking. I’ve never seen balls from this angle before.

I think one of the most interesting things about this video is that to anyone who knows anything about marble games, it is very obvious what game you are building too but that doesn’t make the build up any less exciting or the reveal any less satisfying. Absolute banger video

I remember playing switchball as a kid, it was a super vague memory being just a demo on XBLA before I discovered it last year since it was remastered in like 2021 I think, and it plays exactly how I thought it did. i love the physics based elements of the game

I Think the game Series "Rock of ages" could habe been mentioned somewhere :) It is basically a ball game where you controll a giant rock and you goal is to destroy your opponents door at the end or the track by ramming it at high speed. The twist is that your opponent has the same goal and you both have the ability to construct defenses and weapons on the enemies track, which are able to slow the rocks down or even destroy them. Its a cool concept that made it into three games :) Strategy Ball Game

I love that, since you did research for the Marble Blast series, there's a decent chance you've been told to play the furry visual novel Echo

Balls are pretty cool glad he made a video on em

Didn't think this video would circle around to be focused a story. Ball games can have stories too!!! What a twist. That game looked beautiful. The first few games reminded me of that Zhu Zhu pets game. That game was a lot like Marble Blast Gold and Super Monkey Ball combined. There was a Zhu Zhu pet in the ball, the ball could break, or fall out like Super Monkey Ball, but the world was much like Marble Blast where it was colors and glowing textures occasionally. Really bring back a lot of memories.

They always forget Marble Madness! The original ball game! You even control the game with a ball!

Your vids are so incredible man. Just fantastic explorations of the feelings and experiences behind games as well as the ones they can give us beyond the surface level. They’re not depressing, they’re fascinating

I am angered by the lack of mention of hamster ball

Dang, I was hoping that you'd go far back enough to mention marble madness; I use to play it as a kid on my grandfather's apple computer, and was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw this video's title.

I would argue the game in this genre was marble madness for arcades and the nes in the late eighties

found your channel today and watched a ton of your stuff. i really enjoy what you do and especially your way of writing and pacing

thanks for your narration over the gameplay for Exo One. That spun me into a comfortable mood for the rest of the evening.

I just stumbled on your channel an hour ago. And while your description had some to ask for, you seem to blend games with philosophy! Also an interest of mine. Rock on man!

I just played Exo One in the past week. It’s a short game, about 2 hours, but god it was so amazing for me, someone who grew up with these type of ball games. Thank you so much for talking about it ❤

Somehow youtube unsubscribed me from this channel. I thought, goodness, this video is something odd to come back to. And then you started talking about Exo One. This is an amazing video

I was a little sad you didn't have a segment for Marble It Up. I think its visual style, fun music, and awesome level design are all enough to make it stand out as something more than a nostalgia trip where "the magic just isn't there anymore". I'm glad you introduced me to Exo One because that looks pretty awesome, but I think a storyless, silly platformer about a marble hopping around is a fantastic complement to games that offer in-depth worlds and deep stories.

Man, that was beautiful. Truly looking forward to this channel grow

you forgot wii balance challenge. the ball game where you play a journey through a cool world to find the golden sunflower for the ants

The Spongebob Movie game and Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom also had a Spongeball ability. The former had special stages that you had to complete with that ability forced on, while the latter incorporated into existing stages.

I remember yesterday night I discovered your channel and was watching your content which made me think about my own mortality and the absolutism of being forgotten and then the next day you come talking about balls

i've always had a special place in my heart for ball games like switchball and marble blast. thank you for bringing the beauty of these games to light

Marble Madness is one of my favorite original NES titles. Absolute classic.

Your channel growth is amazing. Keep up the good work

How. How does he make even a video about balls somehow a masterpeice?! Please, keep making videos, when I see them on my recommended it makes me smile, because I know that it's gonna be good

I just wanted to say, keep up the amazing work. I found your channel through the "Out of Bounds" video and was baffled how you could upload so frequently, without losing the quality. At first i was like "most of these videos can't have the same quality level", but they did! You put in the work, and it shows. I could also tell you are inspired by the likes of Jacob Geller and other video game essay creator. I really enjoy the darker and lighter videos you do!

Glyph is a really fun "marble" game I downloaded on my switch. The gimmick is that you get a boost by turning your marble into a scarab beetle when you need to hover a bit. It's a cool little indie game.

How tf does he make talking about balls sound like he is a philosopher? I love your videos man!

I am so glad that this video had Exo One in it. I loved my first play through endlessly and cried after I finished it because it was one of the first game in years that I genuinely just enjoyed playing by myself. My 2nd play through I decided to focus one the story and again cried at the end. Love the videos and can't wait for the next one(do something with Outer Wilds, genuinely one of the best games I have ever played)

The marble platform genre is my absolute favorite! Thank you for showing these games to me! I will definitely check em out now :D

As someone who often plays ball games on my channel and who has made a fangame combining 3 different ball games (marble blast gold + ballance + hamsterball), I very much enjoyed this video!

Best channel I've found this year by a long shot. Amazing stuff!

I really like it when you talk about these somber and meaningful themes. You also make really good videos, that will have me invested until I watched them all

Your videos have this insane quality that we REALLY needed on RU-vid, thank you for filling the gap and making us all appreciate the work you put into your ideas.

I'm surprised to hear no mention of Kula World (Roll Away in North America), and its spiritual successor, Cubosphere. I have sank so many hours into Cubosphere, it's soooooo good (also it's free).

Paperball came out in 2020 and has a lot of the charm of the older ball games, especially Super Monkey Ball. It's not as arcade-y but it does share a lot of the challenge nonetheless. It also has to be said, your mention of Twilight Princess should have included a mention of the Rollgoal minigame, presented as an in-universe handheld marble game that Link has to tilt to roll a marble around until he get into a goal at the end. It was an interesting little bit of early physics simulation in the 3D Zelda era, but felt more like an experiment than a fully formed idea.

This comment is probably a bit late. However, a good ball game I would of liked to see in the video is Spin-Off (IncaGold Ltd., 2004) a PC game that was my childhood. I have no idea where it came from just vast memories of playing it on a laptop with a track pad. Empty levels, a timer with no time limit, and the continuous music playing in the background. I think the company went bust. Maybe some interesting history with the owner and company. No. 1 games at the time produced by the company but Spin-Off went under the radar. Though I played it. I enjoyed it.

This has nothing to do with the video, I just appreciate that you put Ico in the video

Absolutely beautiful video (as always)! I'm so glad that I stumbled upon your channel :) Looking forward to the next one!

In all honesty, I was starting to tear up at the end... and then you gave me emotional whiplash xD

Balls are my favourite pastime, I love monkey balls, soccer balls, footballs, golf balls. I even sometimes like dribbling and fondling balls.

I don't know if that many people played it but when I was younger I was obsessed with Hamsterball. Me and my friend would go over to each others houses to play the multiplayer races on each others family PCs. I managed to download a copy a couple years back and replayed it and was hit by nostalgia seeing those funky colored sets, I think it's still my favorite game in this genre

Who gave him a degree in balls

i had a feeling ballance would be here, thank you for reminding me about it right before actually seeing it in the timestamps lmao.

For a content space as saturated as that of RU-vid gaming, your videos are a breath of fresh air. So many unique, deep, and nuanced analyses. Keep up the good work!

Average Marble Blast Gold enjoyer here, Great video! Most of my gaming experience is with ball games lol. Been playing Marble Blast since 2007 and constantly play it as of today.

The fact youre able to make a video about balls a poetic experience is nothing whort of amazing. Keep up the great work.

Just binged all your videos. Great job man

clicked on this vid expecting marble blast, and u delivered! both marble blast games were MY JAM as a kid lmfaoo. love to see a video talk about them, even if theres a lot of negative criticism.

Nice video, but a big omission was Rock of Ages 1 & 2. Both games had really solid gameplay which understood the appeal of rolling something heavy downhill. They also had some of the best humour I've experienced in a video game

Man just found your page recently, I'm really hoping for more videos like this. Next we need the cylinder shaped games or square shaped. Keep up the awesome work!!

Can't talk about ball games without mentioning Kororinpa.

Marble Blast Ball's ball has always has such a deeply pleasing aesrhetic to me. Like i expect it to have the texture of play dough. And I have no idea why. I guess because it looks like the result of the left overs of play dough that have fallen off and you make a small ball out of what you pick up

the fact that you can make a video that's this emotional about balls, is frankly impressive

I like how this is the first video that you uploaded after I subscribed to you. You don't disappoint because I like games about balls. Balance was my childhood.

Love ur videos man

It's really funny seeing this after Patricia Paxxton's video on the Marble Blast series! What an interesting different perspective