Piñata Go Boom is the weirdest and most addictive roguelite

I’m not sure when it began or how it happened, but in the last few months, I’ve undergone something of a metamorphosis when it comes to my gaming preferences. Suddenly, I find myself not only enjoying roguelikes and roguelites (and understanding the differences between the two), but I also have a favorite of each type. When it comes to roguelites, I’m a sucker for Piñata Go Boom. 

If you’ve never heard of this delightful and charming little indie gem by Tissue Inu, let me be the one to make your world just a little bit cuter. Piñata Go Boom is a pixel roguelite in which you, well, smack piñatas to get the treats inside. Upgrades improve your game with every attempt, and there’s something insanely and inexplicably addictive about swinging your bat around. 

Time is money

I went through a bit of a rollercoaster with Piñata Go Boom initially. I was informed of its existence and immediately thought it looked like just my sort of game, and I tried not to let the roguelite elements put me off too much. I downloaded the demo, dived in, and immediately thought that I might have made a mistake. 

To begin with, you have an extraordinarily short period of time in which time smack those dangling containers of money-giving prizes. On top of that, not only are you ridiculously weak, swinging your bat like a toddler making a feeble attempt to hit a home run, but you’re also impossibly slow. Those first few runs feel like crawling through quicksand, and all of those negatives add up to something that’s simply rage-inducing. I almost gave up. 

Almost. 

Speed is at least a third of the key

Then I started unlocking upgrades via the Hub, and suddenly, I found myself having a whole lot more fun. Once I started to pour my money into improving my speed and strength, and buying more time, I quickly started making my way through more and more rooms of the 10 available in the demo. The faster I got, the more time I unlocked, the harder I hit, the more rooms I reached. 

Eventually, I stopped really caring about picking everything up. When I started, I hoarded every item that dropped to the floor, but I began to skip over the toy cars and whistles in favor of the teeth, eyeballs, and meatballs. I have no idea what kind of heathen would put those items into a piñata, mind you, but they sell for higher prices, and that means more upgrades.

Fun for all the family

With its cute pixel graphics and my euphoric shouts of joy when I reached new rooms, it was only a matter of time before my five-year-old put down her Barbies and came to check what Mummy was doing. As soon as she did, I found myself in a fight over the controller, because she immediately wanted to play too. 

Thankfully, Piñata Go Boom offers the type of gameplay experience that even she can get to grips with. The bat swings automatically, so all you need to do is run around like a lunatic and aim yourself at the nearest dangling loot container. Even with her impossibly tiny hands, she managed to do remarkably well. 

There are some things that I wouldn’t recommend divulging to small ears about the game.

The grave in room five, for instance, is revealed to be that of a former employee. It’s probably best not to give a small child questions about why people are dying in their role as piñata destroyer, but thankfully, her reading is still developing, so it remains a secret that she doesn’t need to be aware of. 

There’s more to come

Like all good demos, the one for Piñata Go Boom leaves you wanting more. From the blocked-off parts of the menu, I can tell you that there will be multiple different skins that you can equip while going about your duties at PCorp, and even what appears to be (don’t quote me on this) a gambling element that will allow you to spend a specific currency to unlock new skins. 

The web of skills is also set to get bigger, with new branches unlocking as you gain promotions for good performance. The initial web is pretty hefty, so it will be interesting to see what the new branches add when Piñata Go Boom gets its full release. 

Until then, I’ll be replaying the demo and dreading the day my five-year-old tells me she wants a piñata at her next birthday party. 

If you want to dive into this glorious and adorable little roguelite gem, the full game is available to download on PC through Steam right now.