Pinball Storm: Lokanta Preview

 I got the chance to check out Pinball Storm: Lokanta. Developed by Aastral Dynamics and currently on Steam Early Access, this game looks to combine the bullet heaven roguelike with… pinball. You know, I’ve played tons of games like this by this point, involving surviving waves upon waves of enemies that get ridiculously more numerous the more time goes on, killing them with increasingly crazier weapons, but this is a pretty unique twist.

You play as Jory, a boy who is investigating a legend in the ultra-capitalist city of Lonkata about the Six Lights and a Chosen One. After running into the mythical creature Ting, Jory sets out to find the clues left behind and discover the secrets of Lonkata… while dealing with hundreds of thousands of enemies who want nothing more than to stop him.

Your main weapon is a marble, which will bounce off of enemies and the environment and can be upgraded to have additional effects when you level up such as spawning multiple balls, healing as long as a marble exists, or causing explosions with each bounce. It has to be aimed and shot manually and it will only last for as long as it is on the screen. It’s rather tricky to use at the start, needing specific areas and angles to rack up kills. Because of this, it feels like it takes more time than usual to gather enough steam to feel powerful, but once you do, it’s quite enjoyable. With the right upgrades and a cheeky spot to camp in, the game can essentially play itself while you occasionally click your mouse.

Between your runs, you can relax at the bar to talk to NPCs, upgrade your character and marbles, and take a chance on the Prize Gacha Machine for passive items. Every level provides coins and Measureless Tickets (either from bonus challenges or enemy drops) no matter if you win or fail, so you always have something to spend when you visit.

Pinball Storm: Lokanta is shaping up to be a rather cool and quirky take on the Survivors-like genre. Even in this fairly early state, I can definitely find myself spending quite a lot of time playing… even if it’s just at the gacha machine, hoping for a legendary item. I look forward to further developments.