Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 78 | 22 |
| Creator reviews (1 tracked) | – | 90 | 1 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 94% | 89 | 339 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | – | – | 0 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 0 reviews sampled · 0 total reviews in window · weighted 0 up / 0 down · computed 9h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (28)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 60
“Dodgeball Academia does admittedly come together in a rather compelling way, but we're critical of the independent elements that make up this package. You might find yourself caught up in the storyline, which could potentially make up for its other shortcomings, but we found it a little disposable. It's clear that love has been poured into this adventure and it's absolutely superb to look at and listen to - we just wish the central sport was a more enjoyable to play and the dialogue wasn't so interminable. You might dig this game more if you get hooked into the grind, so to speak - battles are over quickly and levelling up is always fun - but overall, if you're not willing to get by on sheer aesthetics, you might want to dodge this one.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Dodgeball Academia [is] a title bursting to the seams with a Saturday morning cartoon charm. While the light amount of content betrays the fact that the gameplay likely lacks enough depth to carry it much further, it nonetheless provides a ten-hour story with enough humour and speedy battles that make the time fun.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“While I’ll admit that when you mention a game with the name “dodgeball” right in the title you already have my attention, bear in mind that doesn’t make me an easy guarantee for positive feelings about the result...”
read full review ↗ - 65
“Dodgeball Academia has all the potential to be an epic, superpowered sports RPG. The dodgeball battles are lively and fun, but the story never reaches the fantastical heights it alludes to at the beginning of the game. It's enjoyable but not one for the record books.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“It takes obvious cues from Pokémon and other genre classics, but Dodgeball Academia is a great little RPG in its own right. Packed with charm and boasting a unique dodgeball-based battle system, it makes for a thoroughly enjoyable journey to the top.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“The best part of Dodgeball Academia though is when everything clicks as an RPG. It's a joy to figure out the right strategy to win a tough fight. I love exploring the world and seeing what happens next in the goofy story. This isn't just a great sports game, it's also a superb RPG that, like the likes of Golf Story, should appeal to those who aren't inclined to sport.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Dodgeball Academia borrows smartly from a lot of old-school greats, but it’s also more than the sum of its parts.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Dodgeball Academia provides a huge amount of fun with it's easy to learn, difficult to master gameplay, and Saturday morning cartoon vibes. Throwing together a roster of excellent characters with fourth wall-breaking writing and some great story beats, Dodgeball Academia honestly shines far brighter than we ever expected. This is the best thing to happen to dodgeball since that Ben Stiller movie, although how much of a compliment this is is up for debate.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Min-maxers can prioritize equipment and stat upgrades to further sabotage any challenge, but everyone else can just jump into Dodgeball Academia’s matches and glide through the snappy story. By the end, a full roster of characters unlock for use in a versus mode pack-in, albeit with no online multiplayer available. Super Dodge Ball fans will immediately respond to what Pocket Trap is up to here, but Dodgeball Academia should also prove an easygoing delight to anyone looking to sink into a very specific type of sports RPG.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“This game might sound like a tremendous mess on paper, but it perfectly manages to mix arcade-like dodgeball matches with JRPG mechanics and cartoonish visuals to create something completely unique.”
read full review ↗ - 84
“At the end of the day, though, Dodgeball Academia hits all the right notes to become a smash hit multimedia entity. Not only can I see an animation and comic book or manga series, but I can also picture a plethora of Dodgeball Academia merchandise like stickers, apparel, toys, phone accessories, dodgeballs, and much more. So you should enroll in Dodgeball Academia today and become the sports anime protagonist you’ve always wanted to be.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Dodgeball Academia blends RPG and dodgeball mechanics in an enjoyably stylish manner, with the combination making for a super fun gameplay experience. I had a really good time seeing Otto’s tale unfold, whilst the varied dodgeball mechanics and unpredictable opponents ensure that the action remains exciting from start to end. I didn’t think the sport of dodgeball could have so much depth, but the range of abilities and arenas on offer ensured it never grew tiresome when playing. There were a few things that could’ve seen improvement, such as the lack of variety outside of dodgeball, the harsh difficulty spikes, and the occasional technical hitch. None of these issues stopped Dodgeball Academia from being a heck of a lot of fun to play though, with it standing tall as yet another memorable sporting-RPG hybrid to grace the Nintendo Switch.”
read full review ↗
Nintendo Life
RPGamer
Nindie Spotlight
PC Invasion
Push Square
NintendoWorldReport
Siliconera
TheSixthAxis
Screen Rant
WayTooManyGames
RPG Fan
Use a Potion…and 16 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- v1.5 Patch NotesAug 25, 2021
- v1.4 Patch NotesAug 19, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- v1.3 Patch NotesAug 9, 2021