It’s still strange to see mobile games hit home consoles. Their short levels and simple concept are good for bite-sized gaming appetites, but generally sitting on a couch bring with it a hunger that isn’t fulfilled with these generally small games. Most of these said games are still fun, but their repetitive nature is unveiled from continuous play and they admittedly become stale after a short period of time. Tennis in the Face fits directly into this mold, as its initially fun concept is only hindered by its inability to change up its formula enough to capture your attention.

Tennis in the Face puts you in the role of Pete Pagassi, a former tennis star who blames his sunken career on his use of the energy drink “Explodz.” Pagassi then dedicates his life to extinguishing those who make the energy drink for ruining his career.

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You’ll utilize Pagassi’s tennis skills by serving tennis balls at enemies in each level, attempting to take out as many – if not all – enemies with as few tennis balls as possible. You can bounce balls off of walls, and for the most part, balls will pass through hit enemies and don’t affect trajectory, that is, until you encounter special enemies that have armor or unique characteristics. Serving tennis balls and taking out enemies is quite fun, and nailing every person in one serve is definitely exhilarating.  I tried to plan out my serves within each layout, but honestly, as long as you find the correct trajectory, it’s mostly a crap-shoot if you succeed. Tennis balls will lose their bounce after a decent amount of bounces, and their behavior can be different even when hit in the same area. Sometimes it felt like I was taking out enemies with skill, sometimes it felt like it was luck.

New elements are introduced in new areas, like new enemy types, new projectiles like the Explodz energy drinks that, you guessed it, explode on contact, and new environmental objects like explosive barrels, or shrapnel that can be used to take out enemies. These new elements help change up the monotonous gameplay, but it can’t stop the game from feeling to by-the-book with its structure. If you’ve played an Angry Birds game, you’ll probably be familiar with the feeling of decreasing interest when you play level after level. Playing one level on the go every now and then helps elevate Tennis in the Face’s appeal, but playing it on a couch for an extended period of time reveals the quick burn nature of the game.

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One of my favorite aspects of Tennis in the Face is the great art style. The character art is simple, but filled with character, and the accompanying story – albeit simple and short – helps progress through the levels and gives motivation for completing the game.

Tennis in the Face borrows tried and true elements from various bite-sized games, but it works mostly well and its slick presentation and art style set it far above most in the same genre. If you’re looking for a nice break between your AAA games, Tennis in the Face is a nice distraction to have simple fun, just don’t expect it to hold your attention for long.

This review is based on a review copy of the PlayStation 4 version of Tennis in the Face by 10tons Ltd.

Ace to the Face | Tennis in the Face Review
Overall7.5
Positives
  • Simple, pretty art style
  • Quick bite-sized missions
Negatives
  • Repetitive in nature
7.5Overall Score
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About The Author

Josh is a Senior Editor for New Gamer Nation. He'd love to chat with you about games on Twitter.