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) | – | 66 | 8 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 93% | 87 | 54 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 100% | 97 | 0 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 1 reviews sampled · 1 total reviews in window · weighted 1 up / 0 down · computed 4h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (25)
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.
- 70
“While it will take some time to fully master, this physics-based puzzle title has quite a bit to enjoy with its many levels and varying degrees of challenge and extra modes.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“King Oddball joins the increasing number of mobile titles making their way onto Switch; it is a competent, quirky yet basic puzzle game. It highlights the type of titles that the Switch can attract, for better or worse, and as cheap, whimsical fun, it will probably consume more time than you'd care to admit.It's not a bad game, but the hard to ignore mobile origins - and seeing what else is available and what the Switch can do - makes King Oddball a fun little distraction and nothing more. It's worth picking up if you have a yearning for a quick, simple palate cleanser, and whether you've previously become addicted to the projectile flinging / destruction puzzle genre, avian or not, there is nothing here that will change your mind either way.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“For the budget price of admission King Oddball actually provides quite a lot of content that would take you several hours to likely be able to work through. Once you add on the levels in the additional modes and the challenge of some of the more unusual achievements you could likely double that time. The question will be whether you’ll want to stick out the ride long enough to enjoy it all. That will ultimately come down to tastes, what you’re looking for, and how you’re planning to play the game. Using it to fill gaps in your day 15 minutes at a time would probably be great, playing for hours at a time probably not so much.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“The layout is different on each level, but you’ll mostly be relying on luck rather than skill. Still, this has a weird moreish appeal to it, and it’s got our claws into us again. Obviously, this type of title is best suited to smartphones or handhelds, but it’s so easy to zone out with it that we can see ourselves returning to it a lot over the coming weeks. Odd, indeed.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“The question will be whether you'll want to stick out the ride long enough to enjoy it all. That will ultimately come down to tastes, what you're looking for, and how you're planning to play the game. Using it to fill gaps in your day 15 minutes at a time would probably be great, playing for hours at a time probably not so much.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“For $7, King Oddball is not necessarily a bad choice. It's a decent simple game that can be played for a few minutes and then returned to later. There's a good amount of content, but most of it can get repetitive if players are not careful. It should be played in small bursts. But for fans of Angry Birds and other Crush the Castle type games will get some fun out of King Oddball.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Inexpensive and familiar physics puzzles with a quirky art style will grant any King Oddball player with a few short hours of mindless entertainment. The lack of any new content or utilisation of the DualSense controller means if you’ve already played this on the myriad platforms it’s already on, there’s no need to double dip. This one’s for those that have already completed all of the PS5 launch games and are scratching around for anything else to play.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“If you can look past the missed opportunity that is the lack of motion controls, and the fairly simplistic gameplay, you'll probably find a title that is entertaining in short bursts. Don't expect it to light your world on fire, though.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“King Oddball stands apart from its counterparts and that's an asset in a genre where there are too many games featuring unoriginal content. Thanks to its different modes and balanced difficulty curve, King Oddball is certain to be a good recommendation for short gaming sessions on the Nintendo Switch, even if it will not convince those who don't like the genre to open up.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“King Oddball readily entertains with its quirky demeanour, putting an entirely unexpected body part to work to unleash wanton destruction upon the world. It may have riffed on someone else’s concocted formula (and with less breadth at that) but, especially for those longing for an alternative to Angry Birds on Nintendo Switch, it’s hard not to come to appreciate the game’s warped nature.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“King Oddball is a fun arcade release that is easy to pick that is worth your time on Nintendo Switch. There is more than enough content to justify its price point, with well over a 100 levels to complete and a good challenge that increases at a steady pace.”
read full review ↗ - 45
“My time with King Oddball left me more frustrated than anything else. There were brief times when I enjoyed myself, but I mostly just wanted to stop playing. I think you’re better off playing Angry Birds or something else if you really want a game in this genre.”
read full review ↗
Pure Nintendo
Nintendo Life
Nindie Spotlight
Push Square
NintendoWorldReport
ZTGD
FingerGuns
GameGrin
FNintendo
Nintendo Insider
PS3Blog.net
Sick Critic…and 13 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- DYSMANTLE 1.0 Now AvailableNov 16, 2021
- Skeletal Avenger Full Version Launched on Steam!Sep 29, 2021
- Update Notes for 1.3.3 (macOS only)Feb 3, 2021
- Update Notes for 1.3.2 (macOS only)Jan 29, 2021
- 40 levels and a bunch of translations added!May 8, 2017