The Ball

What originally was just a mod for Unreal Tournament III, has become the first game of the Swedish developer Teotl Studios. It is also one of the first games using the Unreal Development Kit and it has also received support from the Nordic Game Program.

The game starts in a mountain called Pico del Miedo (Fear Peak) in Mexico, 1940. A group of archaeologists has settled there due to what looks like interesting Aztec findings within the place. One day, one of the archaeologists, the main character of the story, falls inside a hole and, before his workmates can save him, his curiosity pushes him through a journey that will only end when he discovers the ancient secrets that lie in the deepest chambers of the mountain.

From the very beginning, we find a strange device that is tied to an even more strange ball two meters high that, much like the gravity gun in Half Life 2, can be attracted and pushed at the will of the carrier. The Ball is a first person puzzle in which the player has to carry a big ball around mysterious underground caves, cities, towns or fabrics, while pushing buttons, opening doors, crushing threatening local fauna or accessing seemingly inaccessible spots with it. Sounds simple on paper, but the ball eventually becomes a very versatile tool, when we discover that it can store lava or electricity, light dark areas, power ancient vehicles, serve as a platform and other surprises.

The game also features the mandatory achievements of modern gaming and a survival mode in which we have to stay alive against various waves of enemies and traps in four extra maps.