Professor Goodboi's Ballistics Review

Game: Professor Goodboi’s Ballistics
Genre: Point-and-Click, Adventure
System: Steam (Windows)
Developer|Publisher: PoRtCuLLiS Enterprises
Controller Support: Full
Price: UK £4.99 | US $5.99 | EU € 5,89
Release Date: January 26th, 2024

Review code provided with many thanks to PoRtCuLLiS Enterprises.

Professor Goodboi’s Ballistics is a little puzzle game from PoRtCuLLiS Enterprises. It’s a game where you need to edit and influence a maze to get a ball from one side of the puzzle to the other without losing momentum.

The Gameplay of Professor Goodboi’s Ballistics

Professor Goodboi’s Ballistics is a physics-based puzzle game about taking a ball from the beginning of a puzzle to the end without influencing anything once the ball is rolling. So you need to set up the whole thing beforehand. It feels a little bit Humanity and a little bit Kororinpa Marble Madness. It can make for some incredibly challenging and strange little puzzles, and it’s pretty different from anything else I’ve played.

Time to bounce.

At the beginning of each level, you click on the vending machine to give you all the pieces you get to work with while trying to solve the puzzle. Sometimes, you get things like pads that speed things up or freezable paint. Either way, you have a limited number of objects to help you but an unlimited number of tries to get it right. Each world contains a variety of stages, and you need to get the ball through all of them to help save the world from invading soccer balls.

In the image, a screenshot from the game "Professor Goodbois Ballistics" is displayed, showcasing a level's layout with instructions on how to play. The main objective, stated on the left, is to guide the ball into the exit pipe. To the right, the "How to Play" section explains that players need to collect tools from a vending machine, move the tools with the cursor, press a button to release the ball, and another button to try again if necessary. The background features a stylized cartoon cityscape with buildings, a bridge, and a clear sky. A vending machine with a "Mmmm" sign is visible on the bottom left, contributing to the game's whimsical aesthetic. Published on: LadiesGamers. — Guide the ball to the exit.

The Overall Look and Feel of Professor Goodboi’s Ballistics

This game is designed to be both challenging and a little goofy. It has a strange sense of humor, making fun of Raid: Shadow Legends sponsorships and never taking itself too seriously. Its cartoony graphics are also nice to look at and read, as well as puzzles, making it pretty obvious what is interactable and what is just decoration.

It did trip me up a little bit when the world levels switched over from using the vending machine to give me the objects I needed to the refrigerator in the second world; if the objects you are getting your necessary items from changes, it would have been nice to have a heads up first. Why would you keep spray paint in a fridge anyway?

This image depicts a level from Professor Goodbois Ballistics, characterized by a winter urban environment with snow-covered ground and buildings. The visual elements include a whimsical robotic vending machine on the left, sporting a king's crown, and a large fridge-like block on the right. Between them, two large red planks are balanced in a seesaw arrangement with a green ball at the fulcrum, poised for action. Graffiti adorns the walls in the background, and an industrial skyline can be seen in the distance under a light blue sky with drifting clouds. The overall scene suggests a puzzle that the player must solve to progress in the game. Published on: LadiesGamers. — Where is my stuff?

The Pros and Cons of Professor Goodboi’s Ballistics

The visuals of Professor Goodboi’s Ballistics are nice and clean, the game runs well, and all the puzzles that I played seem to be solvable. Everything about it shows a lot of thought went into each puzzle, and a lot of testing went to make sure each one worked.

That being said, I did have a few issues with the puzzles; my biggest pet peeve is that I couldn’t see how the ball would react with anything as I put it down. I had just to set down objects and then hit the go button instead of the objects, giving me a projected reaction to the ball. I’m not sure how something like this would be implemented, but I was just a little put off by the placement guessing and resetting over and over.

This image is a colorful screenshot from Professor Goodbois Ballistics, featuring a playful puzzle level with a cartoonish cityscape backdrop. A prominent winding track in green occupies the majority of the screen, with speed boost arrows indicating the path for the ball to travel. The track loops around and passes through a series of mechanical gates. A large pink arrow points to an X on the track, possibly indicating an objective or target area. In the top left corner, there is a tip bubble advising, "You can grab those Speed Boosts!" A vending machine with the label "Mmmm" is illustrated on the bottom right, consistent with the game's charming art style. Published on: LadiesGamers. — Speeeeedy.

Also, it feels like something is missing from Professor Goodboi’s Ballistics. I am usually much better about pinning down what I like and don’t like about a game, especially a puzzle game, but the reasons for my disinterest in Professor Goodboi’s Ballistics eludes me. There is just something about it that makes the shine wear off very quickly, making me not want to continue to play past the second world.

Conclusion

I don’t think I can properly evaluate whether or not Professor Goodboi’s Ballistics as I bounced right off of it (pun intended), and I can’t give you a great reason for why. It’s cute, it’s polished, it doesn’t crash or do anything weird. The puzzles are different and challenging, but I’m still not convinced. With such a low price, though, you should try it for yourself if you dig these kinds of games.

Final Verdict: I’m Not Sure.