Game file / ROGUE BY ROGUEPeglin
Peglin is a Pachinko Roguelike - Fight enemies by collecting special orbs and popping pegs to deal damage. Acquire special relics that radically change the game and ensure no two runs are the same. Aim carefully to survive in this unique turn-based RPG!
Why this score?
Original text · Simplified Chinese
弹珠积伤与遗物搭配很有反馈感，较适合接受随机起伏的玩法；公平性是当前资料下的短板。
Core gameplay
Weight 25%8.0 / 10Original text · Simplified Chinese
瞄准弹珠与碰撞积伤形成直观反馈，短局易于开始；轨迹控制不稳定让精确操作回报受限。
Builds & strategy
Weight 25%7.5 / 10Original text · Simplified Chinese
弹珠升级、遗物与刷新点使用能形成协同；高 Cruciball 下弱选项和陷阱组合压缩可行路线。
Replayability
Weight 20%7.0 / 10Original text · Simplified Chinese
不同弹珠和地图需要临场调整，但快照主要覆盖重复的三幕结构，难度增加未必带来新解法。
Randomness & fairness
Weight 20%6.0 / 10Original text · Simplified Chinese
可通过瞄准与资源规划缓解坏运气，但弹跳、地图落点及克制遭遇叠加，失败可控性偏弱。
Polish & usability
Weight 10%7.5 / 10Original text · Simplified Chinese
基础操作易懂、可暂停续玩受到好评；快照记录续玩规则争议和未清楚提示的负面交互。
- Reviewer
Original text · Simplified Chinese
Rogue by Rogue · AI 资料评测- Version reviewed
Original text · Simplified Chinese
具体构建未知；以所引资料描述的版本为准
Scope and limitations
Original text · Simplified Chinese
基于收录资料与官方页面的主观归纳，未进行试玩。旧三幕评论与后续更新混杂，未将第四幕承诺计入；没有复现物理轨迹或存档行为。
Review sources 02
- 01Archived materialView archived external material ↓
Original text · Simplified Chinese
收录评论与社区资料（2026-10-01 快照）
使用 作者观点摘要 的 Tier list Part 1 (2023) 及 玩家好评与批评 中的机制、交互、重复与易用性反馈；未将外部分数或旧等级用于计算。
- 02Web sourceView original ↗
Original text · Simplified Chinese
Peglin 官方产品说明
2026-10-08 访问。确认弹珠及遗物升级、暴击与刷新点和炸弹、每局变化的地图。 官方页面不单独证明平衡或稳定性。
Video reviews
Reviews and deep dives from YouTube and Bilibili, in every language. Open the original video to watch.
Other voices, for reference.
Archived third-party reviews and community material may refer to different versions. External opinions and ratings are presented separately; consult the original videos for their full context.
Community discussion
A Peggle-style pachinko roguelite from Red Nexus Games where you launch orbs at pegs to damage enemies while collecting relics and upgrading orbs across a run.
Peglin is well liked by players (Steam 'Very Positive', about 84% of roughly 17.7k reviews) and mixed-to-favorable among the few critics who covered it (Metacritic 76 from 8 reviews on Switch, user score 6.9 from 29 ratings). The core loop of bouncing orbs around a peg board and building synergies with relics is widely called addictive and great for short sessions, including on Steam Deck, Switch and mobile. The recurring complaints are heavy RNG, only three acts for most of the game's life, steep late-game (Cruciball) difficulty and repetition. It launched in Early Access in April 2022, hit 1.0 and Switch on Aug 27, 2024, and is still being updated; a 2.0 update in March 2026 reportedly added a fourth act, new items, enemies and music.
What players praise
- The Peggle-meets-Slay-the-Spire premise is fresh and the core loop of aiming, bouncing and watching damage numbers climb is described as satisfying and dopamine-heavy
- Easy to learn and pick up; runs are short (one reviewer averages about 50 minutes) and the game can be saved and resumed, which suits casual or chill play
- Build variety through orbs and relics; finding a combination that clicks and improvising around what you are offered is a common highlight
- Multiple characters and the Cruciball difficulty ladder give replay value and let players choose between relaxed and punishing runs
- Charming pixel art and music, and a developer team that keeps patching and is praised for listening to feedback
- Works well on handheld and mobile (Steam Deck, Switch); Metacritic critics singled out the Switch version
- Very high playtimes among fans (several reviewers report 250 to over 2,000 hours)
What players criticize
- Heavy RNG: orb trajectories are hard to control, so luck can outweigh skill, which critics and many negative Steam reviews cite
- Limited content for a long stretch: only three acts plus a final boss, so runs feel samey and players can see everything quickly (the 2026 fourth act is meant to address this)
- Uneven option balance: some relics and orbs are seen as near-useless while others are mandatory at higher difficulty
- Cruciball levels add nerfs and tougher enemies rather than new mechanics, which some see as lazy difficulty scaling
- Some enemy types and encounters (long-range damage you cannot avoid, the Wall boss, lines of exploding goblins) are cited as run-ending regardless of build
- Unlocking characters and the true ending relies on grinding large counters such as debuffs applied or coins spent
- Synergy traps: boss orbs with negative damage can silently break builds if you do not know how items interact
- Price ($19.99) is questioned by some given the amount of content; many recommend buying on sale
Distinctive features
- Pachinko/Peggle physics as the combat system in a turn-based roguelite, where you aim at enemies and pegs rather than play cards
- Orbs act as the deck: you add and upgrade orbs, and relics modify how pegs and damage behave
- Board layout and peg interaction matter more than a typical deckbuilder, yet the goal is damage accumulation rather than clearing the board like Peggle
- Cruciball difficulty system for scaling challenge after winning
- Began as a 48-hour game jam prototype ('Goblin Drop') and later won Best Design at the 2022 Taipei Game Show per Wikipedia
Divided opinions
- RNG: fans see it as part of the fun and improvisation, detractors see gambling-like luck that undermines build planning
- Difficulty: patches are said by some to make the game easier while others say higher Cruciball levels are unfairly stacked
- Value: some call it one of the best games for the price, others say it is only worth it on sale due to limited content
- Whether it plays like Peggle: some love the nostalgia, others note it plays quite differently and do not get the Peggle feel
Repetition and friction
- Grinding character unlocks and the true ending via large cumulative counters
- Repetition of the same three biomes and similar boss encounters across many runs
- Navigating the map by shooting a ball and hoping it lands on the path you want
- Late-game frustration at Cruciball 5+, where reviewers report physics feeling erratic, refresh orbs in awkward spots, and enemies that counter common builds
- Runs that go badly snowball with little chance to recover, which some find miserable
- Anti-save-scum rule after Oct 2025 interfering with short stop-and-resume sessions
Hoped-for improvements
- More acts, areas, enemies, characters, orbs and relics; a recurring request even from positive reviewers
- An endless or post-final-boss mode so players can keep testing builds and see new orbs without risking them early in a run
- Let players choose map routes instead of having to shoot a ball and hope it lands on the desired path
- Rework the late-game difficulty so it comes from interesting enemy design rather than stat nerfs and unavoidable damage
- Better balance and clearer communication of item interactions and effect names for new players
- Revisit the anti-save-scum behavior added in late Oct 2025 that, per a top negative review, counts quitting and resuming after a short session as save scumming and can ruin the run
Early Access on PC began April 25, 2022; mobile followed April 11, 2023; 1.0 and the Nintendo Switch release came Aug 27, 2024 (Steam lists this date). Wikipedia says it sold about 400,000 copies in its first year in Early Access. Steam-revenue-calculator estimates about $14.9M gross and $4.4M net revenue, and SteamSpy-style data gives 500k to 1M owners; both are estimates, not audited. Version 2.0 (March 16, 2026) reportedly added a fourth act, items, enemies and music. Steam reviews from late 2025 include a controversy over anti-save-scum changes, and recent reviews remain mostly positive with ongoing developer support. Metacritic has few scores (8 critic, 29 user) so they are a weak signal. Steam lists Windows and Mac only; Switch and mobile exist separately. No OpenCritic listing could be confirmed; the web search budget was exhausted, so Reddit and outlet reviews could not be fetched (Reddit fetch was blocked).
Community sources
- Top helpful positive and negative English Steam reviews for Peglin (local file) ↗
- Local Steam store metadata: release date, price, review counts, tags, SteamSpy owners ↗
- Steam store page (appid 1296610) for score, tags and price ↗
- Metacritic: Metascore 76 from 8 critics, user score 6.9 from 29; critic summary on RNG and Switch version ↗
- Development history, release dates, first-year sales, awards, 2.0 update ↗
- Estimated gross and net revenue (Boxleiter-based estimate) ↗
- Attempted OpenCritic lookup; no Peglin listing could be confirmed ↗
Archived creator commentary 1
Third-party summaries based on automatic captions may contain transcription or interpretation errors.
Tier list Part 1 (2023)
Peglin is a Peggle-style roguelike where you launch a ball at pegs and the result damages enemies. He calls it a great example of someone taking a unique idea and making it a roguelike. He has put hundreds of hours into it over several years and keeps returning as it gets regular updates. He places it in S tier, while saying it is not quite the masterpiece of the other S tier games.
What the creator praises
- Every run feels very different thanks to varied builds, characters and relics
- Many unique orbs and events keep fights fun and engaging
- Strong blend of RNG and skill, with deserved broken runs now and then
- Continuous updates add new characters and orbs roughly monthly
- Good pacing, helped by an option to speed up the game
- Well-executed roguelike design overall
Issues raised by the creator
- Gameplay looks a bit old or slow at first glance, though speed-up mitigates it
- Not quite as masterful as the top S tier games
- Needs more attention and visibility
Design observations
- Fuses Peggle-style ball physics with roguelike build-crafting
- Player skill matters alongside RNG, unusual for a luck-based genre
