Beastieball Steam Charts & Stats

So many QoL features that enable you to just play the game. I can't wait to keep following their progress, this is amazing for early access. It's like they want you to only have fun when you play.

The game is really good. It's a mix of Pokemon, volleyball, and even Paper Mario. Works great on the Steam Deck too.

Words cannot even describe how [b]GOOD[/b] this game is. If you're into heavy strategy turn-based RPGs, this is the game for you. I have never in my life (maybe outside the Megami Tensei series) have needed to strategize this much before huge fights and devise what moveset my team needs in order to beat the other team. Note: [b]YOU CANNOT go through this game breezing past with little to no thinking. This game truly makes you strategize and put in your logic skills to truly test if you're a true Beastieballer.[/b] [spoiler]the gameplay is rarely ever like pokémon where you could just mash the A button, outside of lower level enemies.[/spoiler] I will not mention the story, since honestly, you should play the game for yourself in order to experience it entirely blind, because HOOOOLY crap, it might not be the best but it is damn funny when it can be. The music is solid too, done by the infamous Lena Raine, and man there's so many tracks that you can't get out of your head. Writing this review makes me so excited because this game is truly wonderful, unlike anything I ever played before. It feels like a true creature collector that WANTS to be rightly competitive. Online isn't too big right now, but trust me, play this game to get a feel and wait until the true online update this game deserves and this will be one of the most fun competitive strategy games on the market.

I’m a long-time fan of the monster-taming genre, with roots in Pokémon, Dragon Quest Monsters, and enjoying more recent entries like Palworld. While each of those titles approaches the genre with its own tone and mechanics, they all revolve around one core appeal: discovering, training, and battling alongside strange and wonderful creatures. With that in mind, Beastieball immediately intrigued me with its bold pitch—what if monsters played volleyball? I'm not into sports. At all. However, what I found wasn’t just a gimmick—it was a legitimately compelling, clever, and surprisingly strategic experience that stands on its own merits. [h2]Positives [+][/h2] [h3]+ Easy to Pick Up, Difficult to Master[/h3] Beastieball’s approachable design welcomes new players, but beneath the surface lies a remarkably deep tactical system. From team composition to positioning, turn order, and even relationship dynamics, every decision can make or break a play. [h3]+ Complex Team Growth & Relationship Webbing[/h3] What sets Beastieball apart is how deeply it ties emotional bonds into gameplay. Beasties form various relationship types—Besties, Partners, Rivals, and Sweethearts—each unlocking unique combo abilities that drastically alter your approach to matches. [h3]+ Nontraditional Recruitment Mechanics[/h3] Taming isn’t just about weakening and capturing. Each metamorph line has distinct acquisition methods—sometimes requiring healing, stat boosting, or trait manipulation mid-combat. It’s creative and forces players to learn and experiment. [h3]+ Almost Universal Competitive Relevance[/h3] Nearly every Beastie feels viable in some strategic context. This level of balance is rare, and it makes experimenting with different teams genuinely exciting rather than a meta-chasing chore. [h3]+ Creative, Appealing Creature Designs[/h3] While not all beasties are fully implemented at the time of writing, the ones that are at least mostly done showcase strong visual identity, diverse palettes, and a consistent art style. They’re expressive, colorful, and charming. [h3]+ Memorable Characters[/h3] While some of the cast may lack narrative depth, the personalities that shine really do stick. Coaches and rivals are distinct, often quirky, and add a nice layer of personality to the world. Almost every NPC has multiple unique (but exhaustive) lines of dialogue you can experience by interacting with them over and over again. [h3]+ Unique Background NPC Sprites[/h3] One of the more subtle but impressive touches: every background character appears visually distinct. I don't believe I saw a single individual that was reused as a different person somewhere else. Each one feels intentionally designed and wholly their own person. [h3]+ April Fools Surprise[/h3] Very funny. Still accessible through a different branch. [h3]+ Invasion Mechanics[/h3] Away teams from other players will occasionally appear in your world, offering optional challenges, money rewards, and—perhaps most valuably—inspiration for new team builds. [h3]+ Accessibility and Speedrun Support[/h3] Beastieball includes robust accessibility features and caters to speedrunners with thoughtful options that streamline repeat playthroughs or challenge runs. [h3]+ Engaging Endgame Options[/h3] The rogue-like challenge mode adds meaningful replayability and forces players to think differently with every run. It’s a welcome change of pace that complements the main game well. [h3]+ Raremorph (Shiny) Hunting[/h3] For collectors, raremorphs provide long-term goals post-game. It’s a simple addition, but one that adds another layer for players who enjoy the hunt. [h2]Neutral [±][/h2] [h3]± Weak, but Consistent Story[/h3] Narratively, Beastieball doesn’t aim for epic heights—but it hits its modest goals. The story is paced well, gets out of the way when needed, and serves as a functional backdrop to the gameplay. It’s not a highlight, but it doesn’t drag the experience down either. [h2]Negatives [-][/h2] [h3]- Brutal Experience Curve[/h3] Leveling new Beasties is a painful slog. Despite tutorial suggestions that level gaps aren't a problem, the reality is far harsher. You’ll often need your team within 5 levels of the next coach, which makes team swapping discouragingly time-consuming. [h3]- Early-Game Money Grind[/h3] Resources are scarce in the early hours, and upgrading your team—or even just sustaining it—feels punishing. This discourages casual experimentation and feeds directly into the difficulty of raising new Beasties. [h3]- Team Optimization Bottlenecks[/h3] While competitive depth exists, reaching it naturally is a chore. Key training items are locked behind a currency earned primarily through late-game content like the rogue-like mode or “Battle Tower” equivalent, limiting accessibility for more casual players. [h3]- Relationship Dynamics Can Backfire[/h3] While relationship-driven interactions are one of the game’s more unique features, they sometimes trigger unique moments mid-battle. These moments can backfire, disrupting your plays or causing outright losses. Whether this carries over into ranked competition or not, I'm not sure as I have yet at the time of writing to experience it, However, it happened enough in the story to be a real point of frustration. [h2] Conclusion [/h2] Beastieball is a breath of fresh air in the monster-tamer genre—not because it reinvents the formula, but because it confidently fuses it with something unexpected and makes it work. Its volleyball-based combat isn’t just a novelty; it’s a robust, turn-based puzzle of positioning, synergy, and timing. The relationship system adds flavor and depth, and the world is brimming with personality even at this early stage of development. Yes, the progression systems could use smoothing, and yes, there are balancing quirks—but the heart is there, and it’s beating strong. Whether you’re in it for competition, completion, or just collecting cool Beasties, Beastieball delivers. I hope there is even more to offer from this series in the future.

Just beat the main story and I'm already tempted to give it another run This game manages to escape the standard 6v6 type-matchup formula Pokemon had set for creature collectors, and also has music from Lena Raine (y'know, the one responsible for Minecraft and Celeste's OST) I can confidently say this is the most refreshing the creature genre has been since I was playing on my DS.

The single best indie creature collector I've played, in every way. The best monsters, the best battle system, the best presentation, the best writing. And I want to emphasize that last one: the writing is so much better than I ever would've expected. It's a wonderful game.

Disclaimer: Google your starter choice before picking, one of their evolutionary lines has been divisive. This game reminded me that creature collecting games and turn based strategy can be new and exciting, and that I actually still love them. The gameplay is deliberate and there is no wasted space. Every battle is immaculately paced since HP is uniform so tanks can't bully you for too long. The balancing keeps things interesting. Your full team will see in use in gym battles unless you drastically over level. FIghting trainer and gym battles underleveled is not only possible but incredibly satisfying with the right setup. But they didn't just stop at the gameplay, everything in this game is brimming with personality and love. Every beastie design I've come across is so endlessly charming, and despite a few missing animations the team is working to add, they all have personality. The vibes system (natures) actually changes how they emote to things, in albeit small ways. Music is on point and energetic, or funny when it needs to be. Story has been actually somewhat interesting. Dialogue is all great. QOL is next level, every nuisance you can think of from pokemon is likely gone and they still make QOL changes in their updates. And there is a built in randomizer for endless fun.

Genuinely got sucked into this so fast. Meant to just play the demo, oh no... i slipped and my card info fell into the steam checkout page... twice.. (i gifted it to a friend too). I genuinely ha a 5 hour long lucid dream last night about playing it hahah

Pokémon + Volleyball seemed like a strange mix which of course I had to try. But I didn't expect that it could be this good. This game actually does many things better than Pokémon, specially in terms of quality of life stuff. Practically all the beasties are viable so you can try endless combinations and teams matching your style. The battle system is great and actually makes you think; you can't just win spamming a super effective move like in most battles of any Pokémon game. You need to think about every step. Three moves per play seemed too little at first, but it really makes you value any action and, once you get the hang of it, each point scored feels really rewarding. You can also probably run this game on a toaster, so no excuses! Go try it already! Being on early access, still has some minor bugs and missing animations, but it's a fully enjoyable experience.

omg so many things. this game is so good. get the demo and buy the game!!! i've loved pokemon (and creature collectors) since I was a kid, but have often been disappointed by creature collectors that are trying to be pokemon, and fall short because they aren't. this one isn't like that at all. it very strongly feels like its own thing, despite probably drawing lots of inspiration from pokemon. the battle mechanics are totally unique and exciting, it has a funny and entertaining story that feels heartfelt and immersive (and also doesn't take itself too seriously), the creatures are fun and unique and have animations chock full of life and personality. built in to both the story and the mechanics is what feels like a deep love for sports-based stories from the developers. your individual beasties will develop friendships, partnerships, and rivalries and the kind of relationships they form impact beastie-combo moves they get while on the field together. there are built in multiplayer torunaments (I have not partipated in them but I can only assume the best) overall the game is lighthearted, super fun and unique with endless strategy, and strangely addicting even when no other game can keep my attention for more than an hour at the moment. get it!