Dudelings: Arcade Sportsball

The elevator pitch for Dudelings is "what if Pong, but foosball?"

Along the bottom of the playfield are a series of neutral characters (let's call them "Dudelings"). Players cycle through these Dudelings during gameplay, controlling one at a time. Dudelings under player control can jump, dash, and punch their way to victory. Use your Dudeling minion to control the ball, defend your goal, and go on the offensive!

Multiple types, in fact. Whack 'em, sack 'em; the choice is yours. There's the normal ball, the bowling ball, the beach ball, and even a balloon. Each adds its own unique spin to the gameplay. The goal is simple: get the ball into the... well... goal.

When a player's Dudeling touches the ball, it turns their color allowing them to score in their opponent's goal (none of that own-goal stuff).

When the ball hits a pickup, it's sure to liven up the arena! Pickups can spawn in extra balls, warp the physics, and even change the ball type. Keep your eyes peeled as these power-up tokens can cause an upset.

Dudelings offers multiple game modes to liven up the sportsball experience. Choose from:

• "Classic" mode where each team has a goal they must defend
  
• "Basket" mode where both teams compete to get the ball in one goal
  
• "Volley" mode where each team controls their side of the net

Taking cues from the games that inspired us as kids, Dudelings is a local multiplayer-optimized experience. You won't find any of the online-only DRM-laden shenanigans that AAA publishers foist on the gaming public. Nah dude. Two players. One TV. Head-to-head. On the sofa. Within punching distance of your opponent.

No lag, no ping, and no host getting an advantage...

...with that said if you want to play with someone online, you can. This game was designed to accommodate Remote Play Together. It's pretty great and (best of all) it works. But we still prefer local multiplayer.

Not that fake GPT AI crap, either. Nah. This is the genuine article*. The kind you can compete against and that doesn't lie to you.

To complement this handsome package, Dudelings features an original soundtrack created by veteran psychedelic rock/jazz group "The Brothers Nylon."

Dudelings: Arcade Sportsball is one of those rare, genre-defining titles that spawns many imitators, but has yet to be bested. The genre? The "Sportslike." Pit your Dudelings against each other in a frenetic battle for massive points in a way that vaguely resembles a real-world sport where you touch grass and stuff.

Dudelings: Arcade Sportsball delivers that fast, arcade sportslike action you crave.

*Genuine article: what AI used to mean. Back when the terms "AI" and "CPU" were interchangeable.