Dead Engine
Dead Engine
Game
Game2026
Smash it Wild: Tactical Volleyball Roguelike
Developer Goblinz Studio, Ernestine
Smash it Wild is a tactical turn-based game combining volleyball and dodgeball in a fantasy universe. Upgrade your players and defeat your opponents in an intense roguelike competition! From the Steam store page
81 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Nov 4, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
75
LovedLoved
49 positive · 16 negative
95% range 64–84%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 49 | 16 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| Mastodon * | 1 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
52 of 68 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
At a glance
Smash it Wild: Tactical Volleyball Roguelike is a 2026 rpg sports strategy video game, from Goblinz Studio and Ernestine.
- 76 people have posted about this game on Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon
- posts span Nov 22, 2024 to Nov 4, 2026
- 75% of 65 Steam reviewers recommend it (their own thumbs)
- Steam reviewers had played a median of 6 h when they wrote
Assembled from TMDB, Wikidata and Steam fields and our own counts, nothing written by a model. Method
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Smash it Wild: Tactical Volleyball Roguelike sits at 75% positive across 65 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Reactions
60 of 81 · most liked firstFirst things first: This is by no means a bad game. If you enjoyed the demo, you’ll very likely enjoy the full version as well. I played the demo and was genuinely excited for “more” – but that’s exactly where I felt a bit let down. From what I’ve experienced, the full game doesn’t offer that much new beyond additional teams and higher difficulties. If you played the demo, you’ve basically seen the core of what the game has to offer. The gameplay itself is really enjoyable and the concept is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Smash it Wild: Tactical Volleyball Roguelike looks incredibly neat, a turn-based tactics volleyball? Can't say I've heard of a game with that premise before, looks gorgeous and has some cool furry character designs. And yup, there's a demo!
positive · AI labelView post →Warning for Steamdeck: I loved the demo but found that it will not launch on steamdeck initially. It was pointed out in the comments though that if you go into properties then go to compatibility, you can force the game to launch using Proton Hotfix. This will then allow you to play with no issues. So if you are thinking about playing this on deck then you should keep this in mind. Also note that this game does not have cloud saves so you will be playing your Pc version and your Deck version…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Smash it Wild, our tactical volleyball game co-produced with @goblinzstudio.com , has a demo on Steam! store.steampowered.com/app/2432240/... Don't hesitate to try it out and add it to your wishlist! #indiegame #gamedev #indiedev
neutral · AI labelView post →Sometimes I draw characters from Smash It Wild that you won't see in the game or in the game's marketing Just to say to myself : "This character would live in this world" To make a universe seem believable, I first have to believe in it myself #gamedev #indiegame #indiedev The game> urlr.me/mSTnb2
neutral · AI labelView post →Smash It Wild is out! 🔗 store.steampowered.com/app/2432240/... I hope you enjoy this tactical/roguelike inspired by volleyball and the energy of shonen! @lauklart.bsky.social and I wanted to create a colorful and epic art style. It's a @goblinzstudio.com & @ernestine.bsky.social #indiegame #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →We’re proud to announce Smash It Wild, our new tactical turn-based game where volleyball meets dodgeball in a fantasy universe! 🏐💥 📅 Coming Q2 2025. - Watch the trailer: tinyurl.com/siw-trailer - Wishlist on Steam: tinyurl.com/siw-steam-page #indiegame #indiedev #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →The gameplay, the arts are so good but the game is too short, I have played a few runs and won gold cup (hardest challenge ig). I wish devs added more content like new modes, new challenges.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have mixed feelings, because I love this game and it's concept. But like every review, both positive and negative, there is just not enough content to stay engaged for more than 10ish hours maximum. And even after just 90 mins of playtime, I feel like I have a very good handle on everything this game has to offer outside of winning on some of the harder difficulties. My main worry and the reason I'm getting a refund is that I'm not confident that any additional content is coming. It's…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Well, I'll give this a thumbs up, because the game is real fun and I LOVE the idea of it. There is one negative that I have to mention though, and I hope this will be solved over time. I'm 12h in, and I have done everything there is to do. Got all the tournaments won with all teams. So there isn't a lot of stuff you can do. I think the best ways of dealing with this problem is to either make more teams, create daily challenges, or to enable a multiplayer (PvP) mode, where both players have…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Smash It Wild demo has been available for two weeks. I produced a lot of preparatory sketches. Both to set the mood and to get myself in the mood. It's a volleyball game with a shonen feel. It's more than just about lore; it's about character's attitudes. Here, the doe #indiedev #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →Really fun; doesn't overstay its welcome. Drenched in personality. Pick between 4 pre-made teams of 3. Do roguelite encounters and events and spread various types of upgrades across your three players. Win the final match. Practice matches (basic encounters) are one round, real matches (elite encounters) are best 2/3. You get a free upgrade for each round regardless of win or loss. Pros: - really fresh and innovative concept done well. - lots of different avenues for in-run progression -…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The gameplay is really good, and is really engaging. I wish I could spend way more time in this game, but this is exactly the reason why I'm leaving a negative review. The game simply does not have enough content for you to enjoy. You get 4 teams, each team has 3 diffculty levels for you to beat, thus you get 12 runs to complete. Personally that took me 11 hours, and that's it, no point for me to play anymore. I expected way more, especially since, when compared to the demo, the game didn't add…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I enjoyed it enough to get all the achievements in about 12 hours of play, but I am not so sure I would recommend it to everyone. There really isn't much to the game and I ran into numerous bugs, like optional challenges not going through even though I did them, soooo many typos, and very unclear language in what the moves do. Every run with each team also feels largely the same. A lot of the moves between teams are really basic and have a lot of overlap between them. Difficulty: very easy,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly the game doesn't feel super tactical at all. I just clicked things and won, I didn't really have a strategy or any indication of why things were working it just felt like you're playing an infintely weaker team the whole time. I'm sure it maybe develops over time, but winning on the first run without giving up a point and not knowing what I'm doing at all didn't make the experience very interesting.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game so far. Ive been watching it for a bit now since it was revealed! If i had to say anything its probably the amount of content is low and a pvp would have been really awesome! Here's hoping for success
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Highly recommend. Rogue-lite volleyball was not something I knew I needed. The most interesting main gameplay element is how the game uses space, particularly negative space. You are trying to score by targeting where the enemies aren't, leading the enemy players around the board trying to wear them out so you can score. You are also laying down terrain modifiers, inflicting status effects, pushing enemies around, positioning your characters to keep your scoring area covered efficiently,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For a roguelike, there's not a lot going on here for content and hours of replayability. What we do have is a short and sweet tactics game about positioning, planning, and reforging new plans when the old ones break. It's a good time but it's relatively easy to beat and there's not a lot of variety besides the teams. At just 5.7 hours I've gotten all the achievements, beaten the game with each team, and beat the highest difficulty multiple times. I must commend them on the team design, each one…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like this game. It is short though. I have 11 hours and have beaten it, all twelve trophies. I have two achievements left that I may go back and finish. Some of the descriptions need updating to be more clear. **I would like an option to set seed for a run, so my friend and I could race each other. That would be cool. ** It's a fun little game to my mind. Stamina recovery is pretty much the best thing you can get. The relic Sadism is absurd. Good luck out there. Oh, I'm not sure why,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I adore this game. I've always been a huge volleyball fan and seeing a game that uses its themes really well made me happy. I've already gotten all the achievements, which is so fun to do. The only hiccup I ran into was that it would crash every so often and full restart my PC. I don't know why my computer disagrees with this game, but I've had a lot of fun with it already.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't normally post stuff about my YouTube channel on here since it's all just longplay stuff, but since it just came out if anyone is interested in Smash It Wild (strategy volleyball game) I have a video of all three championships beaten. youtu.be/bmiga7AafL4
positive · AI labelView post →I like the game a lot. The gameplay is really fun and the teams are cool. But the content seemed really lacking so I returned it. Only 4 different teams, the bonuses you get are the same. In one run you pull rewards many times, and its always the same 5-6 cards or so per set in rotation. Not a lot of choices. The main reason I returned the game is from Silver Cup and onwards, your stamina persists across matches. I just personally didn't like that direction of difficulty. I prefer to have full…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Rare game that after a brief but a bit demanding learning curve this game becomes entertaining. But is it a good Roguelite? Result on that will be mixed. I think the reason to that is that once you get a bit more ahead into tougher matches on a run the obtuse nature of the game comes up and various effects and statuses start to stack up so high and you end up in a situation where you lose like you are a amateur against a Yu-gi-oh master on turn 1 without really even understanding what you did…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →played 3 rounds, I dont get this game, and I hate it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is good, worth buying at full price imo, even if you probably won't get a ton of hours out of it atm. Things I'd like to see added: Reworked difficulties. I would difficulty rating to scale higher, be slightly more gradual, and have slightly more interesting scaling than "enemies have more stats" (imo just giving enemies more passives + items + attacks would do a ton) Multiplayer. Even if it's just local multiplayer as an option, I would love to play this vs friends. I don't think this…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Creative take on tactics-style gameplay with a fun theming and art style. It focuses a lot on positioning over combat, though does often regress to simply knocking the opponents to 0 due to the later difficulty enemies having extra movement. Overall, I think a lot of the roguelike elements and player stats could be tuned differently, but still very enjoyable if you like a more puzzle-based tactics game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it's good! quite fun. the art is appealing and the gameplay is quite interesting. there's some fun ways to outsmart opponents and end games early by getting a touchdown, but there's also the option to brute force your way through your opponents health bars and get a touchdown that way. a unique concept in general too which i appreciate. can confidently say it's the first tactical volleyball game i've ever played. my one gripe so far is that going from the easy tournament to the medium…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cool idea for the roguelike genre. VERY easy to get the hang of and find out consistent strategies that will win. I lost probably a total of 3 games over my playtime. 100%ed the game in about 4 hours but it was a fun 4 hours. If you're looking for a game to enjoy and beat on a day off, this would be a nice pick up. Wish there was a bit more depth to have me coming back, but for the sale price I'd say I got my money's worth. It's not redefining the genre, just a neat take on it
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is incredible. Though it is lacking a bit in terms of length, at 7 hours of playtime I have completed the highest difficulty with each team. I think it would be super cool if more difficulties were added or if the current teams got the ability to choose between players for example if each team had to of each class you would be able to choose between the two and mix and match with different attacks and play styles making replaying the same teams fresh each run.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great looking game with a great concept! Unfortunately it is full of issues. Let's start with the worst. The game's code got issues, as there are instances wherein Rows and Collumns are confused, and instances where Money and Inspiration are confused, and even where Rounds and Games are confused. The tile effects overlap but there are no proper indicators, meaning there can be effects on tiles you wouldn't know about due to another effect being on top of it (I lost a run due to that). Now for…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just won my first run. That's a great turn-based strategy game !
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a very fun game, but I can't really recommend it right now because its laughably empty of content for a roguelike. the runs also lack variety most of the time, even with all additionnal skill, items and passive unlocked you end playing the same thing every run depending on the team you picked. the runs feel too short, by the time the enemy teams actually get challenging the run is over, and once you understand the mechanics of the game the only match worth playing is the finals.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's an alright game ! A full "playthrough" can be completed in 30 minutes or so, perfect for little sessions here and there ! And the difficulty definitely is here once you go past the easiest difficulty !
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is so fun, unfortunately maybe a little bit too easy? I feel everything I do is just too very very strong, but there are so many possibilities, hopefully they will keeping adding content
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Short, but fun to play.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is really unique and fun. Will have a more concise review when I get back from vacation.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →just did 100%, pretty neat game, if you enjoyed playing Into the Breach, you are going to like this one also
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →game is just okay. I don't really see the fun in running it over and over because the upgrades seem bland. The frame work of the game is fine but I just don't need to keep playing it and doing the same thing over and over is the point of these rogue games
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good solid fun. Love the art and the energy. Gameplay is satisfying. Conquered all achievements in 14 hours.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR super fun game, but the higher levels of play get mired by state bugs that make it hard to actually strategize. 5/10, but if those bugs were fixed it would be like a 9/10 The game is SO fun. It's a turn based strategy game with roguelike elements. Sounds great out of the gate. But there are a lot of state bugs that really make it impossible to predict what's going to happen next. And in a turn-based game, that's really bad. I've had various things happen which should not have, such as:…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun Game, very tactical. Man I wish it had PvP.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🔥🕹️ #SmashItWild : Tactical Volleyball Roguelike by @goblinzstudio.com #indiegame #indiegames #videogames #gaming
neutral · AI labelView post →Smash It Wild is available! Our Volleyball RPG, developed in-house, is finally here. We've partnered with @ernestine.bsky.social on this one, and they've done an amazing job with the art! Go smash that ball!
neutral · AI labelView post →Some upcoming games in 2026 that currently still have demos available! • Lost and Found Co. (February 11th) - a whimsical hidden object game about finding townspeople's lost items • Smash it Wild (Q1 2026) - turn-based tactical tournament furry volleyball - each team with their own style
neutral · AI labelView post →The game has the strategic depth of an empty kiddie pool. I played 7 rounds and didn't lose a single time despite fishing for achievements and always picking the highest difficulty available. All the teams feel very similiar, the core strategy is always to spawn field effects and buff yourself based on the amount of field effects. On higher difficulties the enemies cheat with inflated stats so you almost always have to kill the entire opposing team to score. It doesn't really feel like…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very unbalanced. Very grindy. Little to no real replayability, as all the teams are variants of the same. Cool idea, but very lacking. Worth a fiver, but not really more.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →make more volleyball games pls, ive just bought bundle with 4 of ur games - this one, synergy, sandwalkers and something about mines and i love em all. Incredible art. Easy distinguishable and pleasant to watch. U r good game publisher (goblinz studio) please keep up the good work all of ur games are amazing im hyped to buy em from long time esp this one here, amazing volleyball game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For me it is the best team sports roguelite there is - maybe except Tape to Tape which I haven't played yet. But that doesn't mean it's great - apparently the market for sports roguelites is quite lacking, other than golf, snooker/billiard and chess ones maybe. Positives: - Lots of progression options to choose from - relics, player perks and attacks, equipment, random events. - Strategizing the positioning and planning attacks is fun once you learn what everything does. And learning…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really enjoyed the gameplay, but wish there was more content.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great fun. Very strategic and every team plays different and there is some real challenge in the more dificult tournaments. However I managed to platinum, finish and unlock everything in one day. The concept has lots of potential so the devs should try to expand this. Add challenges, story mode, online, more teams and tournaments. Anything to keep play because despite being a roguelike there isnt much replayability once you are done.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Smash it Wild: Tactical Volleyball Roguelike transforms the familiar idea of volleyball into something much more strategic and unpredictable. Instead of relying on fast reflexes and precise timing, the game turns matches into tactical encounters where positioning, character abilities, and careful planning determine the outcome. Developed by Goblinz Studio and Ernestine and published by Goblinz Publishing and Maple Whispering Limited, it blends elements of volleyball, dodgeball, tactical RPGs,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a ton of fun. Each of the teams and characters plays in a distinct way, and the choices you make between combat are engaging and can really switch up your strategy in a lot of key ways. It really just makes for good, relatively quick campaigns. The visual design is simple, but it works great. Each of the characters plays pretty differently, contributing different aspects to what makes the team work overall. One character might specialize in generating a resource, whereas another…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it's volleyball with animals, ofc it's cool ! some builds are overpowered and fun to play !
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is alright for what it is. Wish you have to win by two points instead of the first team to reach 2 points or if the point went up to seven points and win by two points. The matches go to fast
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is enjoyable to play and has a lot of personality. I love the concept and the mechanics of a volleyball rogue-lite. I hope the developers will add new game modes in the future to increase playtime. Create your own team, career mode, 2v2... the grid gameplay might even lend itself to chess-like puzzle games. I got all of the achievements in 6 hours, so not much else to play for right now.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a pretty interesting spin on the roguelike formula. As someone who plays volleyball, I enjoy how the sport inspired a lot of the design. It's not perfect, but it's definitely there. This game is very short. There is not a lot of replay value either. This game would benefit a lot from more content of every type (teams, attacks, passives, items, events, etc.). However, I did enjoy my time with it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it's a pretty good volleyball focused tactical roguelike. each squad has their own gimmicks, but you generally want to be able to sustain at higher difficulties. the achievements didn't take me very long.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I found the tutorialization run tedious in the way that Goblinz teams 'managed' games often seem to be in that it played as if designed so as not to cause the, "WOAH! What was that image? It moved so fast *-*" complaint from someone who will see the scree, at best, a handful of times rather than imagining what it would be like to have watched it for roughly a solid 5 minutes by the end of a "rouge-descriptor" style run that wasn't even really a run but the framework of what a run would be if I…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The concept is great but the content is incredibly small imo. The Team you can play in the demo is by far the most fun so there is no reason to switch to the others. The runs are always the same, where you focus your build on 1 of 2 team effects. Gloves and other unlocks have incredibly streamlined and boring affixes, so nothing spicy happens during runs. This is not even early access but a full release. If you need a distraction for 2-3 hours, then get this on a sale. Dont expect a lot more…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game combine a unique mechanic of Rougelite/Rouguelike with voleyboll, yeah sounds weird, but the mix is incredible, the power ups, the mechanics, everything is pretty unique with this mix, great game!!!!! please keep doing this great work! :D
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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