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- Humble Games
- Humble Games
- Humble Games
- Humble Games
Dodgeball Academia
Released On: Aug 5, 2021
77
8.2
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
77
60% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
40% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
77
60% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
40% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
With engaging dodgeball gameplay and enthralling RPG elements, Dodgeball Academia is one of the best games of the year so far.
For the most part, though, Dodgeball Academia is an unbridled joy with a lovely cast of wholesome characters, even though the narrative isn’t always that fresh. If it was merely fun and silly writing alone, I’d still thoroughly enjoy my time with it because it reminds me fondly of excitedly waking up on a Saturday to watch daft cartoons and play video games—back to simpler times. The fact that the act of playing dodgeball is also fantastic is a warmly welcomed bonus.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 53 User Ratings
8.2
75% Positive
40 Ratings
40 Ratings
11% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
13% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 53 User Ratings
8.2
75% Positive
40 Ratings
40 Ratings
11% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
13% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
Dodgeball Academia is some of the purest fun you can have. The quirky visual style meshes perfectly with the absurd action and will always result in a huge smile on your face. If you’re looking for something to just brighten your day, and you also happen to be into dodgeball, then this may well be the perfect game for you.
Fun, entertaining, with a good sport-rpg mix, Dodgeball Academia makes a step in the right direction, giving developer Pocket Trap a good game to be proud of.
Dodgeball Academia is simply lovely with all the little touches it puts forth to celebrate both RPGs and the sport of dodgeball. Many clever mechanics make the marriage between the two a natural fit in this game. Some unsatisfying character progression, late-game repetitive battles, and a needlessly prolonged final stretch do set it back, but I think it is still a solid attempt at such a novel concept.
Dodgeball Academia provides a huge amount of fun with it's easy to learn, difficult to master gameplay, and Saturday morning cartoon vibes. Throwing together a roster of excellent characters with fourth wall-breaking writing and some great story beats, Dodgeball Academia honestly shines far brighter than we ever expected. This is the best thing to happen to dodgeball since that Ben Stiller movie, although how much of a compliment this is is up for debate.
Dodgeball Academia has all the potential to be an epic, superpowered sports RPG. The dodgeball battles are lively and fun, but the story never reaches the fantastical heights it alludes to at the beginning of the game. It's enjoyable but not one for the record books.
Esse game é muito show de bola (entendeu o trocadilho?) muito divertido, acompanhei a gameplay em livestreams e fiquei com vontade de comprar eu mesmo, jogabilidade e história muito divertidas, contém referências a vários elementos da cultura pop e memes brasileiros; mal posso esperar por uma continuação. Parabéns ao estúdio, muitas budegas e tingueras pra vocês!
Report
PC
I like Dodgeball Academia. I really do. But I wish I could say I love it. It has so much going for it, yet I somehow feel somewhat empty playing it.
I feel like I'm staring into the abyss, and as the void stares back at me it screeches: "Terry, why do you keep doing this to yourself? Why do you keep nitpicking and slamming everything you watch and play? Can't you just enjoy yourself for once?".
And I always wonder: "Who's Terry?"
DA is wacky through and through, and that's great. Character designs are amazing, both in their aesthetics and characterization. The animation is some of the best I've seen in any video game, ever. Characters twitch and sway with tons of personality, and even though characters aren't super deep, they're all memorable and I never felt indifferent to any of them. Otto should be bland and boring, but he manages to stay entertaining and likable. While not straying all that far from the traditional anime main character, he still feels unique. I liked (or enjoyed disliking) every character in the game. It's great.
I do like the overall gameplay, though controlling a 3-person team with no AI is a bit of a pain. Certain characters can catch balls and some counter them, and because the timing and how to approach the game can vary wildly between these two moves, it makes team management a bit of a pain. Countering isn't all that useful against the CPU, though it probably works great against human opponents. It's honestly a bit frustrating facing an enemy that counters, and as far as I know it's impossible to tell if said enemy can counter until it does. I'm expecting enemies to catch, which they do 90% of the time, so the 10% of the time they counter it's a huge shock and basically a guaranteed hit.
The main overworld theme kinda grates, but other tracks are pretty good.
I wish there was a fast travel mode, I get it doesn't always work with the story, but sometimes it's just kinda boring walking from one end of the map to the other. A lot of main quest stuff involves walking to some spot, doing a few battles, walking back to a different spot, doing a few battles, rinse and repeat. So much of the main quest hinges around walking through the main area that it gets dull quickly. As much as I like the characters, the story doesn't do much with them. I mean, I like Otto and company, but there's no real development, the stakes are very low, there aren't any moral dilemmas, I just wish there was a bit more to it. And the last chapter happens, and the stakes are a bit higher, and we have some decent conflict, and I was really into it. And I wanted it to keep going, but it just ended.
I can imagine this being a lot of fun to play with friends, 3v3 would probably be an amazing time, but I just don't have that many friends anymore.
I feel like a few quality of life improvements could be made. There is no dedicated map button, which seems odd, especially considering the select/back button does nothing. There are so many types of items that they become a pain manage. Healing items are not that useful because the infirmary is free and practically always accessible.
Also, the game gets a bit choppy in the main area. I've got a 6600 XT, it's not that starchy, it should run better than this.
Can I recommend Dodgeball Academia? I dunno. It's pretty, funny, charming, and fun, but it also feels a bit empty for a large portion of the main quest.
Report
PC
I understand I'm the minority here, but this game was hard for me to get into. I played 5 hours so I gave it a fair shot... but I can't play it any longer.
The story is a big pain point. It's extremely over-the-top with sounds and text effects on nearly every line. Some have said it's charming, but I've found it childish and ran out of patience waiting for it to improve around the 3-hour mark. The gameplay offers a small respite from the drudge of the story, allowing you to have a bit of fun nailing rivals with dodgeballs. The system of having your followers just simply follow you around while you are on the dodgeball field is a bit lame. It would've been much more interesting to have your followers act in a different manner. I normally finish games I pick up; not this one.
Report
PC
Summary In a world where dodgeball is life, you join Otto at the academy and train to become the ultimate dodgeball champion. Across eight episodes, you’ll forge friendships and create rivals, all in the name of developing the best dodgeball team. Level up Otto and develop a dynamic team across a vast and customizable party progression system. A...
Platforms:
- PC
- PlayStation 4
- Nintendo Switch
- Xbox One
- Xbox Series X
Initial Release Date: Aug 5, 2021
Developer:
- Pocket Trap
Publisher: Humble Games
Genres:
