Swing For The Fences!
It's that time again for a new episode of Chichuki Plays, the show where I go hands-on with upcoming games and show them off. Usually, it's about an hour or so but I don't want to spoil too much of the game for you. This time we're looking at Backyard Baseball on Steam. The game will also be available on consoles at a later date so stay tuned!
Swing for the fences with this version of Backyard Baseball. Fans have been wanting Backyard Baseball back in some capacity for years. The series was brought back from the dead with a remake of the original game but fans wanted more. Well, they got their way with this version, a retelling of the classic game with a modern twist. Let's just say it's a home run.
I was lucky enough to play this game at PAX East this year and really liked it. The only mode available at the show as the home run derby mode. There are other game modes to play as well but the Home Run derby mode is the best. You know what they say, chicks dig the long ball.
There are other modes to pick from. You can make a team of youngsters and play a season with them. You get to pick your team name, colors, and more. I allowed the game to random pick my team but I was lucky enough to get the goat, Pablo Sanchez, on my team! All characters have voice acting which is fun to hear. The lines get a little tiresome after awhile but you can lower the volume and frequency on hearing the lines. That's good to have for the play by play and color commentary because that dialogue gets a little on your nerves. You can also skip through the animations like when players come up to bat/pitch/etc. To get the full feel of the game, listen to the lines to first few times so you hear all of them and then skip after that.
As for the actual gameplay, you can set basic Baseball rules like how many innings you play, day or night, things like that. You can also decide if you want to hit off a tee or hit pitching. Try them both and see what you feel more comfortable doing. Hitting off pitching is really easy to pick up since you can set the options to see where the pitches. Pitching and fielding were two things I had an issue with in the older game. Now that I don't have to use a keyboard for the PC version, pitching is a lot easier to do. The same could be said for hitting. Pitching takes a minute to understand that you can change the velocity/feel of the pitches and in turn uses juice power. You can also select pitches and special pitches that could turn the tide in the game. Playing the field on the other hand, still isn't great. There were times in the match where I thought I was standing on the circle, where a ball would drop, and I missed it. My bigger issue with the fielding is knowing what base/player you're going to throw to. There were times where I thought I was going to through into the Infield and then threw to the other outfielder. Idid eventually realize that you have an indicator where you're going to throw the ball to.
That being said, I crushed the first pitch I ever saw with Pablo Sanchez and never looked back. The season mode is a fun time and a good pickup game of baseball. BUT Chichuki, what about the other game modes? Good question, eager young space cadet!
The home run derby mode is really fun but that isn't the only mode you can play. There is a streetball version of Wiffleball called Wiggleball where you play a game against a team of four. You can pick the players or random pick. It's a game of baseball but the ball moves all over the place like a crazy wiffleball. You have less fielders to cover the field so there's more room to make plays and crazy action. There's also a Backyard Bash mode where you can work on skills with your robot friend, Mr. Clanky. Online mode wasn't available at time of recording but don't worry, it will be released in a future update. I'm really looking forward to the console release because this is going to be fun to play against other people. Home Run derby against friends sounds crazy fun!
I'd like to thank the devs for the Steam review code for Backyard Baseball. Make sure you check out the hands-on video below!