There is certainly no shortage of roguelites on PC, but every now and then a game comes along with a concept that immediately makes it stand out from the crowd. Appulse is one such game, combining the familiar mechanics of pinball with top-down shooting and roguelite progression. Developed by Le Rado and published by Raw Fury, the game puts players in control of a ball-like combat unit that has to bounce, shoot and ricochet its way through hostile spaceships. After getting some hands-on time with the PC version at Gamescom, it is clear that this unusual combination is more intuitive than it might initially sound, while also leaving plenty of room for deeper mechanics to emerge in the full game.
What we know
Appulse is a single-player action game that combines top-down shooting with pinball mechanics and roguelite progression. Rather than directly controlling a character across an arena, players guide their combat unit around pinball-inspired boards, using flippers to launch and redirect it while fighting waves of enemy robots. The setting revolves around a conflict between Vektor Dynamics and the Iron Accord, with the player tasked with helping their fleet survive the ongoing intergalactic war.
The most important part of the combat system is that firing a weapon also affects movement. Each shot generates recoil, pushing the unit in the opposite direction. This means weapons can be used not only to attack enemies but also to alter the player’s trajectory, escape danger or reach otherwise inaccessible parts of a board. Flipper timing and positioning consequently become just as important as aiming, with successful play depending on understanding how momentum and recoil interact.
Roguelite progression adds another layer to this pinball-shooter foundation. As players progress, they can select perks from randomised choices to develop different builds, while conquering additional boards can provide further upgrades such as drones, turrets and repair equipment. The game also allows players to launch onto enemy ships and take on different challenges, suggesting that the individual boards are intended to form part of a larger campaign and fleet-building structure.
Appulse is currently planned for PC in 2026, although no more specific release date has been announced. The Steam version includes achievements, cloud saves, leaderboards and family sharing, while English is supported for full audio and several additional languages are planned for the interface and subtitles.
What we saw
Our preview is based on a demo build of Appulse that we played during a hands-on session at Gamescom, where we had the opportunity to meet with Raw Fury and the developer. The demo provided a good introduction to the central mechanics, allowing us to experiment with the flippers, weapons, recoil and upgrade system while gradually introducing additional variations on the basic formula.
What we thought
Appulse has a concept that sounds considerably stranger on paper than it feels when actually playing it. Combining pinball with a top-down shooter and roguelite progression could easily have resulted in a collection of disconnected ideas, but the basic controls are surprisingly intuitive. The flippers provide the initial momentum, while firing weapons allows the player to influence that momentum once the ball is in motion. It takes a little time to get accustomed to thinking about shooting as both an offensive and movement-based action, but once that connection starts to click, the system feels natural. There is a satisfying sense of control in being able to deliberately manipulate the ball rather than simply waiting for physics to determine where it goes.
That recoil mechanic also gives the combat a nice extra dimension. Taking out an enemy is only part of the equation, since every shot potentially changes the player’s position as well. This creates some interesting decisions, particularly when several enemies and obstacles occupy the same area of the board. The flippers and recoil complement each other rather than competing for attention, and the demo does a good job of gradually building upon those foundations. New variations and implementations are introduced as the session progresses, which keeps the experience from feeling like the same pinball table being repeated over and over. It also has the useful side effect of continually making us curious about what the full game will do with the concept.
The roguelite elements provide another reason to keep experimenting. The demo’s upgrade system is relatively straightforward, and there is a sense that the full game will need considerably more variety in its perks, events and board-specific possibilities to sustain repeated runs. Some of the available upgrades can feel a little limited in how much they change the experience, while resource requirements and progression could potentially become a grind if the final balance leans too heavily in that direction. There are also moments where the physics can work against the player, particularly when the ball ends up taking an awkward route or escapes in a way that feels difficult to anticipate. These are relatively minor concerns in a preview build, but they highlight how important precise physics and readable board design will be to the finished game.
Visually, Appulse has a colorful science-fiction aesthetic that suits its arcade foundations, with bright effects and detailed environments helping the boards stand out. The presentation is accompanied by energetic sound design and music that complement the fast pace of the action. At the same time, the combination of moving cameras, physics and a busy playfield can occasionally make it harder to immediately understand exactly where the player is heading or what should be targeted next. That clarity will become increasingly important as the game introduces more enemies and more complex boards. Still, the demo already demonstrates that Appulse is more than a novelty mash-up. Its central idea is original, it remains approachable despite the unusual premise, and the way it gradually expands upon its mechanics left us wanting to see what Le Rado has planned for the full release. With a 2026 launch still ahead, Appulse has plenty of time to build on a foundation that already feels surprisingly compelling.