Overview
Rack and Slay is a physics-focused rogue-lite that pockets the concept of Billiards to use in its own unique way. The core of Rack and Slay is quite simple. You have a limited number of shots in each level to eliminate the other balls. The catch is, that the other Billiard balls are monsters, and the levels are a hodge-podge of holes, obstacles, and hazards.
You can find a video version of this review on YouTube!
Contrary to most rogue-lite games, the runs in Rack and Slay are pretty short, usually within half an hour. That makes it easy to pick up and play, but you also have the option of continuing a run endlessly, if you feel like keeping a high run going. Additionally, unlike a real Billiards table, Rack and Slay won’t scratch your wallet, as it costs a measly $5.99.
| Gideon’s Bias | Rack and Slay Information |
|---|---|
| Review Copy Used: Yes | Publisher: 2 Left Thumbs |
| Hours Played: 8+ | Type: Full Game |
| Reviewed On: PC | Platforms: PC |
| Fan of Genre: Yes | Genre: Turn-Based, Rogue-lite, Puzzle |
| Mode Played: Variety | Price: $5.99 |
Ball Busting
The first stand-out thing about Rack and Slay is despite all of its random elements, it’s a game that’s focused almost entirely on skill. While level layouts, enemy types, and powerups absolutely have an impact on the challenge, winning and losing ultimately comes down to how well you can utilize physics to send balls rolling where you want them.
Rack and Slay does feature a variety of difficulty levels, and modifiers, however. If you end up being a pool prodigy, you can turn up the heat.
In each level, you have to eliminate enemies within a certain number of shots. Any enemy left alive at the end deals damage to you. You also lose health by running into various hazards or dumping yourself down a hole. If you run out of health, that’s the end of the run.
At the same time, you can also collect gold, gems, and other valuables during a level, which can be spent to heal yourself, gain more shots, and other useful upgrades. Each time you end a level with leftover shots, you gain gold for each one left over.
There’s some nifty risk vs reward going on where you have to decide how much loot you can shoot for, while still being able to pocket as many enemies as possible. Enemies actually pick up most valuables they come into contact with, and if you eliminate them, you get those valuables. That can lead you to attempt some really cool, but risky shots that feel awesome when you land them.
The levels are randomized and often feature hazards such as spikes or traps, but you can also use those to your advantage by knocking enemies into them. The enemy balls can spawn with a variety of quirks too, such as ones that damage you on contact, heavy ones that are hard to move, or aggressive ones that launch themselves at you at the end of a turn.
The enemy variety really adds to the game’s strategic nature. For example, a Balloon Ball spawns another enemy if you knock them in a hole, but not if you eliminate them any other way. It forces you to be clever about the physics system and think about how to best use the enemies against each other and that’s great.
Finally, the elusive 8 ball shows up as a boss on certain levels, and in addition to having one of several unique possible powers, they can’t be killed until every other ball is gone. It’s a neat and flavorful nod to Billards that works great as a gameplay mechanic.
Hitting That Power Ball
No rogue-lite game would be complete without a variety of power-ups you can use to combo every game, and Rack and Slay is no exception. After each level, you choose from a random set of items that have various effects. You can get abilities that launch bombs after you shoot, others that allow you to break obstacles or simpler ones that grant you additional shot power in certain circumstances.
There are plenty of ways to combo them together and they do make each run feel a little different. That said, a good chunk of the items just gives you additional ways to earn gold. Gold is incredibly important, but simply earning more isn’t an interesting game mechanic, and is nowhere near as fun to use as power-ups such as bombs, or the ability to shoot mini cueballs alongside you.
I feel like a physics-based game like Rack and Slay has room for all sorts of fun powers, so it’s a bit disappointing that many of them are incredibly tame.
Verdict
Rack and Slay is a simple game. Playing it is as easy as dragging an arrow and clicking the mouse, but it requires some pretty thorough physics calculations to play it well. Its various enemy types serve as a great curveball to what would be far too simplistic of a concept otherwise. Its skill-focused nature is complemented by its randomness, rather than vice versa.
At the same time, it makes all of its information frontloaded and easy to access. If you want to know what a special enemy does, you simply mouse over it, and the game will tell you.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, Rack and Slay is a very casual game. It’s easy to jump into and play, no matter how tired you are, or what kind of day you have had. It’s lightweight enough to play without further taxing your aching cerebrum into a pile of gray mush. Yet, it’s interesting enough to warrant passing the time with it, instead of doom-scrolling or watching TikTok videos.
While Rack and Slay may not have the depth of more hardcore rogue-lite games, but it’s still great to play when you don’t have a lot of time. Its simplicity is just a by-product of its twist on Billiards. That twist makes it an incredibly clever, fast, and easy-to-play physics-based rogue-lite game. Billiards with randomized stages where the balls are monsters is an experience worth having, especially at its incredibly generous asking price.
