Ballance on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information

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In this 2004 classic originally released by Atari games, you will navigate 12 sky-high courses. Each course is fraught with different obstacles that will block your path, slide your marble off course, or blow them right into the bottomless void below.

Ballance is a puzzle-platformer, casual and physics game developed by Cyparade and published by Ziggurat.
Released on January 05th 2024 is available only on Windows in 5 languages: English, French, Italian, German and Spanish - Spain.

It has received 336 reviews of which 280 were positive and 56 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.8 out of 10. 😊

The game is currently priced at 5.89€ on Steam.

The Steam community has classified Ballance into these genres:

Puzzle-Platformer Casual Physics 3D Abstract Atmospheric Minimalist Platformer Puzzle 3D Platformer Top-Down Singleplayer Arcade Exploration Family Friendly Remake Action Comedy Classic Cult Classic

Media & Screenshots

Get an in-depth look at Ballance through various videos and screenshots.

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Ballance screenshot
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Ballance screenshot
Ballance screenshot

System requirements

These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.

Windows
  • OS: Windows 10

User reviews & Ratings

Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.

3 hours played
May 2026
◾◾🔷◾◾ Ups and downs Just as good - and just as frustrating, as it was two decades ago You know why you are here. You have played this game long time ago, probably as a kid, then randomly out of nowhere remembered it again and went to check if it's available anywhere - and then found it on Steam. If it's not your story, I'm slightly surprised. It's a simple concept, you control a ball that can be made of wood (good, well, balance between power and maneverability), stone (can push anything, struggles to go uphill and do anything that requires any sort of precision) or paper (is too light to do anything, but can fly upwards on air flows and is so easy to maneuever it can be a disadvantage) across twelve levels of "marble run" track puzzle platforming (more platforming than puzzle, honestly), focused around mantaining, well, balance and not falling from the platforms into the void - which is much more difficult thing than it sounds. You want to know, if this twenty year old game holds up. And I would say it does in some ways, but it is a bit of a YMMV situation. On one hand, game feels great. Stone ball feels weighty, paper ball feels light, sound design is amazing, a ball riding between metal rails sounds like it is supposed to sound. I played on Steam Deck, and it even had a bit of a rumble going on, and it feels correct . Music is a bit weird tho - it's just some weird slightly repetative short tracks in random spots, while staying quiet otherwise, but it creates an atmosphere. And on another game, damn this game is frustrating to play. The ball can get out of balance when you're just holding a direction (and most of the time you do need to hold a key/D-pad, because the game was obviously designed for this in mind and not an analog stick which makes movement even less predictable), and there will be so many times when you just can't handle the stone ball and it just falls off the platform. And then there's some levels that require ridiculous things from you - such as navigating stone ball through wavy terrain, when losing enough momentum means that you can't climb the next wave and fall off the platform. And that would be frustrating enough on it's own, but the game has life system. You start with three, sometimes you can get Life Ups, you lose one each time you fall. And if you run out of lives, you can only restart the level. So eventually, I just gave up. I have no idea how did I not go insane playing this as a kid, because I remember completing the game back then. But now - I like the game, it feels really nice, but I have less frustrating games to play in my backlog after getting enough playtime to satisfy my nostalgia. I leave the thumbs up, because the game is good, just not for me anymore. I won't beat level 8, and it is alright.
Read the review on Steam
34 hours played
April 2026
Ziggurat version: YES? Well, no... This praise goes to the original game itself , NOT to Ziggurat. OK, so here's the deal. I've been in the Chinese Ballance Speedrun Community (my abbr: CNBlc) for like, almost 4 yrs (from 2022 to 2026)? I'm kinda 'retired' from the CNBlc speedrun but still hang around. Actually, I bought this Steam [Ziggurat] version literally just to leave this review. Unless U ONLY want to +1 to ur Steam library, or, check the Steam Overlay in Ballance, I strongly, STRONGLY do NOT recommend U buying this version. Why? Cuz what Ziggurat is doing seems kinda sketchy . Maybe they are re-releasing this without permission from Atari Europe (though Ziggurat said they got it) and without the agreement from Mr. Ulrich, who actually owns Ballance now. What's more, Ziggurat isn't responding to anyone about it , which is just weird. Y'know... And Mr. Ulrich is cool with the CNBlc version (the one I am, or we are using). He's surprised that Ballance still has its fans. However, he's got other stuff going on and probably won't remaster it himself. So honestly, U CANNOT even buy a real "legit" copy right now... Now, about this [Ziggurat] version... Well, it is basically the same OLD game. 1. ANCIENT default settings. 640*480, German. Although Ziggurat "helpfully" added a bat file to change the language, you can only change resolution in-game, and it might strangely save to some registry key in ur PC. 2. Questionable dgvoodoo implementation Ziggurat bundled "dgvoodoo" (dgvd) to make the old DirectX 8 game work on newer systems. I think the fps gets whacked by their dgvd config. When I checked the settings... Mess & chaos EVER! OutputAPI: Best Available; ScalingMode: Unspecified; Resolution: None... And they left VSYNC ON by default ! Who does that?! The wrapper might not even work properly. Your Windows 10/11 probably tries to run Player.exe through dwm.exe, and dgvd does nothing. The worst thing: Someone can't even launch player.exe! They did fix the life ball crash bug, I'll give 'em that. But feels like a cheap fix, not a real one. 3. The BIGGEST joke: Missing Level 13 Ziggurat version doesn't include Level 13 - "Twilight Zone" (速度/Sùdù). Meanwhile most version online has it! The devs may have named it that cuz Mr. Ulrich has deep China connections (He spoke at CUC in 2022). So Ziggurat cut a whole level the original creator made! This is literally the most barebones "original" version ever, lmao!! 4. Steam 'Launcher' - The funniest part! I copied CNBlc (Chinese Ballance Speedrun Community Version) files into the Steam folder and it launched perfectly through Steam . BTW, CNBlc version has mod support, better rendering, windowed by default, lower latency, you name it . It's just better in every way. Steam Overlay works with CNBlc too... I can't even... crack me up really. FYI for international folks It's tricky to get CNBlc version cuz main downloads are on Chinese sites (Like Ballance Wiki). You'll need translation tools or better know Chinese. It 's unfortunate... Y'know. Like another review said: Feels like Ziggurat just found an old copy, slapped dgVoodoo on it, and started selling it for nostalgia bucks. Consequently, just like what I said: Unless U really wanna +1 to ur Steam library, or check the Steam Overlay in Ballance, plz DO NOT waste ur money. U could Check yyc12345's website and it includes the CNblc version that what I am (we are) using. (Link at Steam Discussions).
Read the review on Steam
Dec. 2025
Bought this game for the nostalgia, one of the first PC games I played as a kid. They don't make games like this masterpiece anymore...
Read the review on Steam
1 hours played
July 2025
I still had the old game on disc so when I saw there is a steam release, I installed my CD version and copied the files then deleted the install and installed the Steam version and just replaced the steam folder with my original CD folder and there my game runs fantastic and through Steam <3
Read the review on Steam
5 hours played
July 2025
Bought this game to cherishes my childhood memories.. when we used to play games for hours without any worry..
Read the review on Steam

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Frequently Asked Questions

Ballance is currently priced at 5.89€ on Steam.

No, Ballance is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 5.89€ on Steam.

Yes, Ballance received 280 positive votes out of a total of 336 achieving a rating of 7.76.
😊

Ballance was developed by Cyparade and published by Ziggurat.

Yes, Ballance is playable and fully supported on Windows.

No, Ballance is not playable on MacOS.

No, Ballance is not playable on Linux.

Ballance is a single-player game.

No, Ballance does not currently offer any DLC.

No, Ballance does not support mods via Steam Workshop.

No, Ballance does not support Steam Remote Play.

Yes, Ballance is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.

You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Ballance.

Data sources

The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.

Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.

Last Updates
Steam data 02 June 2026 14:35
SteamSpy data 12 June 2026 12:26
Steam price 14 June 2026 04:30
Steam reviews 13 June 2026 06:01

If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Ballance, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.

  • SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Ballance
  • SteamCharts - Analysis of Ballance concurrent players on Steam
  • ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Ballance compatibility
Ballance
5.89€ Buy Now
Rating
7.8
280
56
Game modes
Features
Online players
4
Developer
Cyparade
Publisher
Ziggurat
Release 05 Jan 2024
Platforms
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