Baseball Riot

Baseball Riot is a bright, colourful, physics puzzle game that will appeal to a wide audience with its simplistic gameplay, pick-up-and-play controls, and low price tag. It's very obvious similarities to Tennis in the Face prevent it from hitting a home run, but it comfortably makes it to third base. [If only we all had the same luck, eh? – Ed]

While Baseball Riot has a simple, quirky, challenging and meaty campaign, there is a real sense of deja vu. The art style and core mechanics are virtually the same as its prequel, and although it is aesthetically vivid and satisfying to beat a difficult stage or line up a perfect shot to obliterate a row of nasty foes, the grind you go through to beat it might deplete that addictive nature that puzzle games such as this strive for. All in all, the game ends up being a solid, but often frustrating and wholly unoriginal experience.

There is very little that sets Baseball Riot apart from other similar games that focus on quick, simple fun and as such, this won't be a game that will keep players around for very long.

This is a fun little puzzle game that's easy to pick up and easy to get addicted to.

There's no fun to be had in Baseball Riot, just monotony.

With over 100 levels, cartoony graphics, a low price tag, simple controls and humour to boot this is worth a few hours of your time but don't expect too much replayability above restarting the level over and over.

Baseball Riot is a simple, sometimes fun Angry Birds-inspired download that’s a neat enough distraction in short sessions but may lose its appeal when exposed to the player for too long. We’ve seen these kinds of games before and if you’re in the market for one on Switch then this certainly delivers just that.

Given that it's on the portable Nintendo Switch console though, I don't think that's a particularly bad thing at all - in fact, it's a good thing! At just a few quid, Baseball Riot may not be the most original game in the world, but it's enjoyable to pick up and play in short bursts when out and about, making for a neat addition to the Switch's library.

While this isn't a game that sets any new standards, it feels like a marked improvement over its predecessor, Tennis in the Face. With improved stage layouts, new collectable stars simplified yet more challenging gameplay and clearer goals, Baseball Riot is a satisfying follow-up. However, the art style, animations and sound effects have all been basically copied and pasted from the first game. If you played that game, then you will know almost exactly to expect in those regards. Much like with TITF, this game will appeal to people just looking for a small smartphone-type of game to pick up and play occasionally. It doesn't take long to beat the stages with the basic requirements, but if you are the type of player who tries to get the best rating possible on each stage, then there will be plenty for you here. While I felt like this game was an improvement over the original in terms of its gameplay, none of its other features were improved enough to affect the overall score. I'm going to give it the same rating with a very solid 7/10

If you’ve not played Tennis in the Face and this sounds like it could be fun for the most part the choice between the two would boil down to taste and theming preferences, they’re both fun and challenging, and most people wouldn’t likely notice many differences. That’s not to say they aren’t fun, they’re both great time-wasters when you’re just looking for a distraction for a little while. If you’ve generally enjoyed simple physics games on your mobile phone like Angry Bird and others it is certainly worth checking out.