Roguelike deckbuilders are popping up everywhere! Honestly, it's hard to tell which ones are actually good. But every now and then, a really fresh take on the genre shows up, and PinKeep is definitely one of those. Imagine a pinball game where you're constantly changing the playfield as you go. Plus, it's made by the same folks who gave us the Far series and Herdling!

The pinball part is pretty straightforward. You've got a ball, you shoot it, and you use flippers to hit it around. Nothing too surprising there. However, it's everything else that makes this game special. Each run is divided into stages with different themes, and you get to add elements to the main playing field.

Let's say you need a bumper to give your ball a boost. You pick it from your collected cards and place it at one of the spots available. You can also rotate these structures to get them just right. But here's the catch: playing these cards costs money. So, how do you get money? You smash trees and rocks with your ball. Then, you gather the resources from the wreckage and sell them to merchants who are hanging out at the top of the screen. To reach them, you'll have to aim carefully!

To make things even more interesting, enemies are slowly making their way towards your town. If they reach you, you'll lose some health. Now, you might think that hitting enemies is just a matter of luck, but you can actually slow down time and flick your ball whenever you want. This lets you line up the perfect shot to take out those baddies. The mix of fast-paced pinball action and strategic planning is really interesting. PinKeep allows you to have both skill and strategy!

It took me a little while to get the hang of everything, with the pinball mix of speed and tactic, but the game offers a very unique experience. The strategic element with the bumpers is really well done. When your field is set up just right, it all comes together beautifully. I'm not sure if adding more to the slow-motion flick or the flippers would improve the game or make it too complicated, but the demo version of PinKeep is definitely on the right track.

If you're interested, you can try the demo yourself!