Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Game
Game2010
The Ball
Developer Teotl Studios
The Ball is a 2010 first-person action-adventure game developed by Teotl Studios and published by Tripwire Interactive. The game was one of the OnLive's UK launch titles, and one of the 13 games contained in the Potato Sack Bundle, which was a part of the Potato Sack Alternate Reality Game, promoting Portal 2's release. A spiritual successor, The Solus Project, was released on PC and consoles by Teotl and Grip… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
186 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 3, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
71
Fresh
128 positive · 53 negative
95% range 64–77%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 128 | 53 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
5 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
859 of 1,159 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 186 · most liked firstOzzy Osbourne, Take Me Out To The Ball Game
unlabelledView post →Go Popes! Heard we're doing the Nicene Creed instead of "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" for the 7th inning stretch
unlabelledView post →The Mets committed six errors... in a game? IN A GAME? SIX? THEY ARE KICKING THE BALL AROUND LIKE THEY'RE IN THE WORLD CUP!!!!!!
unlabelledView post →ADOPTABLE PUPS AT THE BALL GAME
unlabelledView post →I am a 52 yo father, probably one of the oldest people playing The Ball. I am a single father to my Son, who is 14 now. My son found this game at Christmas, so we installed it on his computer and he started playing. By the end of the week he had 24 hours on this game. This was horrible for me, as it was already hard for me to find ways to spend time with my son, as he is always out with his friends or just watching YouTube. So I decided to make a Steam account and get this game to see if I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing game. I just played half hour but plan to play it full as soon as I finish developing my game. I loved the graphics and the ball physics is simply amazing. The puzzles are good, neither very hard, neither very easy. Being an UDK developer myself I can say that The Ball is one of the most creative and beautifull games made in UDK Engine. Thumbs up.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Information / Review English The Ball is a first person shooter / adventure / puzzle game developed by Teotl Studios. Gameplay / Story The story takes place in 1940, somewhere in Mexico: You are an archaeologist and work on the slopes of an extinct volcano until you suddenly get trapped in a cave and can't get out. It doesn't take long before you realize that it is much more than just a simple cave. You discover fabulous ancient ruins that have been kept secret from the outside world for…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a game where it took me a while to decide if I liked or hated it. If you look at the game description and it appeals to you, then it’s probably a game you will like. But be aware its more of a walking simulator instead of a puzzle game. What drew me in most was the overall concept. The idea of being an archeologist who accidentally stumbles upon an ancient, underground, uncontacted civilization and must return their most precious artifact to the depths of the earth appealed to me.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Short version: Pros: + Interesting premise + Visual style + Survival maps Cons: - Barely any gameplay innovation - Overstays its welcome "Long" version: The Ball is a first-person puzzle game developed by Teotl Studios and published by Tripwire Interactive. You play as an archeologist who falls down a mine shaft and must find his way out of the cave, uncover the mystery behind an imposing artifact and survive an onslaught of ancient horrors. There is barely any story besides its setup.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game is really boring and I tried playing it 8 times and I got bored every time
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Screw Tripwire, they do not care about the basic human rights of others.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Does your ball hang low? Does it wobble to and fro? Can you tie it in a knot? Can you tie it in a bow? Can you throw it o'er your shoulder Like a continental soldier? Does your ball hang low? Does your ball stand high? Does it reach up to the sky? Does it droop when it is wet? Does it stiffen when it's dry? Can you wave it at your neighbour With an element of flavour? Does your ball stand high? Does your ball flip-flop? Can you use it as a mop? Is it stringy at the bottom? Is it curly at the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has puzzles and action. But whichever you focus on, you won't have a good time. Story is like... you got a ball and that's important. Take care of it. Puzzle part is like... mediocre. Not special. Do here, do that and voila. Watch cut scene. Action is like... just annoying. Your tool doesn't directly hurt the enemies. Only your ball can. Kill 'em with physics... Maybe fun on paper but terrible execution on actual game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Buckling to cancel culture by firing your now ex-CEO for his own personal opinion on a matter that isn't even related to the development company itself was a very bad move. Go woke, go broke. Game itself pretty clunky and boring anyway
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Publisher believes that over half the population should not have autonomy over their own bodies.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i played this for 11 minutes in 2014 :D
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have like, two of these
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am a 55 year old biker and trucker father, and probably one of the oldest people playing this game. I am a single father to my Son, who is 14 now. My son got this game for from his uncle, so we installed it on his computer and he started playing. By the end of the week he had 24 hours on this game. This was horrible for me, as it was already hard for me to find ways to spend time with my son, as he is always out with his friends or just watching YouTube. So i decided to make a Steam account…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the most boring and janky games I've played. Some puzzles are alright but dragging your huge ball through all kinds of narrow tunnels in this game is really clumsy. I would've put up with that but then they introduced enemy monsters which you have to kill by rolling your huge ball, and they come at you from all sides way too fast for you to be able to turn around and roll your ball at them. To add insult to injury, some of these monsters send some kinda projectiles towards you which…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So the comparisons to Portal are inevitable, but The Ball definitely stands on it's own. A lot of detail and attention has been put into the piston.. gun... thing that is used to manipulate the ball. The ball itself does a fantastic job of conveying it's weight and momentum too. Watching it crush a flock of monsters is visceral and fun to watch. So the game play is fun, and the graphics are detailed and very good looking. Unfortunately the game drags on a bit longer than it should, and the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So this post is from Aug 2025, last time i played this was back all the way in 2013. Yeah my opinion is still the same. If you REALLY, REALLY like Indiana Jones. But you REALLY, REALLY like Half-Life's gravity gun. Then you might want to try this. (also the only saving grace for me, is the skin for Killing floor 1)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Ball. The Ball! The Ball is everything, all that once was and all that will be. The ball controls time and space. Love and death. The ball can see into your mind! The ball can see into your soul! Despite my dated reference, that IS basically the plot of the game. Aliens came down to ancient civilization or something and was like "here, have ball." and human kind was like "ahh yes. ball." then we misused ball or something and aliens got mad at idk. ANYWAYS. As far as gameplay goes, It's…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is one of those oddballs that mix different genres together like puzzle & horror in this case. You navigate through dark corridors using huge sphere to solve puzzles, while getting rid of undead from time to time. You can push the ball with your gun or pull it like a magnet. Levels are well made and riddles fun to solve (some might be harder to figure out though). I must say this reminds me of Portal but in different environment (there is even Portal map in survival mode). The game is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The ball is absolutely one of the games of all time
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Positives + Short and sweet puzzles that are not too complicated or frustrating + The puzzles constantly grow and introduce different mechanics + Big balls + You can kill the monkeys + Some neat physics introduced later on in the game Negatives - As far as puzzles go, it's not very challenging - Besides the bosses, the "combat" feels unneccessary - The puzzle mechanics become repetitive - Game is very short - The plot is very surface and can be completely ignored - Could've done more…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Stars received: 3.2/10 _ Note: v.5 [0.0 to 1] = personal impressions [0.5] Controls & Training & Help [0.2] Menu & Settings [0.3] Sound & Music [0.3] Graphics [0.6] Game Design [0.3] Game Story [0.5] Game Content [0.3] Completion time (level/game)? [0.2] is it Enjoyable & Fun? Could it hold a spot in Favorites? (& if the Game can be repeatedly played again) BONUS point: Multi-Player related BONUS point: Review for VR - if Registration is required with providing PII Game description…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really liked this game. Push and pull a giant mysterious ball around, and solve puzzles with it by hitting switches, bashing open doors, afflicting the ball with magical effects at times to aid in solving (lightning, oil, fire, anti-gravity field, etc). Sometimes you hook the ball to objects to pull them places, other times you jump on the ball to get to heights. And occasionally you mount it in an elevator or vehicle to accomplish something. I enjoyed the puzzles, which were just enough to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is... not great. The puzzles are decent, but everything else is a chore. Every area of every level is massively large, and you'll spend way more time moving from a to b and figuring out the correct path to take than you will actually solving puzzles. The sfx are terrible and will drive you mad quickly. The plot is nonsensical and the writing is terrible. On top of that, definitely do not play this game if you are achievement hunting: 2 of the 5 progress achievements didn't…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its really a dated piece. Not a horrible game. Not a good game either. Its, bland, extremely boring in spots. Not something you would really want to toss money at. I had basically gotten it free in a Solus Project bundle, so no real loss to me. However I couldn't really recommend this game all by itself as a direct purchase. Sorry.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →fun fact - Pee is stored in the BALL all jokes aside 5/10 its mostly walking to get to the next puzzle + 10$ + one of a kind puzzles that you could only find in this game - puzzles are all on the easy side + running monsters over with the ball - no sprint + can make ball semi transparent in settings so you can kinda see through - very few checkpoints and far apart - no map - story could be a lot better + 10$ - ball takes up 85% of the screen, no reason for it to be that big - ball can be janky…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Genuine hidden gem of a puzzle adventure. It's like portal, but instead of a portal gun, you have a ball, and instead of GLaDOS, there are monkeys.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It took me 12 years to beat this game... It just would never work on my older computers. That said, In the end of 2023 this game was a pretty fun puzzle game. Its looks great on Ultra settings. I have no Idea what I paid for it or what it costs right now, but I'd say under 10 dollars would be a fair price. 5 to 6 hours game for casual gamers.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am a 45 yo father, probably one of the oldest people playing this game. I am a single father to my Son, who is 14 now. My son got this game from his uncle, so we installed it on his computer and he started playing. By the end of the week he had 24 hours on this game. This was horrible for me, as it was already hard for me to find ways to spend time with my son, as he is always out with his friends or just watching YouTube. So I decided to make a Steam account and get this game to see if I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Publisher is full of SJWs. Do not support Leftwing grifters.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun Puzzle Shooter.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got this game in a random key that I bought it personaly, I like it but you might need to have a great mentality for it and time of course, because it's a puzzle, little complicated sometime, but has great mechanics
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I normally dislike puzzle games and find them super boring. The Ball was a big surprise to me though. It had cool mechanics that kept it interesting. The storyline was alright but it was more so the gameplay that kept me playing. Worth a try!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do not buy this game. Tripwire are bad people and do not deserve your business.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Portal meets Indiana Jones. The puzzles are intuitive, with just enough variety without overstaying its welcome. A passable distraction for a few hours, especially considering it was made by three people.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A decent puzzle game that I thoroughly enjoyed. Would recommend if you don't mind the dated graphics
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Indiana Jones style puzzler with a ball and chain grab mechanic to move said ball. Part tech demo, part graphics demo, and part game, its fun to check out from a bundle or under $5.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good looking puzzle adventure. Not a big fan of first person jumping puzzles but there are not too many. The ball itself is a fun tool of destruction with many ways it can be altered and used. Get it on sale when you can.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game just gets so boring. Bought this game after playing The Solus Project (Great game by the way) in hopes that it would be just as good as that game. I was disappointed. Nothing really happens in this game it's just boring puzzles and bad fighting mechanics that lead to a worthless and forgettable gameplay experience
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →5 hours in and completed the first 3 levels. So have less than 10% of players. More walking than puzzles. There is a lot of walking and dragging or pushing your ball around across those distances. Put the puzzles closer. 4th level is a little better. Maybe half way through now.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The concept is neat but not engaging to play. The graphics are nice, but very monotonous. The environments are forgettable and blur together. The puzzles are trivial and executing the solution always takes longer than figuring it out. The combat is far and few inbetween, and there isn't much to it. You punt the Ball towards things to smush them. If they dodge the Ball, you pull it back towards you and smush them on the way back. That's all there is to it. There is nothing really bad about…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I guess take this more as a sideways thumb/average mark. Presentation holds up fairly well considering the age of the game. Levels are generally very large and some parts have some very cool architecture/vibes but the core of the game in pushing/pulling the ball around everywhere is just actually kind of boring. The puzzles are fine and not overly complicated but I could only do one level at a time (about 30-45 mins average) before switching out and playing something different. Since there's 8…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Ball lmao, is basically a washed down Portal game set within ancient structures as you navigate your mute character. The puzzles are very simple most of the time and you don't really feel challenged enough to go through the entirety of the game. Enemies are mostly mummies and they are begging to get crushed by, yes you've guessed it - THE BALL. I've only played for an hour but I already saw all this game has to offer - mid puzzles, a giant, dragging ball that goes wherever you go, no…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →very interesting game. ball puzzles very good. i enjoyed it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →frustrating and boring
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played so much of this game back in the day. Sure it’s an older title, but I still feel the mechanics are unique and the setting is interesting enough that this game still holds up well. Would love to see a remastered VR port someday, I feel like that could be a really neat experience. Beyond that, I love this game and it’s a great fit if you’re looking for an interesting physics-based puzzler with a cool storyline and unique mechanics.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →https://youtu.be/LLnOQUsu7vU Obviously the narrative logic to this game is nonsense but the puzzle platformer's strong level design is more than enough to keep the game rolling.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Ball is an interesting game. Definitely recommended to everyone who is interested in puzzle and logic and to everyone who is interested to learn about the secret underground world that The Ball presents. There is an interesting lore explained by the secret heads to find hidden around the different levels. It was a pleasant surprise, I came here expecting that the game would have been filled with an interesting plot and jump-scares. I left this game with more patience towards very well…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Like Portal, but with Ball and mummies. One of those games that started off as a Unreal Tournament 3 mod and grew enough to become a stand-alone game. This is more of an action game with puzzle elements, while there certainly is a fair share of puzzles, there's a lot of traps you need to avoid and you also use the eponymous Ball to crush a bunch of mesoamerican mummies trying to ruin your day, heck, there's even a few boss fights using the spherical item to defend yourself. The puzzles and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm a sucker for a first person puzzle game (even a janky one) so this was fine. There were a number of confusing decisions. Number 1, there should not have been boss enemies. Those aren't really puzzles as the only two options are a) hit them with the ball or b) hit a switch with the ball that hurts the boss somehow. Number 2, there should be no enemies of any kind. When they die to one hit from the ball, the enemies are chores instead of obstacles. Never once did I feel any tension from…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice little game. The puzzles aren't the most challenging ones, compared to other genre companions. The battles are not as challenging compared to shooters. But the overall package was enjoyable for me, so I recommend it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Legendary game from back in the day when puzzle games were peaking. What's crazy, it has a crossover with "Portal" game in the "challenges" section, which consists extra 7 levels. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2801311623
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a decent if not jank physics puzzle game. The whole idea of having the puzzle revolve around the physics of a giant ball you manipulate to progress further is unique and is done quite well in the game. It does however also include enemies, but in the campaign, it's more of a occasional hazard than anything frequent and more to spice up the gameplay, if you want entirely combat only, the survival mode has you covered. Most of the time in the campaign, it's you and this giant ball, solving…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →junk abandonware
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Solve physics puzzles with a giant ball! If you like First Person Puzzle games, give this a shot.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unique game with great atmosphere. Price is very fair, achievements are balanced and overall very enjoyable.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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