HomeReviews2.5/5 ReviewIndoor Kickball Review

Indoor Kickball Review

-

Ahh, memories. When you were young did you ever get up to mischief that you knew your parents wouldn’t approve of? I remember ruining my poor Mum’s wok by using it as a makeshift Beyblade arena (look it up kids). Good times. Well, Indoor Kickball falls into a similar “don’t try this at home” category. 

That’s right, Indoor Kickball sets two kids against each other where one pitches an inflatable ball, and the other kicks it as hard as they can whilst trying to leg it around the room. It’s basically baseball, in the house, but without the bat. What could possibly go wrong?

indoor kickball review 1
It’s time for some Indoor Kickball

Well, right from the off I got a bit of a shock. Once I clicked through the menu screen, the volume dialled itself up considerably for some reason, and nearly deafened me. I also noticed that despite four kids battling it out on the title screen and the Xbox Store page proudly boasting of 2v2 play, Indoor Kickball is 1v1 only. Not the best start then.

Each match sees the players take turns pitching and kicking across up to five innings. It’s a simple button press to chuck the ball, and it’s the same deal for the kicker. Both players have a limited influence on where to place the ball, because aiming in Indoor Kickball is horribly inaccurate. It feels like the ball could go anywhere. 

There are several ways for the pitcher to take their opponent out, such as whacking them with the ball, beating them to the base or even by tagging a roaming ghost (for some reason). However, it’s best to run to and tag someone out rather than attempting to chuck the ball at them. For the kicker, just whack it and run. That’s the best technique here.

The ball bounces around an awful lot, but once it hits the floor the yellow border around it will vanish. This means you can no longer catch someone out. It can roll around on shelves and the like but until it touches the floor, it counts as a catch.

indoor kickball review 2
Where in the house will you play?

There are various rooms to play in, but the smaller ones are less enjoyable because it’s very easy to be caught out by your opponent (it doesn’t help that catching happens automatically when you’re near the ball). Smashing up the place is always fun though, and you’ll score home runs if you land the ball in specific places (such as through a window or in the toilet bowl).

As I played I found myself losing by lesser margins, but actually unable to win a match. Maybe I was just rubbish, but the CPU was very good at catching me out. Thankfully there are difficulty options in the settings, so you better believe I shifted things down to easy. Only then did I start to chalk up some victories.

You can play Indoor Kickball solo, or locally against a friend. Quick play throws you into a single match, or you can head into the season mode which is just a string of 1v1 matches Vs the CPU. Each competitor ranks on a leaderboard which tracks their wins and losses, but otherwise that’s it.

Sadly, this does nothing to help combat the sheer monotony of Indoor Kickball. Apart from running around, jumping and pulling off some stylish sliding there’s not much else to it. As a result, it’s a case of rinse and repeat with no real sense of achievement as you rack the matches up. Even the music which plays in the background to each match is on a loop, seemingly only lasting around ten seconds at best.

The upside of season mode is that you’ll unlock new stuff as you play (even if you lose horribly). New accessories, rooms to play in and more rewards slowly trickle in after matches. Unlocks can be tracked in the stats menu, which will also tell you how to acquire the next one.

indoor kickball review 3
It all feels pretty basic

My other issue with Indoor Kickball is that it looks very basic. The character models are pretty bland too, which given that customisation is an option (although pretty limited) feels like a missed opportunity. What’s also poor is the fact that your opponents are randomly generated but can still look identical to you, just with a different name.

The achievements in Indoor Kickball come thick and fast, and you’ll even pick up Gamerscore if the CPU does the work for you. Very generous indeed. Less generous is the price tag, because Indoor Kickball on Xbox will set you back £12.49, which given how simple and repetitive the gameplay is, feels steep even at this price.

Indoor Kickball provides some brief amusement, but the gimmick soon wears off, all thanks to the underwhelming execution. 

SUMMARY

Pros:
  • Easy Gamerscore to be had
  • Smashing stuff is fun
Cons:
  • Lacks variety
  • Inaccurate controls
  • Bland visuals
Info:
  • Massive thanks for the free copy of the game, Snow Day Software
  • Formats - Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One (review), PS4, PS5, Switch
  • Release date and price - 29 September 2023 | £12.49
Darren Edwards
Darren Edwards
I have been playing games since a very early age, thanks to my Dad's encouragement. I've been an Xbox gamer since the very beginning, the Master Chief is to thank for that. I'm also a big Nintendo geek, and my other half is a PlayStation nut. I'll play pretty much anything in any genre (although FIFA and COD maybe pushing it).
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Follow Us On Socials

22,000FansLike
1,527FollowersFollow
4,860FollowersFollow
5,794SubscribersSubscribe

Our current writing team

2797 POSTS23 COMMENTS
1483 POSTS2 COMMENTS
1243 POSTS18 COMMENTS
962 POSTS46 COMMENTS
855 POSTS0 COMMENTS
379 POSTS2 COMMENTS
113 POSTS0 COMMENTS
81 POSTS0 COMMENTS
78 POSTS0 COMMENTS
75 POSTS4 COMMENTS
24 POSTS0 COMMENTS
20 POSTS7 COMMENTS
12 POSTS10 COMMENTS
7 POSTS0 COMMENTS
6 POSTS0 COMMENTS
1 POSTS0 COMMENTS
1 POSTS0 COMMENTS

Join the chat

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you

<b>Pros:</b> <ul> <li>Easy Gamerscore to be had</li> <li>Smashing stuff is fun</li> </ul> <b>Cons:</b> <ul> <li>Lacks variety</li> <li>Inaccurate controls</li> <li>Bland visuals</li> </ul> <b>Info:</b> <ul> <li>Massive thanks for the free copy of the game, Snow Day Software</li> <li>Formats - Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One (review), PS4, PS5, Switch <li>Release date and price - 29 September 2023 | £12.49</li> </ul>Indoor Kickball Review
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x