Peglin Review

Peglin is a roguelike pachinko title developed by Red Nexus Games Inc. and IndieArk where players are tasked with playing the beloved Japanese mechanical game while engaging in hand-to-hand combat with various creatures, fantasy and humans alike. We take on the role of a Goblin rampaging through the forest, a castle setting, and dungeons, which is an innermost desire of all gamers, surely.

There isn't much of a story to tell as we rampage our way through the vast areas to explore — heading out into the forest, all we know is to move forward, fighting against various foes to get to the next boss. That said, even though there wasn't any motivation for our impish endeavours (such as hoarding Gold, glory, or… anything, really), that doesn't mean there isn't any lore to speak of.

Upon defeating the various foes that unfortunately stand in the Goblin's way, they might drop some items that give Spintle points, which are used to unlock Encirclepedia entries in the main menu. This offers a look at some of the hidden lore present in the game, but I'd be lying if my motivations weren't with hoarding Gold and traversing the dungeons with finesse.

This means that our main focus will be centred around playing through the roguelike experience, battling through a pool of foes to reach the next boss. Everything is done through a pegboard: combat, traversal, and even sometimes random decisions, which adds a level of strategy and chaos that fits perfectly in a game where the protagonist is a Goblin.

Peglin follows a similar gameplay theme set by Balatro (released in the same year, 2024): grab a simple title and crank the roguelike knob up to 11. It makes for a compelling twist to pachinko that, although I've never partaken in the activity before, I couldn't help but give it a shot, especially with the cute pixelated graphics.

The main premise of the game is combat, and everything will essentially revolve around that. Every board is a unique set of pegs that represent the foes that you're currently fighting, with a surprisingly large array of boards available for the numerous encounters.

These are well-balanced and offer a unique challenge to every fight, though I have to give a special highlight to those that housed a boss. The pegboards were intuitive, fun to engage with, and added a unique element of difficulty that required some know-how to traverse.

In general, bosses took the limelight for most fun combat sections, which previously gave anxiety to my Goblin heart. Not only did the pegboards feel the most intuitive and well-designed of the bunch, but the unique mechanics were compelling, even if each of the areas had about three bosses per section, totalling 10 different ones (this may be Goblin math, but I'll touch more on that later).

Despite the fact that Peglin is relatively simple with nary a complex mechanic in sight, it does remain mechanically intricate enough to amuse throughout the gargantuan number of replays. Chief is the roguelike mechanic that makes the title replayable past your first completed run, as though the boards will change according to each encounter, you'll also need to create your own builds and create insane combos that'll rival a god itself. Probably.

After each encounter, Goblins are given the option to engage with a menu that offers the opportunity to add a new Orb (pachinko ball) to the inventory, upgrade a previously hoarded Orb, or heal the damage done by the baddies. This is where a big chunk of the building will take place, as each Orb can be increased up to Level III to boost its effectiveness in the pegboardfield.

Accompanied by the Orbs are the Relics that Goblins can appropriate, engaging in a good old finders-keepers mentality. Scattered throughout the Slay the Spire–esque map are several locations that can include Relics, such as question mark locations that have events, treasures, the Haglin Shop, and mini-bosses and bosses alike.

These play a crucial role in making the pachinko rules be thrown out the window and replaced by a new set — bouncier Orbs, heavier Orbs, a lot of Orbs, Orbs that make things go boom... everything affects your Orbs, pegboard, or gameplay in one way or another. They can range from letting you gain more max health to limiting your shooting directions to just four, but each has a positive effect that can play a paramount role in the overall build.

You take these Orbs through three areas that include a variety of enemies, unique events, and new pegboards to battle with. At the start, reaching each new area feels exciting, as the map layout is different for each one, and there is a wide variety of bosses to keep it interesting for a few runs.

It's equally as fun to master the gameplay and learn what every area has to offer, however, as Peglin is a very knowledge-heavy title. Learning how to fight across different pegboards, learning builds, and even learning what events give what relics or rewards means that you can slowly get more control of the outcome of each run.

This is where the "one more run" feeling is hidden amidst all of the Peglin madness, as there are no two builds that play exactly the same. Trying to brute-force your way through a specific build won't always be rewarding, leading to weird amalgamations that'll fail to complete the run.

It's better, then, to embrace the utter chaos, as Peglin has some wacky elements that are definitely worth engaging with. Orbs that deal self-damage aren't there just for decoration, but can play a role in a very strong build, or making bombs explode for a lot more damage at the expense of taking some yourself.

Each run won adds a new Cruciball that players can engage with, which changes the overall run slightly, without major alterations that each feels manageable. In tandem, however, the little debuffs can stack into making a run feel more punishing or difficult to deal with, though these are optional difficulty runs that allow for Peglin to be replayed and enjoy more of what the game has to offer.

There's a lot of padding here that won't be for the weak of heart, however, as there are 20 Cruciballs to complete... for each character. This means that, using some Goblin math again, you'll be playing through the game a total of 84 times (one to unlock the first Cruciball and then the 20 after).

It's a lot to demand from the player, but dedicated Goblins will also find a lot to enjoy with the various runs, builds, and strategies that can be employed. On top of this are hidden rewards that Red Nexus Games Inc. added for completing some challenges, like a true final boss that has over half a million health points.

You know... your usual.

The only downside is that there are only three areas to play through, ten bosses to defeat, and 84 runs to complete for the completionists, but Peglin has as much to offer as the player is willing to take. At its worst, it's a relaxing experience full of pachinko fun and easy-enough gameplay to deal with that won't demand perfect builds to get through. At its best, it's an insane strategy-building experience that has Goblins hoarding the Orbs that best fit into an arsenal to defeat a godlike entity for the sake of peglinkind.

That all said, my conspiracy theory is that Peglin is a videogame front for the true masterpiece: Crashtroid's soundtrack. Somehow, it's far too epic for the cutesy graphics, all the while fitting in perfectly with the chill and adrenaline-inducing battles. You simply haven't lived if you haven't listened to Theosaurus, Scourge Of Radia, and just one loop of it convinced me that I needed to buy the soundtrack.

I've played for over 20 hours, finished several dozen runs, stolen Gold from a dragon more times than I can count, and I feel like I'm far from done with Peglin. There are all sorts of builds, plenty of Cruciballs to overcome, and more Gold to hoard, and I hope that on the other side of my 84 victories, I'll still want to topple god one more time.